Light And Fast Alpinism
- Wild Dirt
- Nov 8, 2021
- 5 min read
Light and fast alpinism is a growing trend and is gaining massive popularity these days. But what does it actually mean?
The now-ubiquitous phrase in the mountaineering world exactly means what it says. It is the act of navigating a pre-decided route to climb a mountain using technical skills and specialized equipment but with a “light and fast” approach. Here you pack ultra light, move quickly, reach the summit, descend fast, and reach back where you started. A different approach to traditional mountaineering, light and fast alpinists ditch their heavy packs to carry a lighter one and move swiftly. They do thorough planning, make a dash for their objective, and get back to base camp before the weather moves in.
Packing light definitely has its own advantages. A lightly-packed mountaineer conserves a lot less energy with every step as they move. In harsh weather and terrain conditions, it is more comfortable when you are constantly in motion. It’s mentally and physically more taxing when you are walking at a snail’s pace with a bulky and heavy packing that hinders and restricts your movements. A lighter pack enables you to be fast. To an extent, being expeditious equates directly to your safety when as mountaineers, you’re trying to navigate hazardous terrain with speed. You are spending less time getting exposed to the risks of being in the mountains. With all its advantages, there are also caveats to Light Alpinism. This approach suits highly experienced climbers who are well aware of all kinds of risks. The climbers should be in top physical shape too. It is not just about their pack.
It’s equally important that the climbers are fast and light themselves. They should be super fit, skilled, and agile. They should have seen enough and done enough climbing to nail this approach. Their years of experience must have improved their decision-making abilities, which is very crucial in stressful situations and extreme conditions when things don’t go as planned. A beginner must be confident in conventional mountaineering and alpine climbing before turning to this approach. One reason being they may not be able to do the correct tradeoff in choosing and packing items. The last thing you want is not packing those mission-critical items only because you wanted to reach a summit fast. Good skillful alpinists will use proper judgment on how to pack because certain weight savings may prove very costly at the end. Also, if you’re climbing in a pair or more, all members need to be in perfect coordination with similar levels of fitness and physical abilities. If a member falls far behind or if they struggle to quickly put on crampons or to rope-up for glacier travel, for example, the entire plan may fall apart, and consequences may be deadly.
For someone who is already a good mountaineer, a lighter pack will make them more agile and quick. Modern gear and technical equipment have made monumental strides and high-end technology has not only improved our performance but also enabled us to reduce our pack weight drastically. For Light and Fast alpinism, you must check the market for lighter alternatives of all kinds of gear. Choose the lightest carabiners and slings for example. One lighter carabiner may not seem a big reduction, but when you combine several of them, the difference in weight is real. Ropes, quickdraws, ice axe, helmet, harness, headlamp, crampons, bivy sack, all have lighter alternatives available now. It’s good to test them out to keep improving your packing performance. Pack Selection is super important too. It’s good to train for this approach with smaller lightweight backpacks, so when you decide to take a stripped-down kit, you are still keeping all non-essentials behind. The sleeping and meal system items such as the sleeping bag, pad, shelter, stove, and fuel are often the bulkiest items. Depending on the length of route, conditions, and weather forecast, ensure you take only what’s needed and also their lighter alternatives.
Bulky, lighter, and nonessential items should be packed at the bottom, heaviest ones in the middle attached to the back, and essential items at the top and accessible areas. Always remember to eliminate dead space and make the backpack as compact as possible. If you’re an experienced climber, versatility plays a part in the items you are packing. The gear which could be used for multiple purposes is your prized possession. Also, from your training trips and previous mountaineering expeditions, if you find items in your backpack that you never end up using, it’s good to chuck it out (obviously, this is not applicable for your first aid and safety kit). Calories are important too and your past climbing sessions will give you an idea of how much calories you need throughout the day. Accordingly, take quality food and carbs making sure they are not heavy and bulky. In the Light and Fast approach, every single item and every single gear will matter. The more you research, the more you climb and the more you apply your learning, the better you will get in packing light.
For light alpinism, a climber must be well trained in all the conventional mountaineering and ice climbing techniques. The fundamental climbing techniques and the best practices will not be drastically different.. This kind of approach is more about all the pre-climbing preparations, judgments, decisions, and how you apply your knowledge, skills, and experience to craft a wholesome plan properly. Be it techniques of roped glacier travel, or ice climbing in a way to conserve energy or navigating crevasses, for example, techniques will be more or less similar to what you have always used.
What is different in the light way is how mountaineers judge their abilities before heading out. And how they are ruthlessly efficient right from packing to planning to ultimately climbing. What’s different here is how you move and perform these actions with speed without any room for error. It’s all about speed and finesse while following a proper plan. Weather forecast, physical ability, route conditions, awareness of the consequences, and tradeoffs will matter a lot in this approach. Of course, your plan must include all emergency and evacuation plans in case things go south. Even in that case, the idea is to quickly make a decision, pivot to Plan B as fast as possible, and act rapidly, ensuring everyone is safe. In our quest to climb fast, it’s important to remember safety is always the cardinal objective! That’s the challenge of this kind of climbing: how can we pack light and act super fast in an extreme high-altitude environment without compromising safety. Mountaineering experience and wisdom matters here the most. Mountain lovers who love using this kind of alpinism, do not view it as a new fad of mountaineering. They treat it as a lifestyle.
