The High-Altitude Trekking Packing List (Built From 3 Eight-Thousanders)

Every gear list looks the same until you're at 5,000m and something on it fails. This is the list I actually pack, trimmed down over 86 countries and three eight-thousand-meter summits — not the 80-item spreadsheet a gear shop wants to sell you.

Layering: 3 layers, not 7

A base layer that manages moisture, a mid layer for insulation (down or synthetic depending on expected wet conditions), and a hard shell for wind and precipitation. That's it. More layers than that just means more decisions to make when you're cold and tired.

The one thing people under-pack

A proper sleeping bag liner. Teahouses and base camps are colder than the bag's rating suggests once humidity and altitude fatigue are factored in — a liner adds 5–8°C for almost no weight.

The one thing people over-pack

Battery banks. One 10,000mAh bank is enough for a phone and a headlamp over most trek lengths if you use airplane mode and limit photos to key moments — carrying three "just in case" is just dead weight.

The gear that mattered most on every summit push was boring: good socks, a headlamp with fresh batteries, and gloves I'd already broken in.

Full list

Merino base layers (2), insulated mid layer, hard shell jacket & pants, liner gloves + insulated overmitts, trekking poles, headlamp + spare batteries, sleeping bag liner, water purification (tablets or filter), blister kit, sunglasses rated for glacier glare, and a printed copy of your insurance policy's emergency number.