Preparation

One of the biggest differences to personal comfort when in the mountains is the weight of the rucksack you carry. Many people spend fortunes on lightweight gear or sacrifice things like food and water to save on weight.

For one trip to the Alps I had decided to try and save weight by reducing the number of clothes I would have to carry. This meant wearing the same clothes for longer but having to carry less weight.

To prevent my clothes from stinking I treated them with an anti-bacterial spray designed for outdoor clothing. Excluding one pair of boxer shorts and one merino wool baselayer top, I sprayed all the baselayers I was taking for a 21 day trip.

When I arrived in Chamonix that summer I was fit and ready to go. Half way through the first day I began to develop a rash across my stomach. I initially put it down to prickly heat because it was about 25+ degrees celsius. However, the itching continued right through the night and next day.

Eventually I reverted to going topless during the heat of the afternoon and wearing my merino wool baselayer in the morning and evening when it was colder.

By the end of the trip my one pair of boxer shorts and merino wool baselayer top that I hadn't sprayed stunk and I had carried all the other baselayers for no reason.

Two things occurred to me at the end of this trip:

Firstly, it was an important lesson in trying everything you plan to use before you go away. Whether that be anti-bacterial sprays on baselayers, or standing in the shower to check your waterproofs still work.

Secondly, I carried all those baselayers and didn't use them. I could have saved a huge amount more weight if I just hadn't taken them at all, plus I would've probably sweated less aswell.