10 Essentials

[hessma]

Any chance we could get a parent thread that focuses only on the "10 Essentials" of survival? With the amount of good data on fire alone, seems like a real category on the "10 Essentials" would be a solid value add. I could always use more knowledge on each essential and with the amount of real world experience on this forum, it could be a gold mine.

[justiner]

It may be time to actually update the concept of the ten essentials.

One of the subjects that gets brought up again and again when people are missing is what their intended route is. Perhaps you could put this under, "navigation", but it's not only for your benefit, as a map/compass or GPS is. Colorado mountains are fairly accessible, so help doesn't take a week to get out to anywhere. It's just that help needs to know where you are. I usually give my housemates my agenda and a pretty specific ETA on when I should be back, and when they should started trying to reach me. I usually make a GPS track I'm going to be using for navigation, and this is something I can easily share with them, or post online. Things like a SPOT can also be helpful.

I'm a total boyscout when it comes down to things, and what's drill in your little head is the idea of, "Be Prepared". Specifically, I think many people get away with being ill-prepared with the physical requirements needed for 14ers and/or not being as acclimated (or having that be a big unknown when visiting from out of state). Being exhausted on a mountain is not where I want to generally be. There's also how comfortable you are on, on perhaps technical terrain. I think it's very worth your while to learn the basics of technical climbing and be comfortable with things like loose ground and exposure before tackling the terrain at altitude.

Again, Colorado shines in accessibility to lower peaks near the front range corridor. I don't know why you would want your first exposure to slab climbing to be the hourglass on Little Bear when there's Class 4 slabs in the Flatirons. There may not be that type of accessibility for snow climbs so low, but there's certainly some great, easy snow routes that are fun to do to gain that experience and be safe about it. This may be just an old school idea of seeing mountaineering as an art to be practiced, but knowing my technical abilities are much higher than what I expect to encounter on a route is to me, a great thing to have in the ol' (mental) toolbox. Also the ability to run down a trail @ 10:00/miles is a really nice thing to "pack" along.

I have been in situations where I've been scared out of my pants (as I'm not a very bold person in general), and wasn't prepared physically, which lead to injuries that took months to heal, but the desire to get better was always there. I'm worried that too many people are fixated on the goal, rather than the process, and want to just skip the section of getting in-form. This is natural, as what we do is fun! But it should be tempered, before luck runs out.

One more essential I'd promote to the ten is knowledge of the rules and regulations of the area you're visiting. If you grew up in say, Connecticut (like me), you have no idea what the heck, "Wilderness" is, or what it means. The concept has to be taught to you; it's not obvious. Other countries will have different concepts to understand. Learn the local ethics.

[TallGrass]

Could've sworn there was a prior thread on this, but I did find:
10 Essentials Video, Watch this!
The 10 Car Essentials
Essentials for Backcountry Touring
Do you carry a first aid kit?

You'll find different lists out there, some adding "water" which was left off the original list and some focusing on "systems" instead of "items." Whatever method, thinking and preparing in advance is a good thing, IMHO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Essentials

[hessma]

It would be awesome if the topic of the 10 Essentials could have a more prominent presence on the site.

The following provides another great breakdown of the areas for discussion.
http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/Assets ... tials.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With so much experience in the group, it would be great to hear and see real world knowledge broken down in a systematic way.

I'd be happy to volunteer my time to help design, or map out the navigability of any changes to the forum pages that might be needed to accommodate a more comprehensive and "REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE" module that has a strong emphasis on the 10 Essentials.

[justiner]

In the top menu, look under, 14er routes for things like, "mountaineering safety", "Gear List", etc. On the homepage these are under, "Routes". If your browser window is too short, those things do get cut off.

[hessma]

In the top menu, look under, 14er routes for things like, "mountaineering safety", "Gear List", etc. On the homepage these are under, "Routes". If your browser window is too short, those things do get cut off.

Ahhhh, I see it now. Thanks, Justin!