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gear list o Mountaineering/Hiking boots Dice Ax(es) o Rope o Extreme-weather Clothing o Sleeping Bag o lent o Water Purifier o Stove For mountaineering, you have to be prepared for anything. Your body and gear are exposed to the elements in the hi gh country, where even the smallest mistake can quickly magnify into an unhappy ending. As you head to the summit in the Cordillera Blanca or the Himalayas, you progress through a series of increasing altitudes, which means that each day more and more demands will be placed on your gear. It needs to be as technical and trustworthy as possible. Dress in layers, which will allow you to add clothes as you climb and take them off as you come down. Take care of your feet first. Kayland's Multi Traction boots (514-871-0771, www.kayland.com. $270) are stable and grippy for scrambling across talus on approach or while in Borneo. The EVA foam· lined, plastic shelled Scarpa Inverno (801'278-5533, www.scarpa· uS.com, $299) are constructed to keep your feet warm while maintain- ing the ankle flexibility and support needed to ascend the snowfields and seracs of the high alpine. Next, keep your temperature regulated! The Alpha Series Gore-Tex jacket ($475) and bibs ($400) from Arc'teryx (800-985 -6681, www.arcteryx.com) are an excellent outer layer for almost all alpine con- ditions and will prove especially appropriate in the high lonesome of Imja Tse. Wear a pair of Powershield fab ric Gamma Bibs ($365) and Delta R fleece jacket ($115) underneath for insulation, with fleecy Powerstretch Rho top ($110) and bottoms ($90) as the cri tical next-to- skin ingredient you'll be living in. For summiting Everest, however, the added warmth of an outer layer one-piece suit like the Marmot 8000m (707-544'4590, www.marmot.com. $1000) is mandatory. Integral Design's XPD2 Himalayan Series sleeping bag (403- 640-1445, www.integraldesigns.com. $545) boasts 700+ goose down fill and a -20 Fahrenheit rating making it suitable for even the coldest clio mates. Take the North Twin ($200) with Primaloft instead of down for warmer, wet co nditions. The North Face's Evolution 45 (800-719-6678, www.thenorth- face.com, $599) is a proven four-person expedition tent designed to make frozen hell hospitable, while the Ambition 35 ($459) is a lighter three-person tent for fast-paced approaches and high camps wherever you choose to make them. Black Diamond's (801-278-5533, www.blackdiamondequip- ment.com), Raven ice axe ($70), Blizzard harness ($78.50), Hemisphere helmet and two-layer Gore-Tex Guide Gloves ($149.50) provide the hard· wear you need for ropin g in. The Sterling Ropes Marathon (800-788· 7673, www.sterlingrope.com. $136), with its unique sheath weave and Dry Core, is virtually indestructible. You will also need a tested and t ried micro -filtration system to keep the parasite party out of town. The Exstream Mackenzie (800- 563-6968, www.exstreamwater.com. $44.95) is a great one-liter person- al filtration and purification system that functions like a sport bottle and has a three component filtration system to remove cysts, parasites, bacteria and viruses. The Brunton Optimus Nova (800-443-4871, www.brunton.com. $139) is an award-winning multifuel stove that burns everyth ing from rocket fuel to kerosene and features an aluminum pump to eliminate spills.-Sean Isaac 17