What are they using for headlamps on Mount Everest now?

I am reading "The Other Side of Everest" by Matt ****inson and I quote the following from the author as he is making his final 1996 approach to the top of Everest where they leave in the darkness of 2 am morning.

"I quickly learned not to trust the headlamp with its tunnel vision effect. It confused the eye by casting shadows of unknown depth. Rocks could be bigger than they seemed. Holes in the snow lacked all perspective. Distances became hard to judge....."

Being 1996, obviously incandescent. He did mention earlier of bringing spare lamps and spare batteries. I wonder what the modern mountain hiker uses for headlamps now. I would think something with a broader beam of course but would still want a bit of throw and I would think several hours runtime per set of batteries.

By the way for those who have read "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer, perhaps the definitive Everest book, particular in the fatal year of 1996, this book is quite good as well. He describes his ascent as part of a film making crew via the more difficult north side of Everest.

petzl artic

petzl zoom

Petzl Myobelt 3 Headlamp

Black Diamond Polar Star

This may surprise folks, but America's best climber uses the tiny PT Aurora:

http://www.edviesturs.com/gear/accessories.asp

--Rick

geepondy said:

I am reading "The Other Side of Everest" by Matt ****inson and I quote the following from the author as he is making his final 1996 approach to the top of Everest where they leave in the darkness of 2 am morning.

"I quickly learned not to trust the headlamp with its tunnel vision effect. It confused the eye by casting shadows of unknown depth. Rocks could be bigger than they seemed. Holes in the snow lacked all perspective. Distances became hard to judge....."

Being 1996, obviously incandescent. He did mention earlier of bringing spare lamps and spare batteries. I wonder what the modern mountain hiker uses for headlamps now. I would think something with a broader beam of course but would still want a bit of throw and I would think several hours runtime per set of batteries.

By the way for those who have read "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer, perhaps the definitive Everest book, particular in the fatal year of 1996, this book is quite good as well. He describes his ascent as part of a film making crew via the more difficult north side of Everest.

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here in Austria we re mainly Petzl-focused (absolute non-flashoholic crowd).

Any of the mountain-hikers seem to use the Petzl Zipka, if not, any similar headlamp (3 AAAs, 2-5 white 5mm led)

Petzl is a somewhat standard here (as Yellow stated) for mountaineers since the 70ies, Black Diamond coming slowly.

As I wrote so many times, brightness is only one factor among many for selecting a headlamp (and by far not the most important).
But this is heresy to say in a flashaholics world .-)

For winter mountaneering (especially later in the winter) is is quite usual to start very early, it might be 4am or even 2am. For several tours you have to be back at noon before the snow gets too soft.
This means, of course, use of a headlamp unless the moon is helping. In the 70ies and 80ies we used sometimes (small) carbide lights.

Use on an expedition may be mainly camp use.

I'm a big fan of the Aurora. More watertight than the Petzls with regulated light levels, etc.

I have about 3, my fave has the following mods:

Nichia CS LED's for a ~70% increase in brightness (about the same overall output as a EOS, though far more floody. It's significantly lighter than the EOS however)

2) Glow paint on the back of the LED's Very very bright glow for about a minute after turn off, then bright enough to find it from 20 feet away for another few hours.

3) Tritium capsule under the lens / on top of the reflector. No matter what, you WILL find this in the dark.

Hey, I wonder if Ed Viesturs would want to borrow it?

I don't think the Aurora is regulated, is it? I wonder if PT is now using CS leds in the light.

twentysixtwo said:

I'm a big fan of the Aurora. More watertight than the Petzls with regulated light levels, etc.

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Not positive it's regulated, may be a pure boost. I know the EOS is regulated as it "senses" when it doesn't have enough power to hold the high setting.

The current production Aurora definitely seem brighter than the older (> 3 year old) Auroras.

However, I bought 4 Auroras about 3 months ago and an upgrade with Grumpy's GB Nichia CS are still noticilby brigher in a side by side comparison.

Since the old Aurora got upgraded, I can't do a side by side comparison of old, new, and upgraded Auroras.

BTW, with Lithiums, the Aurora is "stunning" bright. ands down my favorite headlamp, and I have 5 different types (Tikka, Aurora; Predator2, EOS, No-Name Chinese) The only one out there I'm thinking of getting is the Apex, though with my EDC Q3 and a baseball cap, I already have a super bright headlamp.

BTW - super bright headlamps with tons of throw really aren't as useful as people think. What you need a headlamp for is typically within 20 feet or so (unless you're climbing/hiking at night) Even then, at night your eyes are dark adjusted and having a super throwing hot spot is going to mess up your night vision big time. When I go night running I find an Aurora or L4 far more useful than a EOS or Q3 since the hotspots in the throwers messes up my night vision. In a similar vein, blue tinted LED's really suck for destroying your night vision (particularly bad for caving) but that's a thread that's been discussed at length.

In this case, the Petzl (I forgot the name) with the flip down/flip up diffuser and temporary "super high beam" makes a lot of sense.

yellow said:

here in Austria we re mainly Petzl-focused (absolute non-flashoholic crowd).

Any of the mountain-hikers seem to use the Petzl Zipka, if not, any similar headlamp (3 AAAs, 2-5 white 5mm led)

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Ahhh... Austria! I climbed the Tyrolean Alps while traveling to Venice (in my Opel Record 2000 that is) many years ago. Wien is my favorite city that I have ever lived. I miss the Stadts Oper and hanging out at the Prater and Kartnerstrasse.

I climbed up to to about 19,000 ft on Everest 2 years ago, and basically, the same headlights you use any other mountain. Petzl, Princeton Tec, etc. With climbing in snowy conditions you can get away with a somewhat weaker light-like the Tikka Plus, and now with Lithium batts, you save weight and they work in the cold, which is not actually that different from the severest weather in north america, say on Mt. Washington in NH.

On a side note, I debated what kind of light I should take to Denali a few years ago, ended up taking the Petzl Arctic. I get there totally forgetting that in June it never gets dark enough to need any kind of light whatsoever- even inside your tent.

Jerimoth said:

I climbed up to to about 19,000 ft on Everest 2 years ago,

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Climbed? I was just watching a Everest expedition documentary on TV and they had their basecamp at that height and drove up to it (they were going up the North Face).
The people on that expedition used real wimpy LED lights, they appeared to be Petzl Tikka Plus. The Sherpas put out the ropes in advance so they didn't need real strong lights the night they went for the Summit, just had to follow the ropes. Other than the one night going to the Summit, I think they only needed them for tent light.

Sigbjoern

Yes, you can actually drive from the Tibet side quite high, but you lose the advantage of acclimatization from walking about 30 miles from Lukla (9000 ft) to Everest Base Camp (South Col Route) at 17,000 feet. Yes, it seems like the mini lights were pretty common- because of their light weight.

Everest , Beyond the Limit tv show had some summiteers with what looked like the Princeton Tech Yukon headlamps, They had those big fluffy hoods on so
only the bezel stuck out and could not see any name on the straps.

It would be great to get un update for 2011! What kind of lights do people use nowdays? A lot of things have changed in the last five years. Do people still use the same kind of headlamps but with better diods?

Edit: Also, what would you bring for Everest? Guess a lot of people would go with the well know brands like Pretz etc. just because they dont have the inside information on this forum.