TOM RICHARDSON LOOKS AT THE CRuCIAL

with tom richardson
and
Stoves Food
tom richardson looks at the crucial kit needed to fuel your days & nights in the mountains
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When the ‘world’s first alpinist’, Otzi (aka
Iceman) from Hauslabjoch’s body was found
at about 3000 metres in the mountains near the
Austrian-Italian border in September 1991, it
was concluded that he probably perished due to a
combination of bad weather and the lack of good
enough equipment to give shelter, warmth, and
food. He carried what was the state of the art gear
for the time - a flint and some dried mushrooms
for kindling. To be fair to Otzi, he lived and died
about 5300 years ago, but he wasn’t the last to get
caught out in such a way.
In more recent times when my friends the twins
Willie and Damian Benegas made the first ascent
of the well named Crystal Snake on Nuptse in
Nepal in 2003, they climbed about a dozen steep
ice pitches only to discover on their bivvy ledge
that their stove didn’t work. After a cold and
thirsty night, the next day they had no choice
but to retreat back down their route and across
the Western Cwm to Everest’s Camp 2, pick
up another stove and re-climb the route to the
summit! A reliable stove is an essential.
The development of stoves that could be
carried whilst climbing enabled most of the
more challenging mountains of the world to be
ascended. The first such stove used pressurised
paraffin (also known as kerosene) and was
invented in 1892 by a Swede called Hans Wilhelm
Lindquist. His stoves became the famous and
still cutting edge brand Primus. Their iconic
brass tanked marvels were used on everything,
everywhere until the 1970s. I have still got a
couple in my cellar used in the Himalaya in 1979
and I bet in no time I could get them fired up
again. Apparently they are now collector’s items.
These days we are lucky in that we can choose
from a vast range of stoves that have been
specifically designed for different outdoor uses.
The choice is however also a part of the problem.
Which one from the dazzling array is the most
suitable for the type of thing we do?
Asking the following questions can help to
narrow down the choices:
• How will you use it? Will it be just for
melting snow and making brews or other fluid, or
will you be cooking meals on it? And how many
people will it need to provide for?
• What type or types of fuel will it need?
There can be as many availability problems with
some fuels between the UK and France as there
might be in Mongolia or Kyrgyzstan. You can’t
take any fuels on aeroplanes, not even empty used
MSR fuel bottles nor can it be sent by regular UK
post or courier. Freighting gas canisters to another
country is a nightmare and is unnecessary.
• Where will you use it? High altitude
and extreme cold make a big difference to
performance - where at sea level it could take you
a single minute to boil a pot of water, at 3000m
in the Alps the same pot would take four times as
long and at 6000m in the Himalaya a staggering
15 times as long.
• Will it be used in a hut, a tent a bivvy or out
in the open?
• Will you have to carry it?
• What other gadgets are worth their weight
in adding performance?
Irritatingly, quite often the answer to all these
questions might be yes. You need a stove that
will do everything from frying the bacon on the
campsite in Llanberis to melting some snow for
a much needed brew on an alpine bivvy. Often but not always - something that attempts to do
everything does nothing that well.
This frustration and the desire to reduce
the number of people who died from altitude
related problems, often caused or made worse
by dehydration lead to another giant design leap
forward in stove design. The metaphorical leap
was made by a Seattle based mountaineer and
engineer called Larry Penberthy (1916-2001).
Amongst much else in a very full life he created
the organisation Mountain Safety Research
(known today as MSR), made new stronger ice
axes and a stove that was specifically designed
to work in the cold and at altitude. The man
was a genius.
This page: Tim Emmett resting after climbing 800m through the night at the start of the first ascent of the East Face of Kedar
Dome (6831m) in India. Snoozing in the sun Tim waits for his Jetboil to do it’s vital job of turning snow into water. Ian Parnell
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with tom richardson
Since then there have been many smaller steps
forward. Here are my thoughts on a selection of
both new and classic stoves that I have used in a
variety of conditions over the years. It is worth
remembering that all these stoves and their fuel
are potentially dangerous: at the very least, having
your tent burn down at night in the middle of
nowhere is not a good start to a climb.
the recent arrival of the OmniLite (BELOW) is even
more compact and lightweight, and I’ve been very
impressed with it. On the other hand for superlight
backpacking their new tiny semi multi fuel stove
the Lander which uses gas cartridges or Coleman
fuel might be the state of the art!
Multi fuel pressurised
liquid stoves
Trangias are to
these types
of stoves like
Hoovers are
to vacuum
cleaners.
They have
become the
generic term
for them. They
are another Swedish
invention and a
major part of their appeal is their simplicity. Each
is a contained unit of pots, stove and windbreak
that burns what we in the UK call methylated
spirits. This fuel is known by other names in many
countries and is not available at all in some. There
is a useful chart on the Trangia web site to help
you to ask for and find suppliers of what you
need to run the stove on your travels. The stoves
are fairly light, provide a
stable system and a good
windbreak. They require
little maintenance and
are unbreakable, pretty
much. They do have some
disadvantages however.
The heat
is difficult
to control
and they
are a bit on
the bulky side for
some uses. The
burning of the
methylated
spirits also
blackens
the pans
with soot
and more
significantly it is possible
to spill fuel which could
cause a fire. Even more
than any other stove, they
should definitely not be
used inside an inner tent or refilled when lit. Of the
wide range of Trangia stoves available I favour the
small 27 model with non stick pans or for a bigger
group the 25 with non stick pans. It is also possible
to get a Trangia conversion kit that enables you to
burn propane/butane cartridges or even transforms
it into a multi fuel stove along the lines described
above.
These are the latest incarnation of the work started
by Primus and subsequently developed by MSR.
They are great because they are very fuel efficient
as they burn vapour and they can be used with a
variety of fuels, depending on what is available.
They are also relatively stable and lightweight.
Some of them are designed purely for expedition
use to produce a fierce heat for melting snow but
lack the fine control needed for cooking. They
consist of a burner head with pan supports that is
linked by a semi rigid or flexible pipe to a separate
fuel bottle. They can usually be stripped down
easily to clean or maintain. The first of these was
produced by MSR and their latest version of it is
the iconic XGK EX (BELOW). It can boil a litre of
water in about 3 minutes using kerosene and less
using petrol or white gas (Coleman Fuel) and a bit
more on diesel. It is easy to clean using a shaker jet
cleaner and is
more stable
than any of
the previous
versions
I have
owned since
1980. It is
however
not very
easy to use for
gentle heating
and cooking but
turns snow to boiling
water a treat.
MSR also produce both
lighter and less ferocious
stoves based on the same idea.
The Whisperlite Multifuel is very
lightweight and great for general
camping as the flame can be easily
adjusted and controlled. As its name
implies it is less of a beast that the XGK.
The Dragonfly is an attempt to
compromise between the other two, and a
good all-rounder for many people. When you
buy one of these stoves you must buy a separate
MSR fuel bottle. The bottles look a bit like a
standard Sigg drinking bottle, but it is dangerous to
use one of these as they are not strong enough and
could easily explode with the pressure.
Primus came relatively late to this type of
multifuel stove, but I thought their Omnifuel stove
was a winner the first time I used one in western
Mongolia a few years ago. It can even use propane/
butane gas canisters and comes supplied with the
correct liquid fuel bottle. As if that wasn’t enough
Liquid Fuel Burning
Stoves
Stoves that use Gas Canisters
There are two types of gas canister that are used
in lightweight stoves. The original and still a
strong brand in France is the Camping Gaz Bluet,
or ‘Bluey’. They were good in their day, but
only contain Butane gas which gives pretty poor
performance in cold conditions and they do not
attach to the stove
directly with a
screw
valve, but
need to be punctured
to attach. This means you can’t
detach them until they are empty and even
then there is always some excess gas in the canister.
Never do this in a tent for obvious reasons. Go
Systems make a useful adaptor that enables you
to use these canisters on stoves that use screw on
ones.
The most widely available canisters these
days are screw on and are filled with a mixture
of butane and propane, and are far better. The
propane mix gives a better performance in cold
conditions. The Primus ETA Power (TOP) is a
windshield and non stick pan system, a bit like
the Trangia but due to the design features of the
pan (having a heat exchanger on the bottom) and
the stove burner, they are incredibly efficient. On
Peak Lenin in 2009, we only used about half of the
gas supply we had calculated that we would need.
The system is big enough for three or as we did in
Scotland this summer four people at a squeeze. As
with any stove, don’t rely 100% on the ignition
system not letting you down - take matches or a
lighter!
The Edelrid Stormy Evo: for years the name
Stormy when referring to a stove meant a
particular super efficient stove that could be hung
from a tent or off a belay on a bivvy ledge. This
new version from Edelrid is exactly that, although
it also stands solidly on the ground too. It improves
on the original in that the pan is a sensible size for
scooping in and melting snow and has handles that
you can grip without needing gloves. It is however
not just a blast furnace, but is quite adjustable for
cooking too. My tip for use is to have the burner
head permanently assembled in the windshield,
rather than packed up inside, which makes for a
bit less faff when you are trying to get sorted at the
end of a long day.
Tower Stoves
Jetboils are really superb bivvy stoves. They have
many great features including the fact that the pot
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and
Stoves Food
is safely clipped onto the stove and it is contained in an insulated sleeve so you
can hold it in your hands or between your knees. You can also hang them or
stand them on the ground. I came a bit late to Jetboils, and used them for the
first time on Everest in 2005. These days there are four different models of the
original as well as a group system. The Zip is the basic original version, the
Flash (LOWER) lives up to its name with an ignition system and heat warning
panels on the insulated pot jacket and the Sol which is made with either
Aluminium or Titanium and has ‘a Thermo Regulator system’. In other words,
it works better at altitude and in the cold. If you use small size gas canisters the
whole thing can be stored inside the pot/mug on all models.
My recommendation for using Jetboils if
there are two of you is to take two pots,
then all you have to debate is who gets
the first brew.
The MSR Reactor (RIGHT)
is strange, brilliant, and unlike
any other stove discussed here.
It should be more popular than
I think it is. It is perhaps the most fuel
efficient stove in the world and works
well in wind, cold and high altitude
conditions. It is supplied with a big pot
with a see through lid to check how
things are going without letting out
precious heat. The radiant burner has
a heat exchanger but doesn’t have any
flames. It is clever and it works. It’s
not cheap, but you not only get what
you pay for, you will over time reclaim
the cost against saved fuel. Personally
I would like the pot to be attached
to the stove in the same way as on
the Jetboils, but overall it is a minor
quibble with this superb stove.
Super lightweights
The MSR Pocket Rocket is one of those products whose name tells you all you
need to know. Use it with a small gas canister and a windshield or in some
other sheltered place.
The Soto Micro Regulator is another tiny fold up stove
but despite is minimal weight and small size is also fitted
with a regulator, an ignition system and big easy to use
control. The regulator means it keeps working well in
low temperatures, which makes a big difference on a cold
bivvy.
Sometimes it is possible to go too far. I have known
people who are so determined to minimise weight that they
cut back on everything too much. I have heard of people
taking a super cheap solid fuel stove on the mountains on
the basis that they are enough with which to make a brew
and only cost about £4. These stoves are really inefficient,
don’t cope with even a breeze very well, and the fuel
blocks themselves are quite heavy.
Additional things
that can help
Aluminium foil windshields were first developed by
MSR and are available separately for use with any stove.
Coghlans also make something along the same lines.
MSR’s Heat Exchanger is essentially a bit of corrugated
metal that wraps round a pan, channelling heat from the
stove onto the sides of the pan. It saves fuel, but has some
weight and bulk itself.
Jetboil Fluxring Pan and the ETA Power Pan are both
sold separately and are great for use with groups and are easier to fill and
stir than the standard Jetboil pot. It has a heat exchanger on the base that
drastically improves performance and saves fuel.
A base plate under any stove can help its performance in snow. MSR make
a light folding one called the Trilium, but a thin bit of plywood or a small
chopping board will help to stop the stove melting itself into the snow and
becoming unstable.
Food
Food is a very personal thing. One thing
is for sure though that in the mountains
we need to fend off dehydration and
replace the calories burned. If weight
isn’t too much of an issue or sometimes
for the first night of a multi day trip I
favour Wayfarers boil in the bag food.
It is real food. Sure it’s not particularly
light, but it really does the trick, and
you can eat it out of the bag. There are
plenty of veggie options and puddings
in the range too.
Of the wide
range of dried foods
that are about, my
favourite is the
Kudrati vegetarian curries. They are best shared with others
so you can have two or three varieties. Instead of rice or
chapatis, try couscous and pitta breads.
For breakfast my favourites these days are from
supermarkets. The instant porridges in a pot that just require
hot water and a stir do the trick. If you are a coffee addict
or just use the caffeine blast to get going on an early start in
the mountains, you could do no better than Growers Cup
(ABOVE). It is real coffee in a brown paper bag/coffee filter.
You just open the top, pour in hot water and pour it out
of the spout at the side. Voila! Alternatively Jetboil make a
coffee press that works with their pots, but it makes a lot
more mess.
If I’m out with a group I also always carry a few energy
gels to get people going when collapse approaches and
sometimes for a treat shove a Clif Bar in my pack too - but
don’t carry one as emergency rations, since you’ll have
eaten it long before you need it. Kendal Mint Cake, for this
reason, could be a good item to carry for emergencies, since
it will still be there when you really need it! n
this page top: The Primus ETA Power in action on Peak Lenin (7134m), the second-highest mountains in the Pamirs in Gorno-Badakhshan on the border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Tom richardson
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