Aside the basic “must-carry” gears described in earlier modules there are a few more “technical” gears which can helpful in tackling specific terrains or situations. One versatile gear is a pair of hiking poles. Basic use case (novice hikers) of poles is to provide more stability (4 points of contacts on ground instead of 2) on steeper terrain and support while hiking uphill or downhill: arm power complements quads (uphill) or knees (downhill) therefore spreading the impact.
For the more experienced alpine style hiker, poles are very useful in a number of situations. First they provide better stability (4 points of contact) while traversing steep slopes without proper trail (scree, landslides, gullies…). Similar, when crossing wild streams 4 points of contact provide much better stability to prevent losing balance while traversing an uneven river bed in deeper water.
Hiking Poles
Third, while hiking uphill on steeper snow covered slopes a pair of poles allows you to push yourself up more easily as your legs sink inside the snow. Fourth, poles are very useful to “feel” the ground (rocks, uneven ground…) in a snow covered landscape, especially while traversing (solo) a snow covered glacier with crevasses.
Finally, as mentioned in previous module, hiking poles can also be reused for pitching up a tent or bivy that supports the same thereby saving significant weight compared to carrying separate tent poles. All prior mentioned use cases make hiking poles a very versatile and useful set of gears, even for the minimalist fast hiker.
Hiking poles come in fixed or adjustable size. I generally prefer adjustable poles as we need shorter length while hiking uphill vs longer length when doing downhill. Lightweight carbon poles hardly weigh 125 grams a piece, much lighter then regular metal poles.
Ice tools
Where hiking poles are useful to deal with soft snow, for frozen snow or ice we need other tools. 1. Crampons or micro-spikes fit over your regular shoes and that provide better grip on slippery or steep ice / frozen snow. 2. Similar an ice-axe is useful to cut steps into steep ice / frozen snow gullies so you can traverse the same without falling down. This is especially useful during spring when the winter snow in steep North/West facing gullies can pose a challenge to cross on the way to a pass crossing.
As an alpine style minimalist fast hiker traversing in month long journeys weight is an important consideration. Technical gears usually add significant weight to your backpack:
Regular poles – 500 grams
Carbon poles – 250 grams
Micro spikes – 350 grams
Regular Ice axe – 1000+ grams
Alloy ice axe – 400 grams
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Total – 1 to 2kgs
This is very considerable weight for technical gears which are used only in very specific (1%) situations. Therefore – as a minimalist ultra hiker – I generally carry only carbon poles (all seasons) and ice axe (spring only) to optimize weight over my longer ultra journeys.
Mountaineering
Climbing more technical rock or ice slopes is referred to as mountaineering which involves various technical gears like rope, carabiners, larger crampons, climbing harness, etc. All this adds up more weight and volume and is less of an option for the alpine style hiker covering month long ultra journeys. Therefore, I generally avoid real technical sections or traverses that require ropes.
Assignment
Acknowledge your understanding of basic technical must-carry gears allow you to traverse more challenging terrain or situations as an alpine style hiker