Inside the pack

Other notable items Fish stuffed inside his pack include:

•Hats, gloves, mittens made of OR power stretch, plus shelled overmits.

•MSR XGK white-gas stove, a dependable torch in a storm. “We needed a stove that would melt a lot of snow fast at high elevations and cold temperatures,” Fish said. “It performed flawlessly. “We drank gallons and gallons of water.”

•AloeGater spf 40 ultra- waterproof sunscreen. “I sweat a lot and this stuff doesn’t sweat into my eyes.”

•Ear plugs for sleeping near Kopczynski, who snores with a rumble that’s unsettling in avalanche terrain.

•Food that required no more than just adding boiling water. Backpacker’s Pantry freeze-dried and Enertia dried meals hit the spot. “We loved our food, all 2.5 pounds, 4,200 calories of it a day. The chile was the only meal that gave us bad gas.”

Fish said he slurped Goo in tough conditions for calories, electrolytes and energy, and ate “a ton of Bumblebars” (a Spokane company).

• Valandre down sleeping bag, a roomy minus-20-degree bag at just 3.3 ounces – “a pound lighter that comparable bags.” Packed in waterproof compression bag.

•First-aid kit: “I brought a Cadillac of a kit. I could have taken care of a punctured lung, but all we used were the Band-Aids.