Hello Ultralighters,

I know this might be a bit of an odd request since this is not a customary thru-hiking type trip but more of a hiking/mountaneering, but since this sub is the undisputed king of shedding unnecessary weight, I figured it might be worth asking if anyone has any suggestions on how to lose a few ounces from the gear list below.

I hope this doesn’t offend anyone - as in “why are you asking about mountaneering here?” - I am not. I’m coming to you about your knowledge of general pieces of hiking gear (maybe your top 3) where there might be opportunities for weight savings. It could be replacing 1-for-1 for lighter items, or exchanging things on my list for something that could serve 2 purposes, hence eliminating the other. I will also be asking in the r/Mountaneering and r/Hiking subs.

Thank you in advance.

Location: Wind River Range traverse in late July or early August;

Temperature/weather: As low 40F or 5C, but dips into the 30sF or 0C at night are not unheard of, in the day it could reach as high as 80F or 27C, rain at some point is almost guaranteed, knee-high river crossings are also very likely in 2nd half of the trip ;

Trip details: 3-man team starting at Boulder Lake Campground and covering 60 miles or 100K and 13,350 ft or 4,100 m of elevation gain to Trail Lake TH. We have arranged for transportation at each end of our trip.

On our journey, we will attempt to summit Gannett peak, 13,810 ft or 4,210 m (glaciated and highest peak in Wyoming), and Fremont peak, 13,751 ft or 4,191 m (3rd highest peak and class 3 scramble) if there’s time. Time frame is 6 days.

Budget: No budget within reason or “does it make sense?” approach. $1,000 USD to shed one oz is probably not worth it but if it’s $250 for 8 oz, then likely yes.

Non-negotiable Items: Probably all of the technical gear. I am aware people have done Gannett peak in trail runners with microspikes, that’s great for them, I applaud them, but that’s not within the risk profile our team is willing to take.

On the topic of footwear, since I absolutely need the light mountaineering boots, there’s an argument for losing the trail runners but due to the amount of miles covered/potential water crossings, I don’t think I could leave the shoes behind either. Open to have my mind changed though.

Solo or with another person?: Hiking/climbing in a 3-man team. Have noted next to each piece of equipment which ones were considering team gear and how many there will be. Example: I’m carrying the teams only rope for glacier travel hence “[TEAM EQUIPMENT: 1/1]” is preceding it, I’m also carrying 1 out of 2 stoves & pots, hence “[TEAM EQUIPMENT: 1/2]”. Another shared item is tent, which will be split between other two team members, that why I have no weight assigned to it.

Additional/miscellaneous information:

Food weight is not inclusive of footlong sandwiches we’ll take as we leave for Day 1, that’s why food seems a little light for 6 days. Adjusted for ‘fresh’ day 1 food, it’ll come out to 2 lbs or .9 kg per day.

Instead of taking a bowl, we will reuse the dehydrated meal pouches to make oatmeal, noodles, etc. in them.

We’re renting a 4-man even though we’re a team of 3 for comfort/space for gear in case of rain.

The water bladder is the easiest way to drink when on steep/snowy terrain without reaching for/opening bottles.

The radio battery is 1,800 mah but I changed it to 1,799 so it doesn’t automatically show up as a phone number.

Lighterpack Link: https://lighterpack.com/r/2t6ut9

Any questions, please let me know and thanks again.