RMI and Whittaker Mountaineering Gear Guides Rainier Five Day Kautz Glacier Climb | Page 15

Gaiters We recommend a knee-length pair of gaiters, large enough to fit over your mountaineering boots. This will guard against catching your crampon spikes on loose clothing.\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\nKnee Length or Short Gaiters? Whatever model you choose, gaiters should be large enough to fit over your mountaineering boots as well as contain any loose clothing on which your crampons could catch. Knee length gaiters are a good option for early and late season when you may encounter deep snow on the climb. In mid-summer, when most of the climb will take place on firm snow, a shorter gaiter can be used. The shorter gaiter still protects from snow getting in your boots while providing less coverage in warmer conditions. The Whittaker Mountaineering rental model is a tried and true knee-length gaiter.\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\nSocks Either wool or synthetic. Whatever sock combination you are accustomed to wearing during your training or previous adventures (whether single medium-weight socks, a medium-weight with a liner sock, two medium-weight socks together, etc) should work just fine for this climb.\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\nAdvice on Socks A good strategy for socks is to change pairs as soon as you are done climbing for the day, letting the pair your wore all day air dry. When staying at Camp Muir and if it\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s sunny, anchor them outside with rocks so that they don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t blow away. Guide tip: stick your damp socks in your sleeping bag and let your body heat dry them out overnight. Caution: don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t do this with soaking wet socks. Continue this rotation for each day you are on the mountain and you will always have a pair of dry, warm socks to change into.\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\n