Sleds
Pulk: Jet Sled Jr, 20"x43"x8" (108x50cm) , 6.2lbs. (2.8kg) w/cover. modified with: fiberglass traces (poles) with ball-joints attachments to sled and harness. 4 webbing straps added across the top cover.
-We created a flat, square stuff-bag with a velcro closure along the length of the open edge- when we park the pulks for the night (and stake them down) we put this bag over the hip-belt/ harness on the end of the poles- this way we don't have to fiddle with reattaching the harness to the poles in the morning and messing with the metal pins etc., keeps it dry and the ice off it. We also keep the Bgreg in it to keep it dry. Anything you can do to avoid even simple taks is useful, in winter camping even simple tasks can be annoying, eliminate as many as you can, breaking camp is a big enough pain the ass.
Shelter:
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-Bothy Bag: 2 Person wind-shelter with vinyl window and tubular vents, can pull two pulks together sit on them and shelter from high winds- for map reading, eating lunch. making out. etc.) Bothy means lean-to in Scotland. You need good wind protection in Scandinavia the wind is frequently extremely strong and can blow for several days, it can be quite deranging if you can't take a break from it. Norwegians carry another kind of wind sack- see pic.
-Bivy bag: OR Helium lightweight GTX bag to keep sleeping bags dry in tent if we get in a situation we are dragging too much snow in with us and for use in a snow-cave if need be.
Sleeping:
-Bag: North Face Goose-down mummy bag. This is from way back when North Face actually made good gear (before the dude sold it). It weighs 4 lbs. in size long, has massive loft but I have no idea what the temp. rating is as I cut off all the tags in 1996 when I bought it at Gary Neptune's mountain shack. I don't know what model it is. I have used it at 70° North with no problems.
-Pads: I use three sleeping pads-
The first is 1/4" closed cell foam that is scored in the middle, taped, and folded over- this pad was trimmed to form-fit in the bottom of the pulk and serves as the floor of the pulk- this reduces noise, insulates the contents, and reduces shock to the cargo. In camp it folds out to +/- 2 meters long and is the first layer of sleeping pads.
The second pad is an Alps Mountaineering Z-pad, very thick, thicker than Ridge-rest (their new one is not). This is folded so it fits under the top-cover of the pulk and runs the length of the pulk- this allows us to sit on the pulks comfortably and cushions cargo from roll-overs, keeps things from protruding through the cover etc. We pack the pulks so no destructibles are lcocated in the middle section where one sits. At night this is the 2nd pad.
Third we have a Klimat Insulated Static V Luxe SL air mattress rated at 6.5 R-value (they are lying). These are wide enough so the two side by side take up the complete width of the tent, they have bands to hold them together and eliminate the center draft. Very comfortable.
-Misc: Pillow case for use in cabins (they have pillows) and in the tent stuffed with down jacket etc.
Cooking
-Stove: An Optimus Crux gas cannister stove designed for an inverted, mixed-gas (propane-butane) cannister. It has a heat exchanger pipe near the flame to warm the infeed gas, VERY IMPORTANT- when you light it make sure the Primus gas cannister is upright or it will shoot flames- you can invert the cannister after a few seconds. Works great at all temperatures that we have encountered. You do NOT need the more expensive Primus "Winter Gas". I asked Primus- the winter gas is the same gas misture as the summer gas- the difference being they built a fabric mesh inside the winter gas cannisters to increase the surface area for the gas to convert from liquid- the heat exchanger on the Crux does this far more efficiently rendering the winter gas redundant. So use standard canister gas- Primus, Coleman, etc. Thier Winter Gas cannister is good for upright cannister stoves. I hate liquid stoves, fiddly priming, dirty cleaning, spare parts, messy fuel. I also carry a spare stove a really ultra-light Primus, burns like a Jet-boil that is why it is the spare stove- I hate Jet-boils.
-Pots: a 3.7 liter pot/lid, a good size for melting snow. Two plastic dishes (with sides) nest in it- one on top and one on the bottom that protects the pot from the contents banging around inside- it holds the two stoves, a Primus gas cannister 2 plastic spoons, a light Swiss=Army knife (with corkscrew!!!) and two deep Scandi cups, and four plastic shot glasses.
-Thermos: 2x1 liter each + an insulated Nalgen bottle
-Misc. Two folding cups for on the trail. Two larger knives from Scandinavia (for swagger). A squeeze tube.
Clothing
-Base-layer: 2 silk undershirts, 2 merino wool briefs, 1 or 2 pairs of merino wool long-johns, 3 pairs of omni-wool socks (thick), 2 pairs of merino wool liner socks, 2 Craft wool-blend shirts with short zips- can be doubled.
-ski pants: Arcteryx soft shell pants with suspenders. I thought these were crazy expensive when I bought them for AT Touring in 2006, but it looks like they are going to outlast me. Super comfortable.
-Sweater: Thick Norwegian wool sweater with short zip, replaced a 300 wt. fleece North Face Denali Jacket which I do not miss. (better to have a full zipper sweater)
-Jacket: Norrona Svalbard Cotton Anorak with a fur ruff (Coyote, i hate those fuckers, one ate my cat). This is so comfortable to ski in, both my wife and I have them and wear them 60 or 70% of the time when we ski.
-Shell: I have a Goretex Pac-Lite Plus shell for bad weather- a slightly over-sized Patagonia Calcite jacket and Mountain Hardwear Exposure pants. Fits on over my anorak or over a lofty down coat. Works! and I like Yvon Chouinard's environmental policies and honesty (his prices not so much)- plus the missus knew him back in the day, before he disappeared down the multi-millionaire hole.
Sanctuary-Jacket: Montane down jacket, over-sized, very warm- lots of fill, Pertex outer fabric for water resistance. Best hood ever! This goes on over everything whenever we stop for any period of time. Super warm and fairly light weight. Sheds snow fairly well. Montane makes nice stuff.
-Gloves: I have a light pair of gloves with leather palms from Decathlon, 20 bucks and 7 years old going strong, well made. merino wool glove liner phone-freindly finger for navigation.
-Mittens: Handmade very thick ,carded Lovikka wool mittens (Sweden) for extreme cold. Swedish Army Surplus wool mittens- medium thickness ($8). Lil Sport (Norway) outer shell mitts with leather palms, very resistant but not 100% water proof, they have great breathability- never gotten wet in snow with them. Spare shell mitts- DLX membrane mitts, water-proof to 10,000mm. sometimes I bring very light work gloves for Sweden because in their cabins the wood is only cut to 1-meter lengths so you need to saw it- pisses me off because I am Catholic and do not suffer from the Protestant work ethic. In Norway the wood is stove-ready, kudos Norway, the Pope thanks you!
-Headwear: Wool hat with windproof ear-band, Lowe Alpine Mountain Cap- the classic. best flap hat ever- you see it all over Norway, light breathable, totally protective and also ugly as sin- wear for that real dork look. Balaclava- I have two one has nose protection, depends on where I am heading. Buff, I carry two. Headband.
Gaiters: Yeti gaiters (GTX over-boots) fitted over my Alpina Alaska boots.
-Camp/Cabin clothes: US Army M-65 insulated pants liners- super comfortable 10 bucks so ugly they are cool. They probably add 8 degrees to my sleeping bag, synthetic insulation booties- from Wiggy's- I pimped them with a mukluk lace system, Helsport Footbags, waterproof thin mukluk-like thingies that go over the booties when you are walking around camp in the snow or leaving the cabin to take a leak or gawk at Aurora Borealis. I love me footbags.
Other Gear:
-Eyewear- Sunglasses (with leash) and bright yellow ski googles. One pair of extra sunglasses per party.
Shovel: one each
-Light: headlamp- Petzl high power. Tent light. I bring a sexond headlamp- lighter, lower beam, for around camp, reading, etc. - I save the more powerful one in case I have to ski at night- shit happens..and has.
-Ski stuff- Universal glide wax, Glide wax for warm snow, skin wax, skins short and long, scraper, brush, Voile Straps (lots), ski poles- BD adjustable two piece with 120mm baskets
-Repair kit: To fix everything from pulks to bindings, poles, bases, etc. Rope, thick accessory cord, many uses including pulling the sleds if the traces fail (they never have to date).
-Navigation: Suunto Global base-plate Compass (adjustable declination) declination matters, paper maps, map case, Samsung XCover 3 waterproof phone with two change batteries running GPS app with offline maps, back up GPS- an old Garmin watch.
-Emergency- Garmin InReach Mini in latex housing, First Aid Kit, Pint of Cognac in plastic bottle. A DVA if needed, I have never needed one on my Nordic trips.
-Packs: Rab 120 Liter duffle with padded detachable shoulder- straps (I can put this pulk on my back to walk across plowed roads, etc.). This takes up most of the pulk but a 20 liter OR square zip stuff-sack rides in front of by the bow, the thermos bottles fit in the rear behind it- so if we need a drink the other skier can ski to the back of your pulk and get your bottle for you. I could carry +/-200 liters of cargo max without being too top heavy..
I have a 25 or 30L Burton backpack I wear sometimes other times I strap it above the cover of the pulk- my down jacket is in it snacks the Nalgen bottle different hats and gloves etc, I have a smaller one from Go-Lite I take if I require less space.
-Food- We have carried up to 3 weeks of food between two people. For longer than that an ice fishing rod and rifle would be more useful
We bring Freeze-dried food like MH, some some ground beef and mixed vegetables we dehydrate ourselves (1 pound of beef weighs 3 oz after the process), we make shepherd's pie with that + instant mash potatoes (don't forget the Worcester Sauce!), A nice thing about pulks is you can bring some fresh food too- we bring sausages to cook on a stick over a fire, and bacon which we cook if we are in a cabin. Some good supermarket foods are in the USA- Stove Top stuffing, Bacon Jerky- If you are in Europe- German Knödel from Knorr in all their varieties- great with gravy on them, Austrian Kaminwurst (dried sausage)- absolutely the best trail lunch, Speck from the Sud Tirol, Squeeze tubes of fish and cheese in Norway.-Toiletries (I do NOT saw off my toothbrush)
I am sure I certainly forgot something, I always do....
Oh yeah- the new field-toilet which we call the B-Greg after the inventor- Monsieur BGregoire, A great idea.
