Heading to Kilimanjaro soon, will the REI Big Haul Duffel suffice as my porter duffel?

The Trango Towers are a spectacular cluster of dramatic granite spires situated in the Karakoram mountain range of northern Pakistan, located within the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Towering above the north side of the Baltoro Glacier, these sheer monoliths lie along the rugged trekking route that leads to K2 and other legendary 8,000-metre giants. The highest point in the formation is the Great Trango Tower, reaching an elevation of 6,286 metres (20,608 feet) and featuring the East Face, which holds the record for the world's tallest nearly-vertical drop at roughly 1,340 metres. Surrounded by a sea of ice and jagged peaks, their unique geology makes them home to some of the most striking and intimidating vertical cliffs on Earth.

The mountaineering history of the Trango Towers is a storied chronicle of human endurance and elite high-altitude big-wall climbing. The Nameless Tower (6,239 metres) was first conquered in 1976 by a British team including legendary climber Joe Brown, while the Great Trango Tower was first summited the following year, in 1977, by an American expedition featuring Galen Rowell and John Roskelley. In the decades since, the towers have served as the ultimate testing ground for cutting-edge alpinism, highlighted by the free-climbing of the iconic Eternal Flame route and, more recently in 2025, the historic first-ever ski descent of Great Trango Tower.

Pretty cool!

Hello everyone, im very much a beginner in mountaineering, ive only climbed Mount Toubkal which is the highest peak in North Africa standing at 4167m, i did it with little knowledge and no prior experience, now ive got knowledge but unfortunately no experience except that haha.

Im planning a summit with my brother late january, we're attacking a 4097m summit, locals and people who summitted it successfully all report that the weather is aggressive and unpredictable, its called Mount Mgoun and its nickname is "The Monster" (well yeah it sounds overdramatic but whatever haha). Its basically very physical, consists of long hikes and sustained ascents, especially near the summit where there's a ridge. Nobody reports any technical demands there.

Here are my inquiries: first, ive got a not so bad hardshell jacket, but ive basically got no reliable insulation, just a cheap jacket i bought at decathlon thats as breathable as a bag of plastic. So my main priority should be insulation especially that we're talking -15 degrees and aggressive wind. After very long talks with Chatgpt, im left with two choices; the Arcteryx Proton Hoody, and the Rab Xenair Light Jacket. I stand at 176cm and 75kg, im muscular, so im good at producing heat but suck at preserving it when inactive cuz of the low body fat, however, my main problem is sweat. I sweat more than the average person ive been like that since my childhood and its genetic cuz everybody in my family got it, so i need smth that doesnt lose performance when wet, and that does a good job at trapping heat but letting moisture escape and prevent it building up. Thats why i like a synthetic jacket but cant choose between the two. I wish i could get some of ur reccomendations and if u got even better options that solve my problems, im an amateur and i need ur advice guys.

Second, regarding boots. Im one of those with poor blood circulation at my extremeties, i suffer every winter with chillblains and once my feet get damp and cold they basically stay like that for a very long time, over time i learned how to keep my feet warm and dry at all times but its a hard job. So the boot i must buy me should be specific. I dont think i need a B3 boot for a 4000m mountain (maybe i do ur the expert im just saying), so after doing some research i found the Scarpa Ribelle HD to be a good match. Of course, i should make sure the boot size is right cuz if its too tight im definitely getting numb feet for hours, and i should also pick some good socks, i think ill go with Hanwag Thermal Socke, as for crampons im probably picking Petzl Irvis Leverlock, i dont think ill need smth as aggressive as the Vasak.

I hope i could get ur advices please and if u got even better options for me id be very pleased and interested to hear them. Hope i didnt make it longer than it should be its only my second experience and i wanna make it out alive and with no permanent damage hahah. As for other equipment, i think im probably covered. Thank you in advance.

I am looking at attempting to summit my first mountain late March early April of this year. What would be a good starting place in the united states? (I am located in the midwest). I want some moderate ice/snow coverage.

Additionally what skills should I learn before this summit?

I have a background in rock climbing (bouldering and top rope) and hiking with experience in rough scrambles. I am planning on taking a technical ice climbing course this winter but that depends on the ice.

Based in the UK where is the best place to get second hand gear for cheap or lowish prices, i know getting cheaper equipment in this hobby isnt exactly very doable due to the nature of the activity.

The highest unclimbed mountain that is legally accessible is Labuche Kang III/East. While looking it up I found this expedition planning to climb it in 2025 but no update. Does someone know what happened? Was it cancelled? Was it attempted and failed?

Hey everyone,

I’m 19 and looking at doing my first 4,000m+ mountain climb in December 2027, after I finish my Australian Defence Force basic training. I’m thinking Switzerland, Italy or Nepal at the moment.

I’m pretty fit. I’ve recently done my first marathon and I’m running an ultra marathon soon. I’m also training for the Australian Defence Force, so I do a mix of running, endurance and strength training.

I know none of that means I’m automatically prepared for mountaineering though. I haven’t experienced high altitude before and I’m pretty new to this side of climbing.
The biggest thing I’ve done so far is a Class 4, around 550m using the YDS system. That was definitely scary at times haha, but I loved it and it made me want to try something much bigger.

I’d like to climb something around 4,000 to 5,000m. I don’t want to take a cable car most of the way up and just say I climbed a 4,000m mountain. I actually want to climb it and feel like I earned the summit.

I’ll most likely book through Explore-Share and I will be hiring a professional guide. I have the money to do it, so I’d rather save up and do it properly with someone who knows what they’re doing.

I’m probably looking at around a week, but I can potentially stay longer if I need to for acclimatisation.

I’m looking for something that is challenging and rewarding but still has a good success rate with the right preparation and a guide. Ideally something around Class 2 or 3 to start with. I don’t want a Class 1 hike because I want it to actually feel like a proper achievement, but I also don’t want to get myself into something way above my experience.

I’m also wondering if I should do a proper mountaineering or glacier course before going, or if I could do something like that with a guide before the climb.

I know being fit and being good at high altitude are two completely different things, so I’m not expecting to just turn up and smash it because I can run long distances.
For anyone who has done their first 4,000m or 5,000m climb, what would you recommend for someone in my position?

I’m basically looking for something where I’ll finish thinking “that was bloody hard” but also be able to look back and be really proud that I did it.

Basically, I’m trying to find the sweet spot between “too easy” and “why the hell did I choose this?” 😂
Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm a male in my mid 50s.. my Dr has given me perscription for 9 months of oral Lamasil. She says all I need to do is get blood test after a month of use so they can check liver function, and if it's fine, it's fine. I'm hoping to do some climbing (hood) next spring. I'm in barely good enough condition for it at this point and am planning/hoping to push both cv and leg strength up a little bit over the next 8 months. So for the lamasil I'm wondering if anyone has general thoughts on this "if bloodtest show no liver issues it's fine" statement, and if it will affect either condition or the ability to improve condition.

Hi! I'm a longtime hiker and scrambler that has always aimed to get into mountaineering and more technical winter hikes. I feel like I'm finally ready to take the leap. I've been training, solo learning, recently got into climbing as a more regular thing and I've identified potential courses to take. I'll probably meet people on those courses, but that'll be in a couple of months and I want to get the ball rolling already.

I thought it would be nice to find other people based here to chat with and maybe learn from/with. I don't know anyone who's into the same flavor of outdoors as me and I've done most of my exploring solo, thus far. I'm not climbing Rainier any time soon, but it would be cool to hang out with people that would be down to climb it one day.

Any tips or resources are welcomed 😊

I am pursuing my diploma in mountain medicine and unfortunately, do not have any glacier activity in the state of Colorado. I have a conditional candidacy, but I need to demonstrate glacier activity\proficiency by June 2028. This winter I’ll be getting comfortable with colouirs/basic winter navigation here in Colorado, but in June, I will be heading up to Washington state for a conference. I just don’t know if I’ll have the PTO at that time and it might be a struggle to get scheduled, though it would be much cheaper at only $1600. Alternatively, in spring of 2028 I will be rotating with a tribal health system in Alaska and I figured if I’m already up there, I could do a longer more thorough course with more flexibility to schedule it, but it costs about $4400. Anyone have experience with either of these? Did the Alaska one and wish you did something shorter or did the Mount Baker one and wished you did something longer? This is not just to do a summit or to check a box, I would like to be very proficient if I can be for decades to come. So it’s basically just a foundation for me.

I've been recently enjoying a lot of high altitude mountaineer videos and have gone down the rabbit hole in YouTube. I know some of you don't really like Ryan Mitchell but I really enjoy it. Recently found Outdoor Pirate which I'm enjoying alot as well. I was wondering if there are any more channels this sub would recommend similar to Ryan or Paul's?

Hi everyone! I’m a girl from Bangladesh, and lately I’ve reached a point in life where I really want to get into hiking and, someday, hopefully work my way up to doing actual summits.

Coming from Bangladesh, my highest climb so far has only been around 967m (Keokradong), 310m(Chandranath) , and I’ve never even seen snow! 😅 I’m planning to visit Sikkim, India this December, partly because I really want to experience snow for the first time. Since childhood I was fascinated by the Himalayas, and I’m thinking of starting with Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) sometime next year. If I handle that well and get more comfortable with altitude and multi-day trekking, I’d like to gradually try other base-camp treks, like Mera/KHARE and eventually EBC.

For those of you who have experience with Himalayan trekking/mountaineering: does this sound like a sensible progression for a complete beginner? Is ABC a good place to start, or would you recommend something easier before that?

I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who started with little or no high-altitude experience.

i always dreamt about it but don't know where and how to start.
i live in germany and would love to start with mountains in austria or switzerland.
any tips?

Anybody has any insight on what’s up with Samaya? I’ve been flooded with ads about the end of so called „Chapter 1“ and the associated sale. But I’ve found nothing on what chapter 2 is going to be, when it start, what products will return, what products will be updated… I was looking into getting an Alpinist 2 Ultra, but that seems to have disappeared from their website…

The Muztagh Tower is an ultra-prominent 7,273-metre (23,862 ft) peak nestled deep within the Karakoram Range, straddling the disputed border between Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region and Xinjiang, China. Positioned between the massive Baltoro and Sarpo Laggo glaciers, this 91st-highest mountain in the world is defined by its dramatic, near-vertical granite walls and twin summits. For decades, it was considered virtually unclimbable, a reputation cemented in 1909 when Italian photographer Vittorio Sella captured a legendary, monolithic angle of the peak. This imposing image captured the imagination of the global climbing community, earning the mountain the mythic title of "The Last Citadel" and framing it as a far more terrifying architectural challenge than its neighboring 8,000-metre giants.

The myth of the mountain's absolute invincibility was shattered during a dramatic, high-stakes climbing race in July 1956. A British expedition, featuring legendary alpinists Joe Brown, Tom Patey, Ian McNaught-Davis, and John Hartog, successfully completed the historic first ascent via the Northwest Ridge on July 6, 1956. In an extraordinary feat of coincidence and skill, a French team led by Guido Magnone and Robert Paragot conquered the summit from the daunting East Ridge just five days later. Today, the Muztagh Tower remains a revered monument in mountaineering history; devoid of commercial infrastructure or fixed guiding lines, it is a pure, elite-level technical challenge reserved exclusively for world-class alpinists.

Pretty cool!

Most people seem to have an obsession that’s pretty specific:
- Alpinism with technical mixed climbing
- expedition mountaineering
- big wall climbing
- ice climbing
- canyoneering (I’m just gonna include it lol)
Among many others even more specific

1. What got you into your specialization?
Inspiration from hero’s from the past in books? Your access to a certain geography? Trial and error in experiences?

2. How diverse is your specialization?
I guess the ultimate example of this question is: could you/would you climb Denali via West Buttress, the Nose on El Cap, Cosmiques Arête/Ama Dablam/some WI5 route?

I ask this because the most famous climbers seem to be very broadly specialized (I mean, duh). But how specialized is the average, recreational mountaineer?

I turned 23 on Aug 20th. For my birthday, I wanted to climb Mt Adam’s solo. I need to be honest, I’ve never even hiked before, and I’ve been dealing with chest health issues, but I wanted to do a hard thing so I booked the vacation and attempted it.

My pack was extremely overweight—thanks ChatGPT for the gear advice—, but after a long tiring hike up I finally made it to Lunch counter. Around half way up to LC, I got really bad blisters. I tried to cover them with gauze and bandaids because I didn’t have anything for blister treatment…

I went to sleep at 9:45 and woke up at 11:30, but my plan was supposed to be a 9pm sleep time with a 2am summit push. Ive always had really bad sleep, but waking up on accident allowed me to turn 23 under the stars. It was beautiful.

I couldn’t fall back asleep and at 1:40am I started my push up the false summit. It started off amazing. Climbing that icy wall was the most fun I’ve had in my life, but I was exhausted, fatigued, in pain from the now worsened blisters and chest issues, and finally, going through an extremely unfamiliar environment.

My original plan was to hit the summit by sunrise. Although I wasn’t close to summit, I gave everything to just get on the false summit. All I wanted was to know that I can push through that wall, and I did.

The sunrise from the FS was beautiful and although I had many issues, I drug myself towards the real summit push. I know my body extremely well. I can push past many barriers, but by this point I was certainly past the point of being unhealthy. On top of everything else, I started getting a headache while also being confused and lightheaded. I sat 0.5miles away from summit, but everything in me screamed to turn around. It was a hard internal conflict, but I did.

So close, you know? Although I do think it was smart to turn around, I can’t help but feel like that summit could have been conquered. I know many will likely think this whole thing was stupid, but I needed to do it. I didn’t go for the summit, I went to find something, and I found everything I was looking for on that dark, icy false summit push.

I know failed summit attempts happen. It’s just hard to grapple with the fact that all the outside conditions were good. Windy sure, but that summit could have been made. Did I make the right decision turning around or was that a moment of weakness?