The Mountaineers 10 Essentials

The Mountaineers Ten Essentials dates back to our climbing courses of the 1930s. The Ten Essentials was formalized in 1974 when the iconic list debuted in the third edition of “Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills.” The ninth edition of “Freedom” presented a thorough modernization of the Ten Essentials, to prepare today's Mountaineers for their wilderness adventures.

The Ten Essentials list has always sought to answer two basic questions:

1. Can you prevent emergencies and respond positively should one occur?
2. Can you safely spend a night (or more) outside?
 

 
The classic Mountaineers Ten Essentials list included the following:

  1. Map
  2. Compass
  3. Sunglasses and sunscreen
  4. Extra clothing
  5. Headlamp/flashlight
  6. First-aid supplies
  7. Fire starter
  8. Matches
  9. Knife
  10. Extra food


Over the years the ten essentials have evolved from a list of ten specific items to a list of ten essential systems. The 2017, 9th Edition of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (https://amzn.to/3XwDRgT) listed these ten essential systems as:

  1. Navigation: map, altimeter, compass [GPS device: phone with GPS app or dedicated GPS device], PLB, satellite communicator, or satellite phone], [extra batteries], battery pack]
  2. Headlamp: plus extra batteries
  3. Sun protection: (sunglasses, sun protective clothes & sunscreen)
  4. First-aid: including foot care and insect repellent (if required)
  5. Knife: plus repair kit
  6. Fire matches, lighter and tender or stove as appropriate.
  7. Shelter: carried at all times (can be lightweight emergency bivy)
  8. Extra Food: beyond minimum expectation
  9. Extra water: beyond minimum expectation or the means to purify
  10. Extra clothes: beyond minimum expectations


“The man who goes afoot, prepared to camp anywhere and in any weather, is the most independent fellow on earth. He can follow his bent, obey the whim of the hour, do what he pleases whenever he pleases, without deference to anybody, or care for any beast of burden, or obedience to the course of any current. He is footloose and free. Where neither horse nor boat can go, he can go, seeing country that no other kind of traveler ever sees. And it is just these otherwise inaccessible places that have the strongest lure for anyone who delights in new discovery, in unspoiled nature, and in the charms of primitive society. The man with the knapsack is never lost. No matter whither he may stray, his food and shelter are right with him, and home is wherever he may choose to stop. There is no anxiety about the morrow, or the day after. Somewhere he will come out - and one place is as good as another. No panic-stricken horse, or wrecked canoe, can leave him naked in the wilderness.” (Kephart 1916)

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