2024 Gear List

2024 Gear List Supplement

(detailed info about skis, boots, and bindings)

Figuring out equipment for JIRP can be overwhelming. Skiing and mountaineering, our two modes of transportation for most of the field season, are both technical and gear-intensive pursuits. If you're new to either (or both), you're not alone. Skiing and mountaineering equipment can be expensive, but planning and preparation can help keep costs down. Many items will go on sale at the end of the winter season (February-March); don’t necessarily start buying items immediately, but the sooner you start learning about the gear the better you’ll be able to spot a good deal when you come across it.  

The first step to rounding up all the gear you're going to need is to check out the 2024 Gear List (linked above). The Gear List includes a description of everything you'll need for JIRP, so it's long. Note that the last page is a checklist. We've included pictures of many of the more unusual items. 

Significant Gear List Updates of the Last Five Years

We make significant changes to the Gear List every few years. Participants who have been away from JIRP for more than five years should read the entire list thoroughly. Participants who are returning to JIRP after fewer than five years away should pay particular attention to these recent changes:

• Mountain Boots - we require mountain (hiking/mountaineering) boots with stiff soles for optimal use kicking steps in steep snow.

• Helmets - we now require helmets with foam protection surrounding the head.

• Sunshirts - we recommend at least one UV protective shirt for all participants, two for full-season participants.

• Microspikes - Block 4 participants should have both microspikes and crampons for the traverse sections on the blue ice of Llewellyn Glacier.

• Skis - We welcome both A/T and telemark bindings, however, we still (strongly) recommend fish scale/patterned bases.

• Ice axes - Recommended ice axe length is significantly shorter. You need not be able to use your ice axe as a walking stick on flat ground.

• Long pants - We require participants to wear long pants at all times on the glacier (abrasion and UV protection, cold protection in a crevasse fall).

• Gloves - We require participants to wear gloves during many activities on the glacier (abrasion and UV protection).

Pre-Season Support

Stop by Office Hours or shoot us a question via phone, email, or zoom at your convenience.

Also check out this video about ski boot fitting from JIRP Faculty/Staff Lara Hughes-Allen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6W69F2tJio&t=3s

Gear Rentals

JIRP has a small collection of gear that we rent to students, faculty, and staff every year (students get first priority). Gear rental fees will be as follows:

Crampons - $20

Ski skins - $10

Ice axe - $40

Ski boots - $50

Skis and poles - $70

JIRP rental skis come with 3-pin telemark ski bindings mounted. JIRP rental ski boots are 3-pin telemark, hard-plastic boots. Skis are sized by height and weight and ski boots are sized by shoe size, so we cannot guarantee that we can rent ski boots and skis to everyone who requests them. If you accept the rental of one but we cannot get you a rental for the other, you will be responsible for finding the complementary gear (i.e. we can’t mount the rental skis with A/T tech bindings to match your A/T boots).

Gear rental requests open on March 8, 2024. All requests received on March 8 will receive equal priority.We will do our best to balance rentals across the students who request them, and absolutely do not guarantee that students will receive all the equipment they request. We prioritize student rental needs over faculty. We will let students know what gear they can expect to rent from JIRP within 10 days of the form submission date.

Payment will be due later this spring. Payment is non-refundable and covers normal wear and tear on the equipment. If you break the equipment in the course of normal use we will not charge you further. If you break the equipment through misuse or negligence we will require you to pay a replacement fee equal to the original rental cost (e.g. we'll charge you the $40 rental fee + $40 replacement fee = $80 total).

Labeling your equipment

There will be upwards of 60 people on the expedition on any given week. Many people have similar or identical clothes and gear. Personal space is tight and it is common to have your equipment get mixed up with your bunkmate’s, ropemate’s, or research partner's equipment. Please label everything you bring to JIRP clearly with your last name in permanent marker. The only exception to this is hard items that are difficult to write on (i.e. carabiners), which you should mark with a personalized combination of colored duct tape or electrical tape. 

Cleaning and Sprucing Up Used Gear and Clothing

JIRP was founded on, and continues to celebrate, a philosophy of maintaining and repairing our equipment and clothing so it lasts as long as possible. Maintaining and repairing what is already in the world is almost always more affordable and better for the environment. We need a handful of truly technical items to do the traverse safely, but they absolutely do not need to be new technical items.

Cleaning and repairing modern technical clothing can be intimidating, and many of us never learned the art of washing older and/or pickier fabrics (especially wool!). We’ve compiled some pointers here. Whether you’re washing your shell between seasons of heavy use, reviving a thrift store fleece with a questionable smell, or you found your grandparent’s burly wool shirt from the 50s and you want to give it another adventure, check this page out!

Finding Gear on a Limited Budget

If you were to bring this list into your local outdoor store and purchase everything new, it would be exceptionally expensive. We do not advocate doing that. Instead, start with these steps:

• Figure out what you have: You may already have suitable options for many of the items we require. We’ve described every item as generically as possible.

• Borrow: Ask around to friends and family to see if they own things you may be able to borrow. One advantage of JIRP is that our field season is the northern hemisphere summer- exactly when most people do not need their skiing and winter outdoor equipment. 

• Buy used: You can many of these items used online. With enough run-up time, you could buy everything used (other than underwear and socks). If you buy directly from an individual, this requires doing your homework- know how to tell if something is damaged, at the end of its lifespan, or not the right size. If you are careful, the sites linked below can all be good sources of used gear. Also look around for local used sports stores. If you find something that looks promising but you're not sure, ask our staff. Check out the websites listed below (first section).

  • JIRPer Gear Listserv: New this year, check out the JIRP Gear Listserv! This is a forum for past and future JIRPers to buy/sell used gear. If you are interested in joining, click on the link below. Enter your email to subscribe (we promise we won’t sell it to anyone, we’re not jerks). You can post stuff you’re looking for and/or selling, and hopefully, we can keep gear in use and help each other spend less money. We will also post links to appropriate used gear we find listed on facebook, etc.

lists.juneauicefield.org/mailman/listinfo/jirp-gear

• Buy on sale: See what you can buy on sale. The end of the winter sports season (February-March) can be a great time to find gear steeply discounted. This takes a bit of looking around, but it can save a lot of money.

• College Outdoor Club/Earth Science Dept.: Check with your college/university outdoor club and Earth Science Department. Again, we're using skiing and winter equipment during what many people in the northern hemisphere consider to be the off-season. You may be able to borrow or rent equipment for the summer.

• Rent: We offer helmets, ice axes, crampons, ski boots, and skis for rent. Rentals will be first come/first serve on a specific date. Check out the Gear Rentals form for more information. Rentals are prioritized for students over faculty/staff.

• ProDeals/Gear testing: Many outdoor companies offer "Pro Deals", loaner gear, or other support to athletes who are using equipment for unusual (photogenic) trips. This support usually comes in the form of gear discounts or borrowing the gear for the summer in exchange for reviews or photos of the trip. Ask around. Make sure to tell anyone you talk to you that you're a climate science student working in the Coast Range of Alaska- JIRP is pretty cool! Try local companies as well as bigger ones. 

• Buying through The Mountaineer: We are working with a well-regarded skiing/climbing shop in northern New York, called The Mountaineer, to offer new gear to participants at a discount. The details for how to buy gear at The Mountaineer are sent out via email from our staff.

• Buy new: If you have to buy equipment new, check out rewards programs, shop around, and feel free to ask us before you make any big choices. Shopping at your local outdoor gear store can help if you find a knowledgeable retail clerk, but be wary of people who may not understand exactly what we're getting into. Also, check out the websites listed below (second section):