Mount Rainier

Equipment Checklist for a 3-day, summer ascent
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Climbing Equipment
Gear Notes
Backpack Internal frame with a capacity to 5,000 cubic inches.
Backpack Cover Optional Rain Cover
Ice Axe / Leash  
Crampons 10 or 12 Point.
Trekking Poles For ascent into basecamp.
Harness  
Ascenders (2) Prusik knots may be used in place of ascenders.
Locking Biner (2)  
Biners (4) non-locking. Oval Biners work well especially for rescue systems.
Snow Picket 24" or 36", minimum 2 per team, recommended 1 per person.
Wands (24) Recommended for ascent into basecamp.
Avalanche Probe Recommended 1 per team during avalanche prone season.
Slings 48" (2) Used in a rescue system or for tie-offs. 6mm perlon rope can also be used, bring 30 feet.
Spectra Runner (2) One runner should be 30 cm and one at 60 cm.
Pulley (2) Per member, for use in Z-Pulley System.
Belay/Rappel Device  
Helmet  
Rope 9mm x 50 meter Dry
 
Base Camp
Gear Notes
2-Man Tent Sturdy 4-season with ground cloth.
Tent Repair Kit One kit per team
Shovel One shovel is recommended for the entire group.
Water Filter Using a water filter greatly reduces the amount of fuel used to melt water.
Sleeping Bag Rated at +20°f or cooler for summer ascents.
Sleeping Pads (2) Recommended one closed cell pad and one self-inflating 3/4 length pad.
Stove Good rated stoves include: MSR DragonFly, MSR XGK EX, MSR WindPro.
Stove Stabilizer Optional snow platform for your stove.
Stove Repair Kit Complete repair kit for your stove. This should include a pump repair kit if you are using gas type stoves.
Fuel 0.5 liter per day, per stove when using a water filter. Increase fuel needs by 150% when not using a water filter.
Cook Pots Titanium works well to reduce weight. 1.3 and 0.9 liter pot sets work well.
Cup / Cover  
Utensils Spoon/Knife. The knife should be a multi-purpose such as a Swiss knife.
Lighter Disposable lighter with wood match back-ups.
General Purpose Soap Dr. Bronners works well as a general purpose soap. Bring 1 ounce for 2 days.
 
Personal and Safety
Gear Notes
Glacier Glasses Must be 100% UV, IR protection with side covers.
Chest Harness This is an optional item.
Goggles Optional. Based on wind forecasts.
Medical Kit General purpose expedition style medical kit. One per teams.
Toiletry Kit Toothbrush, tooth paste, medications, moleskin, baby wipes, toilet paper.
Hand Sanitizer 4 ounce size.
Hand Warmers If desired.
Water Bottles (2) Nalgene brand with bottle jackets.
Hydration System Optional and not expected to be used beyond base camp I. 2-Liter or larger, works well on the approach to base camp.
Lip Protection Labiosan for 100% protection. Also carry 40+ SPF chap stick for general use.
Sunscreen SPF 40 or better. Carry one small tubes, not one large tube.
Skin Moisturizer Aloe based moisturizer, small tube.
Small Towel  
Bandana  
Headlamp LED styles are becoming very capable. Xenon and Superbright LEDs combinations such as the Black Diamond Vectra IQ work well. The rope team should carry one spare head lamp.
Spare Batteries Spare batteries for your head lamp enough for 24 hours. Lithium work the best.
 
Clothing - Upper Body
Gear Notes
Performance Long-sleeved underwear Lightweight VaporWick turtleneck, Quantity 1.
Expedition VaporWick turtleneck, Quantity 1.
Zippered style works well to regular heat.
Performance Short-sleeved underwear Lightweight VaporWick turtleneck, Quantity 3.
WindStopper Outer Shell  
Gore-Tex Outer Shell, hooded  
Parka Down or Polarguard Parka or Vest. Should be rated to 0°f.
 
Clothing - Lower Body
Gear Notes
Performance underwear PolyPro or Nylon briefs, Quantity 2.
Expedition long underwear Expedition weight VaporWick long underwear, Quantity 1.
Breathable Pants or Bibs Full zip style Gore-Tex outer shell pants.
Optional - Schoeller Pants during warmer seasons.
Zip-off Pants Zip-off style Convertible Pants, Quantity 1.
 
Clothing - Feet / Hands / Head
Gear Notes
Socks Recommended SmartWool.
Light-Hikers, Quantity 1.
Expedition Weight, Quantity 1.
Liners Optional - Vapor Liners, Quantity 1.
Plastic Double boots  
Leather Boots Optional - Lightweight breathable leather boots or approach shoes for use to basecamp.
Booties Down Booties is recommended. Optional - use the liners from your plastic boots.
Mittens Heavyweight Wool or Down, Quantity 1.
WindStopper, Quantity 1.
Gloves Insulated, Quantity 1.
WindStopper, Quantity 1.
Gore-Text Wind Shells.
Hats Insulated wool or fleece (Covers ears).
Balacava.
Baseball Cap.
Long Billed Cap with Neck Protection.
 
Miscellaneous / Optionals
Gear Notes
Compression Sacks Recommended 2. Test with your gear and required community gear to determine size.
Daypack Optional 2,500 cubic inch works well for summit day.
Camera / Film Digital Cameras work well, carry a spare battery. Film cameras should be ASA 32-200. Separate flash is not recommended.
Entertainment (Optional) Journal, pen/pencil, book, cards, games, walkman.
Earplugs For windy days or to silence your tent mate.
Pee bottle Optional.
Plastic Bags Large garbage bags used for waste and to ferry clean snow for water melting, Quantity 2.
Zip-lock Bags Gallon, Quantity 2.
Quart, Quantity 3.
Sitting Pad 18" Closed Cell cut-off from a sleeping pad. Can be part of you full length pad used for sleeping.
Altimeter / Compass One set per rope team.
GPS Optional, one per rope team.
Two-Way Radio Optional, two per rope team. Minimum 5-mile range.
Lantern Optional. Candle or Iso-Butane lantern. One per tent.
Canteen One Gallon or 4 liter size. Nalgene collapsible.
 
Food
Gear Notes
Breakfast / Dinner 3 Breakfast and 2 Dinner. Work with your tent-mate to combine meals and reduce extra weight. Repackage dehydrated meals the night before the trek-in into zip-lock bags. This reduces bulk, weight and waste.
Dessert Always add a Desserts to jazz things up.
Lunch / Snacks 5 servings. Fast access meals such as dehydrated fruit, bagels, cheese, sausage, pre-packages energy bars and gels.
Power Breaks 3 servings. PowerGels / PowerBars / Cliff Bars, Dehydrated and fresh fruit, Breadsticks, etc.
Energy Drinks Used primarily for climbing days. Powdered Gatorade and other branded energy drinks, Quantity 5 servings per day.
Spice (Optional) Carry a favorite spice to jazz up your meals.
Hot Drinks Used at base camps. Coffee, Cider, Tang, Hot Chocolate, Quantity 9 servings.
NOTE: "Serving" size is subject to your own interpretation. For Energy Drinks, I consider 1 serving of powdered Gatorade equal to one nalgene bottle (1 Quart). Hot Chocolate, Coffee, etc is considered a serving size of one cup. Dinners and Breakfasts are considered one single size Mountain House dehydrated meal.