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“Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.”

- Ernest Hemingway

Equipment

     The ten essentials for a 1930s mountaineer: 

1. Maps of the area

2. Declination adjusted compass

3. Flashlight, plus extra batteries and bulb

4. Food and water
   

5. Warm clothing

6. Sunglasses and sun salve

7. First aid kit

8. Pocket knife

9. Waterproof matches

10. Fire starter

     Before the invention of crampons, mountaineers needed to cut steps into the ice. First used by mountaineers in the 1890s, crampons didn't come to notable use until after the Great War. Rapelling and abseiling, while known of, is only used in a very simple, slow and tiring form by British climbers; European climbing technique is more advanced in this regard. The use of oxygen by climbers has been uncommon, but known of since the Great War; charged oxygen cylinders are difficult to obtain outside of major cities.

the contents of a mountaineer's pack

     For an overnight trip, the following be considered "the basics", it comes to about 40 pounds weight, and shouldn't encumber a character of STR 12 or more:

• clothing

• long muffler or scarf

• fingerless long wool gloves, pair

• sweater ... 1.5 lbs.

• flight jacket, mackinaw or coat, with lots of pockets

• heavyweight wool pants

• heavy wool socks, pair

• knee-length wool stockings, pair

• alpine boots, pair; £4 15s ... 6 lbs.

• pocket knife

• ice axe, 39" long average (length according to user height), breaks at about 500 lbs. static load, with cord sling and wrist lanyard ... 3 lbs.; $5 to $20

a couple of ice axes, with covers for the sharp parts

• compass ... 0.1 lb. or less; it should be adjustable for magnetic variation
  

• flashlight ... 1.4 lb for a two D-cell "electric torch"
  

• map

• sun glasses

• snow goggles ... 0.2 lbs

• waterproof matches in match safe

• climbing rope, flax, 1900 lbs. tensile strength, 0.445" diameter, 100' roll ... 4.4 lbs

• 100' or 120' (5.25 lbs.) are typical; cost about £1 

• canteen, 2 liter ... 5 lbs. filled

• or 1 quart ... 3 lbs. filled

• rucksack, haversack, or other backpack-y thing. Frameless packs weigh 2 pounds when empty, and cost 5 shillings. Packs with frames weigh 5 pounds when empty,  and cost £1. A pack loaded with the contents below will weigh a total of 22 or 25 pounds:

• spare heavy socks, pair ... 0.3 lbs.

• spare knee-length wool stockings, pair ... 0.3 lbs.

• waterproof cape or poncho  ... 0.5  lbs.

• wool cap or balaclava ... 0.3 lbs.

• spare fingerless long wool gloves, pair ... 0.3 lbs.

• mittens, pair on neck lanyard ... 0.2 lbs.

• jar of sun salve ... 0.2 lbs.

• two flashlight batteries, and a spare bulb
  

• first aid kit ... 1.2 lbs.
  

• canned food (as needed) ... 4 or 5 lbs. for two days (2-3/4 pounds per day for WW1 American soldiers), basically similar to canned food from a grocery store
  

• or other preserved food, such as hardtack and erbswurst

• "emergency" canned ration weighs 1 pound (a combination of chocolate, pemmican, and coffee, for example), not as appetizing as 'regular' canned food. The U.S. Army version dates from about 1901. You'll want some water, and if possible an ounce or so of bacon fat every day (for frying purposes).
  

• insulated flask or thermos, pint ... 1.2 lbs. filled

• drinking mug ... 0.1 lbs.

• spoon .. n/a

• stove fuel ... 0.5 lbs for high-power stove fuel, or 0.3 lbs for low-power stove fuel

• sleeping bag (canvas exterior, eiderdown filled, with wool lining) good down to 25 degrees F ... 10 lbs.
  

     A character of STR 10 might leave off the rope and stove fuel, and take the smaller amounts of food and water.

     To be counted as a "well-equipped" climber, a character making an overnight climb on an alpine peak should also have half-a-dozen pitons, a piton hammer, crampons, and half-a-dozen carabiners, plus a few small odds and ends:  add 5 lbs. to the above total. Important suggestion for mountaineers:  DO NOT carry so much weight that you will suffer a negative modifier to DEX-based skills.

     Here is a list of things not needed for every expedition, nor for every member:

• R. Fuess höhenmesser (altimeter), in leather belt-case; reads up to 2500 meters above "zero", which the user sets ... 0.5 lbs.
  

• crampons, pair (if you are to be climbing on ice) ... 2 lbs.

• Vibram-soled climbing boots ... 4 lbs.

• the first vulcanized rubber-lugged climbing soles, invented 1936 by Italian climber Vitale Bramani

• carabiners or maillons, each ... 0.3 lbs.

• the first use of carabiners in mountaineering dates from about 1910, in Austria and Bavaria; they came into international use in the mid-Twenties. Screw carabiners appeared in 1935. They cost about $0.50 each, and will break under a static load of 1 ton or so.
  

• pitons aka pegs, one dozen. Not often used by British mountaineers. ... 2 lbs.
  

• piton hammer with wrist lanyard ... 1.5 lbs

• deadman plate (8" square aluminum, 1/8" thick, with rope-hole in middle) ...0.8 lbs.
  

• folding camp stove, low power (such as Esbit, tommy cooker, etc.)  ... 0.1 lbs.

• low-power stove fuel (such as Sterno, meths, trioxane, etc.), per can ... 0.3 lbs

• hexamine fuel tablet, for Esbit stoves (after 1936) ... 0.5 ounce

• expedition stove, high power (such as Primus No. 96, introduced about 1908, produced to about 1969) ... 1.6 lbs.

• the 1/2 pint tank will burn for about 2 hours, will boil a quart of water at sea level in 6 minutes

• 1.5 pint can (0.8 liter) of kerosene ... 1.5 lbs.

• low power stoves burn fuel such as Sterno (jellied denatured alcohol); the "stove" is very lightweight, basically a spacer between the food and the pot

• Esbit stoves and the solid hexamine fuel tablets for them were invented in 1936

• since the 1936 Summer Olympics, you can get canned Scho-Ka-Kola: dark chocolate with caffeine, a 100 gram can (16 pieces) has 523 calories, and the same amount of caffeine as four strong cups of espresso - share it with three friends! There's also a milk chocolate version, but it's not as durable. ... 0.2 lbs per can
  

• folding candle lantern ... 0.5 lbs.

• telescope or monocular (i.e., Zeiss "Turmon" 8x folding, which can also be used as a microscope) ... 0.25 lbs.

• tents:

• tent half with pole (not for severe conditions) ... 1.4 lbs.
  

• snow tent, aka Whymper tent (4 person; for severe conditions) ... 23 lbs.

• Amundsen tent (2 person; for Arctic explorers) ... 25 lbs.

• Woods tent (5 person; for severe conditions) ... 50 lbs.

• sleeping:

• canvas bedroll and straps with wool blanket (4 lbs.), good down to about 35 degrees F ... 8 lbs.

• sleeping bag (canvas exterior, eiderdown filled, with wool lining), good down to 25 degrees F ... 10 lbs.

• sleeping bag, good down to -20 degrees F ... 14 lbs.

• sleeping bag, good down to arctic conditions ... 20 lbs.

• Prusik cord ... 0.2 lbs. each; take two or three

• the prusik knot was invented in 1931, useful for ascending and descending ropes, etc.

• oxygen:  oxygen usage actually varies by altitude and task, but let's keep it simple

• simple hose and mask, climber uses 4 cu. ft. per hour climbing ... weight n/a
  

• basic regulator mask, reduces oxygen usage while climbing to 3 cu. ft. per hour ... 1 lb., $100 with hoses and accessories

• Draeger economiser regulators reduce oxygen usage a LOT (to about 2 cu. ft. per hour), but are a bit heavy and little-known at this period ... 6 lbs.?, $200+

• oxygen tank, large (7.25' diameter, 23" long) high pressure, 80 cu. ft. capacity (not used for mountaineering, more for aircraft or vehicles) ... 30 lbs

• oxygen tank, small (4" diameter, 16" long) high-pressure, 25 cu. ft. capacity ... 6 lbs

• oxygen tank, small (6" diameter, 24" long) low pressure 8 cu ft capacity ... 5 lbs
  

• low-pressure tanks aren't so prone to exploding if hit by rifle fire.

• skis

• flat or ridged, $5.25 to $6.50 or more ... 8 lbs per pair
  

• bindings, cable $3.75 to $5.25; strap, from $2.25

• poles, cane $1; steel up to $6

• climbing skins, usually made of mohair, $1

• parkas and anoraks, $4.50

• ski pants, $7.50