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CLOTHING & GEAR

The following equipment & clothing list is designed to get you oriented about what you need to bring during your holidays in The Andes.

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Clothing
Camping equipment
Miscellaneous stuff
Climbing equipment
Sit-on-top kayaking equipment

Clothing

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Jackets. Polar fleece jacket (wool sweater may be used but not recommended). Windproof / waterproof breathable jacket Gore tex or similar. Down jacket (optional but may be very useful during the cold nights and for trekking or mountaineering trips).
Pants. Regular pants (better if they can transform to shorts). Polar fleece pants (optional but may be useful during the cold nights and for trekking or mountaineering trips).
Underwear. Long top and bottom (synthetic mid weight thermal underwear better).
Socks. Regular cotton socks. Thick wool socks recommended for trekking or mountaineering trips
Shirt. Long sleeve shirts recommended; in the highlands prevent from sunburn (also helpful when traveling to the jungle to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes).
Foot wear. Lightweight boots or shoes for regular traveling.
Hat. Polar fleece headband, wool hat, or balaclava for the night, and sun hat with brim for the day.
Gloves. Thin gloves for regular traveling.
Other clothing. Bathing suit and bandanas are optional but may be useful.

Camping equipment

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Sleeping bag. Down sleeping bag suggested for traveling in the highlands, synthetic for traveling in the humid jungle. Sleeping bag liner and compression stuff sack (optional but may be useful).
Sleeping mat. Two recommended; foam and air mattress.
Backpack. 30-40 liter daypack to carry your essentials. 70-90 liter backpack or medium size duffel soft-sided bag for the rest of your luggage (also useful when porters or animals have to carry your staff; in this case a padlock is recommended).
Tent. Andean Summits provides you with high quality 4-season tents during our trips (you can bring your own tent if you want).
Kitchen and tableware. Andean Summits provides you all kitchen and tableware during our trips.
Stoves and fuel. Andean Summits provides stoves and fuel during our trips.

Miscellaneous stuff

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Walking sticks. Always recommended when trekking or climbing (better to bring telescopic ski poles)
Water bottle. 1 liter bottle Nalgene type for regular traveling. Thermoses are optional but useful. Camelback hydrating systems may be useful, but not good for hot water and get frozen at high altitudes.
Flashlight. Headlamp with spare batteries recommended (regular AA and AAA batteries can be found in main cities).
Sunglasses. 100% UVA, UVB protection.
Sunscreen. 25 to 50 SPF factor water and sweat proof recommended.
Insect repellent. Highly recommended on trips to the jungle (use one with high percentage of DEET if you are sensitive to mosquito bites).
Contact lenses. If you wear them, don’t forget to bring the following: copy of your prescription (in case you need to replace them), saline solution, lenses case, and eyedroppers. Note that dryness in the highlands may cause you some irritability in your eyes.
Medicines. Personal fist aid kit and medicines. Please check the chapter "Health Topics" under “Resources” page.
Hygiene elements. Wet towels, toilet paper, tissue, towel, soap, toothpaste, brush, little mirror, moisturizing cream.
Camera. Highly recommended (do not forget spare batteries, and extra film or memory cards).
Other supplies. Swiss knife or Leatherman tool, Alarm clock, Notebook & pen, Spanish-English dictionary, duct tape, and synthetic towel are optional but recommended items. Don’t forget a traveling sewing kit, zip lock bags, and toilet paper.
Pee bottle. 1 liter bottle Nalgene type can be very handy to avoid going to the bathroom in the middle of the night when camping or staying in basic accommodation.
Power and plug adapters. Electricity used is in general 220V and 60 MHz. 110V is available only in La Paz and Potosi major cities. A small voltage tester is recommended. There are not often found grounded or faceted plugs, if you will use electric devices check for adapters to plug them in.

Climbing equipment

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Plastic boots. Recommended for mountaineering trips on glaciers and above 6,000m (20,000ft), make sure they fit your crampons and do not hurt your feet.
Leather boots. Recommended for short mountaineering trips usually below 6,000m (20,000ft). They are also good for "Trekking peak" trips to high volcanoes.
Crampons. 12-point automatic crampons with protective bag recommended.
Gaiters. Useful for trekking trips as well.
Ice axe. Long glacier Ice Axe recommended for most of our climbing trips. Two short tools are recommended for technical climbs.
Harnesses. Sportive sit harnesses.
Carabiners and hardware. Andean Summits provides you all hardware needed when climbing, although at least one screw gate carabiner is recommended.
Climbing helmet. It will depend of the climbing route, as norm we always recommend its use.
Rope. Andean Summits provides you the ropes needed on our climbing trips.
Other climbing equipment. At least two Prusik loops are recommended (short and long). Ascender device or T-blocks are optional but recommended. Andean Summits provides the rest of common climbing equipment needed on climbing trips (slings, ice screws, snow stakes and others)
Mask. Polypropylene or silk masks are recommended for the cold conditions on the high altitude mountains, they can be improved with a neoprene mask.

Sit-on-top Kayaking equipment

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Wet shoes. Wet (suft) shoes are ideal but regular sport sandals, sneakers, or tennis shoes are recommended.
Shorts. Synthetic quick drying shorts for all purposes.
Dry bags. Andean Summits provides dry bags.
PFD. Andean Summits provides Personal Floating Device.