5 Mistakes Every First-Time Adventurer Makes

“Try your best to stick the gear list and if you aren’t familiar with a fancy word like “fleece” just ask someone.”

Our community has attracted it’s fair share of first time adventurers. Actually, most LHOers put their trekking shoes on for the very first time on one of our experiences or expeditions. And although we absolutely love being a part of the initial steps, we’ve also accumulated more than our fair share of first time slip ups. Here are 5 we thought we’d share to save you having to learn it the hard way.

CHANEL No. 5 IS NOT AN ESSENTIAL ITEM
Ok. So this opening one is pretty obvious but anyone whose been on an expedition with us has had to leave stuff behind and although pulling stuff out of your bags can be both intriguing and funny for us, your laughter is probably more based on nerves then humor. On a 40 day expedition to a Himalayan summit, which is arguably one of the longest adventures out there, a typical climber would carry around 20 kgs in total. If we’re including tents and technical equipment it can go up to around 40 kgs but this includes things like 02 bottles and some of the heavy equipment that most of us will never use or if we do, will have an expedition team take care of. If you’re coming to Kilimanjaro or the Tour du Mont Blanc for the first time rest assured that you do not need a different outfit for every day, backup water bottles to back up your back ups, snacks to feed the army of porters of every team on the mountain and you will not need a second down jacket just in case your one 900 fills gets ravaged by a mountain bear. And if you think that the 1 Liter Channel 5 has a place in your bag, rest assured that it does not. Less is most definitely more when outdoors. Your team leader will tell you exactly what you need based on years of experience. You can’t be forced to listen but believe me, by the time you unpack at the first camp, you’re going to wish you had.

THE GEAR LIST IS THE GEAR LIST
The only thing worse than over packing is packing the wrong stuff at the expense of the right stuff. Cotton t-shirts have absolutely no place on any adventure expedition. Bringing these along at the expense of anything else just shouldn’t happen. Cotton doesn’t dry and whether the moisture comes from your perspiration, the humidity or rain, it will inevitably happen and with wet cotton comes the wet cotton smell in the duffle bags or irrevocable shiver as it transports the cold directly to your bones regardless of how many layers you ad on top should you choose to wear it. Try your best to stick the gear list and if you aren’t familiar with a fancy word like “fleece” just ask someone. Everything on the gear list is that thing you always wish you had known the name of. Nothing is unfamiliar expect the name. If it’s in your LHO gear list then it is needed. We don’t want you bringing anything redundant. If in doubt about redundancy, refer to the first paragraph.

GINGKO, GOGI BERRIES & ALOE VERA ARE NOT MEDS
Painkillers, an anti-inflammatory, something for an upset stomach, a multivitamin and something to treat cuts and scrapes. That’s all you really need.

“Just because you put on trekking boots does not mean that you now need to go train for Everest. Trying scuba diving does not mean you’ll eventually need to dive 100 meter shipwrecks.”

Electrolytes can also find a place in your kit. Gingko, Jojoba, Gogi Berry extract, Aloe tablets or basically the entire vitamins section of your local pharmacy has no place in your med pack nor does an extensive range of treatment options in the event we need to perform bypass surgery. If we have to look at options beyond basic treatments, we’d need to consider a retreat from the expedition regardless of your extended tool kit, therefore making your micro surgery set unnecessary. For medications specific to the location you’ll be experiencing such as high altitude medications or malaria tablets it is best to speak to your team leader and your doctor.

THE SUMMIT WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF
Whether we’re trekking in the Alps, diving in the Red Sea or ice climbing in Georgia, your expectation should be about enjoying where we’ll be going and what we’ll be doing. Spending an awful lot of time thinking about reaching summits, tops of frozen waterfalls or setting expectations of ourselves that we may or may not meet will set us up for unnecessary stress that defeats the purpose of getting outdoors in the first place. Live in the moment. That is the real experience. Everything else is detail. There is reason that those of us who do follow this ethos see far more summits and come back time and again for more adventure. The outdoors is a place to unwind and reboot. Treat it that way and it will do wonders for you.

EVEREST IS NOT WHERE THIS ROAD LEADS
Just because you put on trekking boots does not mean that you now need to go train for Everest. Trying scuba diving does not mean you’ll eventually need to dive 100 meter shipwrecks. Regardless of what social media will tell you, there are millions of adventurers out there doing incredible things that are profoundly immersive to those adventurers. If you love trekking then trek. You don’t need to put on crampons and get on the glaciers if that doesn’t feel right for you. Surf on longboards if that’s what makes you happy. Who said surfing means shorter boards and higher waves? I love ankle nuggets and I’m perfectly happy to surf my 11 ft log. Getting better at something doesn’t mean doing the more difficult or the more dangerous. It is about enjoying what you’re doing and to keep doing it for as long as it continues to make you happy. If pushing the boundaries is where you’d like to go then by all means go there. But don’t be fooled into thinking that every climber eventually wants to free solo El Capitan. Yes, there are incredible athletes doing incredible things, but just like most tennis players have no intention of competing at Wimbledon, most climbers very much enjoy the relative safety of a rope and harness. And when someone jokes about when you’ll be heading to Everest after you climb Kilimanjaro, you can direct them to this article or better yet, direct them to me.

Do you agree with our list? What advice would you give to a first timer nervous about getting red faced on a first time adventure?