UKC

I'm heading up to the CIC hut for a 5 day stint in late March. I'm looking for top tips about the food to take that is tasty, healthy, filling and very importantly not too heavy. Clearly pasta, rice, lentils etc. are all in my thinking, it's making those tasty in the optimal way (for a longish stay) that I'm interested in hearing about.

Any bright ideas?

In reply to davidbird63:

Don't go too light weight, you need loads of calouries to keep moral up if you loose a couple of days to weather...

wraps are good easy to pack...

a whole roast chicken dinner, with veg and spuds is a massive moral boost, carry up in a tesco bag by hand....

cheese, cheese and more cheese,

usual pastas and pestas.... easy carry very light.

Cup of soups, lots of,

Whisky/spirits to help with medical conditions!!!

Case of wine, for fluid replenishment

We've usualy been up for four/five days and you can never have enough I'm afraid

In reply to davidbird63:

Don't worry about weight. it's a trog in however much you carry. don't sacrifice a week's comfort for half a day's effort.

We've had big tuna pasta bakes, spag bog, sausage casaroles. all sorts; take good food (and a decent bottle of malt)

In reply to newvena:
Agree with everything said above, don't skimp on the food. If its good weather you will be burning calories, if its crap weather you'll need a moral boost.

Remember the hut is warm, so you only need a light sleeping bag.

Other ideas;
Powder pancake mixes and golden syrup (which you can put in your porridge in the morning as well)

In reply to davidbird63:
We were in the CIC once with Godefroy Perroux RIP and his guided team of mixed French-Belgians. It was an entertaining visit as Scotland were playing France at soccer one of the evenings on the radio. Godefroy was a star and great company, he also gave us a few spare bits of gear. Their team didn't skimp on food. As we tucked into sausage and mash, they opened a huge plastic bag of Lobster Thermidor or Lobster bouillabaisse. Excellent policy!
Take as much pre-prepared quality food as possible, plus whisky, chocolate, desserts, good coffee and live as Godefroy lived! Then go to bed early.
DC

In reply to davidbird63:

Here is a shopping list I would take for a typical full day based in the hut.

Breakfast:
Porridge Oats and Honey, Tea Bags (honey in tea so no need for sugar)

Climbing Snacks:
Cereal Bars, Pack of Snickers, Malt Loaf

Return to Hut Scran:
Hot Chocolate, 2x Cans of Soup (Or the stuff you had hot water too if you want to save your legs), Garlic Bread

Dinner:
Chorizo Sausage, Pepper, Onion, Passata, Pasta, Another Garlic Bread! Tea

After Dinner:
Whisky

Split between 2 folk, this takes up about 15 liters for 3/4 days roughly. Hardly anything if you walk in with an 80 liter sack. The walk in is slightly harder, maybe adds on another 10 mins approach time, but you'll thank yourself when you arrive back at the hut after a route and have some proper food to sit down to!

In reply to davidbird63:

A late friend of ours used to the whole 5 day trip with everything inside a 50L sac-
his only luxury item was a pair of carpet slippers for the hut & driving the hire car!

In reply to davidbird63:

Massive store of slow-release calories in rolled oats. Porridge or muesli/brose approach.

In reply to davidbird63:

We went for a 5 day trip and hauled up chicken and beef and had stuff like spag bol/curry and high carb meals. A lot of effort but was well worth it and had one or two mountain house meals for the back end of the trip. Syrup Porridge for breakfast and nutella on wraps for the hill.

We also took 2 of those robinsons cordial shot packets - http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=282138354

very small and light and lasted the week. livens up the water !

Neil

In reply to Ndawson:

Ingredients for vast pot of soup: broth mix, carrot etc powder/cube stock.

In reply to davidbird63:

Thanks everyone. Great suggestions. Particularly liking the idea that we need to carry up enough to spoil ourselves and enjoy it!

Whisky a must!

In reply to Ndawson:



This is the best idea I've heard since hot Ribena.

I'm stealing it even though I'm not going to the CIC

In reply to Martin McKenna - Rockfax:

Dump the cereal bars and snickers and carry slightly more porridge. The cereal bars and snickers are sugar based and short term energy, not a good idea on a long day!

In reply to Babika:

You can add peanut butter to the nutella wraps too for a change. Staple food of a trainee outdoor instructo.

In reply to johncook:

I like porridge but TBH find I am hungry an hour later. Maybe its just me.
The cereal bars are for during the day.

I used to carry 3 lb per day of standard backpacking type food for the CIC. Always worked out OK, probably about 5000 cal per day !
Bacon, sauce mixes, biscuits, treacle pudding/sponge and custard , onions and mushrooms were the winners for my palate.
Carry your sliced bread and biscuits in a shoe box to get them there in unbattered condition.

Having cereal for breakfast meant an extra half hour in bed because I was not in the queue to cook porridge.

Do at least two routes everyday otherwise you might as well have walked up from the valley.

In reply to Dave Cumberland:

I was also fortunate enough to be in the CIC for a few days while Godefroy was there with a couple of clients. His culinary skills were indeed amazing: I'll never forget the nasal double take I had to do when I detected the aroma of freshly baked bread drifting from the hut! I seem to recall he also invariably looked great, dressing for dinner in immaculate smart casual. I definitely remember looking longingly at his tarte tatin as our head chef served up another plateful of pasta unsurprise.

In reply to Andy Clarke:
Tarte tatin - now that's a great suggestion. Coming back to Rick's comments, I seem to remember taking food on the route and never hardly eating a thing even on a long day - must have been the fear factor!
DC

In reply to davidbird63:

Pizza, curry, chow mein etc. Get takeaway sent up from the Fort.

In reply to davidbird63:

where's Yeh bacon for post climb snax?

In reply to davidbird63:

I was in the CIC last year with a group of French climbers, they were tucking into Raclette and fine red wines and all sorts. And i was just sat there with my rubbish pasta day in day out. Its worth suffering to carry more up, 100%.

In reply to davidbird63:

Why not plan a shorter day [one route] on say day 3 and then go down for a resupply from the car [not the town]?

This way you can really spoil yourself and a trip back to the car with an empty sack and a walk back up with just food is easy enough.............back in the day [a long time ago!] I used to jog both ways!

I don't take a sleeping bag to the CIC: it's far too warm, I just kip in my belay jacket.

In reply to davidbird63:
Whilst I agree with a most of what has been said, there ARE limits.

Be courteous to others, not everyone likes strong lingering smells from your food prep
( or strong smelling climbers after eating same)

It is all very well people having nice dinners, but don't hog the limited facilities with over complicated meals, people will not appreciate watching you tuck into your extravagant meal , whilst they have had to starve, waiting impatiently to prepare their simpler meal that only takes a fraction of the time to prepare.

( There us a fine line between being good company, and being a noisy pain in the arse after having perhaps too much to drink, and keeping folks awake.
However, If the effect of too much drink on you is to fall asleep quietly in a corner, go for it, otherwise moderation is required

( nb I would substitute lightweight crocs for carpet slippers, they are more useful, and can be clipped on outside you sack)

In reply to davidbird63:

You are having a laugh surely?

Aren't you just saying "I'm going to the CIC, look at me?"

There is nothing different about food cooked in the CIC or your kitchen. Delia Smith does a good recipe or Jamie Oliver at a push.

In reply to davidbird63:

It's the CIC Hut. There will surely be gourmet meals served night n day?

In reply to Jack Frost:
I've only ever stayed in the CIC hut the once. During one of the more inclement weather days the young team nipped doon tae the shops for supplies (of the liquid type). Tae quote (out of context) an auld historic stalwart of the hut, it isnae exactly " twa miles on the Rothiemurchus side o' Baghdad"