I posted a few months ago with some questions about clothing for Mera Peak and got some good advice; then I managed to successfully summit last week 😀, so thought I'd update on the clothing I did end up using.
For waterproofs, I ended up getting the ME Shivling waterproof jacket and the ME Rainfall pant and carried both every day, but they both stayed in the pack for the whole trip as we had no rain at all, (from 16th Oct to 3rd Nov).
For the first 10 days of the trek, from Phaplu to Khare I wore -
Salomon Cosmic 4D hiking boots
Bridgedale Trekker socks (x 3)
Under Armour boxer shorts (x 4)
Montane Terra Stretch trekking pant
ME Crux baselayer t shirts (x 2)
ME Eclipse fleece top
North Face cap
High UV Buff
For the 2 days on the glacier, from Khare to the Mera La camp and Mera La camp to High camp -
I swapped the Salomon hiking boots for La Sportiva Baruntse B3 double boots with Grivel G12 crampons and I swapped the Montane trekking pant for the ME G2 softshell pant and added the ME Trojan softshell jacket and a Patagonia wool hat, Julbo Explorer Category 4 glasses and Black Diamond Glissade gloves.
Summit day -
La Sportiva Baruntse B3 double boots with Grivel G12 crampons
Smartwool Expedition socks
ME Eclipse fleece leggings
ME Compressor Primaloft pant
ME G2 softshell pant
Outdoor Research Exped gaiters
ME Matrix merino long sleeved top
ME Eclipse fleece top
ME Microfleece top
ME K7 down jacket
Black Diamond Mercury mitts and merino wool liner gloves
Polar Buff
Julbo Explorer glasses
Patagonia wool hat
I also had the ME Rampart primaloft jacket which I wore every night in the lodges and camps, and for early mornings and lunch stops and for crossing the Zatwra La high pass.
All the kit worked really well and I didn't feel like I needed anything else; the only time I felt the cold was on the summit climb, when my hands and feet were really cold despite wearing double boots and the BD Mercury mitts (rated to -30) but we were climbing in darkness at -15 with quite strong winds - two of our team got frostbitten fingers, one of them because he was moving very slowly and his gloves weren't adequate and the other because he had to take his gloves off for quite a long time to help another team member who was having a bit of a meltdown! They both got good treatment though from our sherpas and back in KTM and both recovered well.
Amazing trip and well with the hard work to get there!
Post edited at 10:28
