Mt Mc Kinley: Comments on gear

trip report | Comments on photography | Pictures of the expedition | Tuan's mountaineering page

1. tent: Stephenson
2. stove: MSR XGK
3. misc: sleeping, clothing, ...

Tent: Stephenson's is very good

Globally I have been extremely satisfied, and think that it is an outstanding mountaineering tent, to which no other tent that I have seen could be compared. For my use (solo mountaineering), it has been excellent. However, I think it would not roomy enough for two persons and their gear in arctic conditions, although it is roomier than almost all two person tents (42 sq feet), at the cost of a vestibule. If I were to go on an expedition with another climber, I would rather bring a 3R, which is only one pound more. Another point is that I think this is really high-performance gear which is made of very light material, and may not be as resistant to abuse than heavier tents, and I really don't know if it would be a good idea to use it if weight is not critical.

A common question is whether this tent can survive really hard conditions. I have not encoutered really nasty conditions, having to endure only a few mild (by Alaskan standards) storms. Glenn Randall in his book Cold Comfort speaks highly of the Stephenson's. However, Clyde Soles said that he shredded it and now uses a Bibler. It could be that these tents are like egg shells -- very strong once erected but easily broken if you aren't very (e.g. assemblying poles).

The good points, which were truly essential are:

• At less than 3 lbs (2lb 15oz) this tent is extremely lightweight. Althought I was climbing alone, my share of tent load was comparable, and sometimes less to that of team members. The only tent that I have seen which was comparable was Bibler's, which has less surface and is single-wall.
• The condensation was always minimal on the double wall. The single wall ends were always heavily frozen, which makes the difference striking.
• The tent is very easy to pitch and needs only three stakes. I used the only pieces of gear that I had up high, one collapsible ski pole or an ice screw and two ice axes for this purpose.
• Wind resistance was good. I was stormed at 15900 during the night on a small camp on W Rib, where it was not possible to dig a lot or build big snow walls. The winds were probably above 50mph, but the tent was just OK. The internal stabilizers helped a lot. However, I have found that even when the tents stand high winds fairly well, my nerves don't. Stephenson claims that the tent can survive 150 mph.
• The tent doesn't need to much lateral room and could be used a small ledge, on a place which is not a usual camp.
• As soon as there is some sun, the temperature inside would raise very quickly.

Less satisfactory points, which are relatively minor :

• The tent does require a lot of longitudinal room, and if the anchors and the ground are not level, the setting is not very satisfactory.
• The standard entrance makes getting in and out a kind of unpleasant remembrance of the birth's experience. Drop ends option would perhaps be useful.
• The lower horizontal zipper tends to freeze, because condensation is heavy on the door. I had several times to warm it up with a lighter before being able to open the door. I ended leaving it open. The other zippers are not prone to this type of problem. I don't know how this problem can be avoided.
• The net vents do not prevent the spindrift snow from getting in the tent in stormy weather. If the upper net vent is only slightly open, the spindrift gets in. The lower vent cannot be closed. Something should perhaps be added to allow to close it completely during storms. However, in these conditions, the temperature is well under freezing in the tent, thus the snow fortunately does not melt.
• It can be difficult, when it is very cold, to assemble and disassemble the poles. Also, unless one makes a little hole at the end of each pole to place a cord through it, it is difficult to drive the pole end into the sleeve. With this modification, that's OK.
• the plastic buckles that are used to augment tension (it is very important to put as much tension as you can, due to the tent design) are too fragile and tend to unclip if you pull really hard on them. They should be replaced by stronger ones.
• the tent does not have a vestibule. Although this choice maximises the living space, it might be a problem for cooking, especially with the XGK stoves and the like.
• The tent costed $400 in 1993. I have heard that there is a new silicone coating which is better, but that the cost has hiked up.

Stephensons Warmline Equipment
Rd 4 bx 145
22 Hook Rd
Gilford, NH 03246

Stove: XGK is bad

• I had to clean the jet each two days, since the beginning of the trip.
• The performance of the stove weakened progressively during the trip, and when I went to 15900 on the Rib, in the morning, I was not able to obtain a reasonable output, even after spending 2 hours trying to fix it. In previous occurences of testing the stove on a winter climb in California, the stove appeared to work just fine. I had to get down and find a stove expert, which was fortunately possible. Would not this possibility, I would have been in real danger. The problem turned out to be the fact that the rubber ball was too dry to hold pressure sufficiently, a tricky one. After putting some grease on the ball, the stove gave normal output.
• It seems too dangerous to cook in the tent with these stoves, not because off flare-up problems (you just have to be careful, and to put a pot on the stove while priming), but because of CO poisoning. A guy at 14300 experienced it while I was there. Cooking outside in stormy weather was not pleasant because it was snowing. Would it be more windy, this would have been problematic.
• The stove itself is relatively heavy. To have it work efficiently, it has to be use with a stove pad (to prevent sinking in snow), and a MSR Heat Exchanger, which implies using a large pot. The whole cooking set is far more than 2 lbs, even with the lightest pot, and without gas. One pound of gas lasts only two or three days per person.

French climbers use almost exclusively the Bleuet, or its lighter version, the Globe-Trotter, both made by Camping Gaz. I am pretty sure that the Bleuet has been on every major peak of the planet several times. It is often said that they don't work well at altitude and cold. This statement is misleading. They work better at altitude. It is just because the pressure differential between the cartridge and the ambiant atmosphere is higher. They indeed do not like cold very much. Therefore a Bleuet is going to work much better on a 8000m peak (where, by the way, it doesn't usually get that cold, except during the night sometimes), than in Yellowstone in winter. At temperatures and elevations common in the Alps and similar ranges it works very well. To get around the temperature problem, well-proved solutions are (i) to cook in the tent (these stoves do not flare-up. you still have to be careful about carbon monoxyde poisonning, although it is less likely than with a liquid fuel stove),, (ii) to suspend the stove so that the cartridge is isolated from the snow, (iii) to prewarm the cartridge (by putting it in the sleeping bag for instance),(iv) to insulate the cartridge with foam, (v) to rig a metallic wire pluged in the flame and running to the cartridge.

Sleeping, clothing...

I missed very light, clear clothing for the lower glaciers, a short to be worn above underwear, and a sun hat. When using TNF mountain pant (shell bibs) and alpine bibs (pile) together (only on the summit days), the drop zipper of the alpine bibs is extremely difficult to operate. This is not a good solution to relieve oneself quickly. I used One Sport Everest boots. They are extremely convenient, much more than the double boots that I previously owned. Also they seem to be warm enough so that overboots are not necessary. My normal size is 7/7.5, and I took them in 8.5. It left me enough room to wear only one (thick) sock. With liner socks and VB socks (which were actually overkill), due to the excessive compression, my feet were numb and I had to remove them. They are not very rigid (less than a technical double boot like the Asolo super lite), but feel a little clumsy due to the size. I have found quite easy to walk with them on the flat surfaces which you find in the first days of glacier travel.

My pack was Lowe Cerro Torre 2, capacity is 85 liters with the extension, to which I added a TNF pick-a-pack (10 liters) which was the biggest pocket that I was able to find, and made a good summit mini-pack. This is barely enough, and forced me stuff very tight, which is not convenient. Now I think the biggest possible pack should be used.

trip report | Comments on photography | Pictures of the expedition | Tuan's mountaineering page

Reader's comments

I found your information to be true on the MSR XGK stove, unfortuneately I found out the hard way, and spent many hours attempting to nurse it along at 12,000ft. on Mt. Rainier. 1st time I have used it, and don''t know if I will again. I had read your write up on the stove shortly after I had bought the stove. It worked flawlessly for me at sea level, and so I ignored your advice, and felt rather stupid explaining to my partner that I had read your write up as we messed with the stove.

I e-mailed MSR and informed them of my problems and made reference to your similar situation. They stand by their stove as being one of the best and seemed unaware of such problems.

We e-mailed each other back and forth with no solution being discovered, but last night I believe I solved my particular problem. It seems that the jet nozzle if not tightened extremely well allows fuel to escape through the threads. This was causing an occasional small flare-up and a lack of power overall. I have not had a chance to test my stove at altitude (and when I do I will have a back-up along for the ride). This dosn''t sound like anything you experienced, but I think it could be a problem with any of these stoves.

Thanks for the very informative and enjoyable trip report. It proved to be very pleasant reading. Hope to make it to denali myself before too long but not solo... jeff

I thoroughly enjoy your photos and comments everytime I visit your site. It is very helpful and inspiring. Right now, my plans are to do Denali in ''99. I''m in the process of evaluating equipment.

I have a Stephenson''s tent, an older model, and I would never trust my life to it in a Denali storm. I would trust a Bibler Fitzroy or Bombshelter, a Sierra Designs Tiros or Stretch Dome withe Exp. fly, Mountain Hardware Trango 3.1, or a Wild Country, but that''s about it. One of the biggest problems with Stephenson''s is that snow can blow in under the door, and there is no way to seal the door off. Also, they perform OK with a moderate wind blowing parallel to the long axis of the tent, but they are horrible in cross winds.

Also, the MSR XGK is notorious in cold weather, but the Whisperlite is fine.

Just wanted to say thanks for a terrific website, and for providing all the photos and write-ups on your trips, particularly Denali.

I really appreciate having the feedback on the gear - definitely helps with the selection process.

Ian.

Great page !!! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Some I too hope to get a shot a Denali. Hope to more of your trips in the future. Thanx !

I like your trip report for Denali..except on what you said about the MSR XGK. I have the XGK II, which was bought for me as a gift in 1993. Now, since I''m older and living in Northern Chile, I have had the opportunity of using this stove at altitudes of 14,000 feet plus. To this day, I haven''t had any problems with gas leakage or output and to me, still doesn''t weigh that much. Currently, MSR makes the XGK Expedition and the XGK shaker jet which may solve the problem you had with cleaning the jet after two days. Perhaps you should look into these new types of jets. Other than that, good trip report.

Your review of the the Stephenson's 2R tent was uncovered while I was trying to find Stephenson's address. Thank you.

I have a Stephenson's "3R-LSC" circa 1972. This is the best damn tent ever designed ! I was looking for their address to order some replacement poles. I have used this tent year in year out for 26 YEARS. On top of Half Dome, Big Sur, and every where else. I have never been been soaked in an El Nino in my 3R. We have waxed it up with Johnson's Car Wax repeatedly. It does not LEAK. I am thinking of having it waterproofed with 3M's ScotchGuard. Due to wear and tear it now is truly "featherlight" -- 14 OZ. on a good day. My kids have used it as "play" tent. It is indestructible. (Except for the tent pole I drove over.) Let's fix my poles an put this sucker in the NASA Wind Tunnel at Moffett Field. What will she take 150 MPH ? With new poles -- yeah only 2 !! -- and 3 stakes, I say 200 MPH easy. Are you game ?

By the way -- when was the last time the wind blew 150 MPH when you were camping ?

Thanks for the information on your page - it was very interesting. I am surprised that MSR has been unable to help you with your stove - they have been very helpful to me in the past.

Having used the MSR XGK twice on McKinley I found it to be a superb stove. Before going into a remote locatation you need to know exactly how your equipment works. Relying on "stove experts" who may or may not be there is not the best way to go about. You should have repeated use of the stove in a safer environment to understand its nuances. The stove is designed to work anywhere and have found it do just that.

Home/Mountaineering/Cold Mountain information