My remote canister stove, HX pot, windscreen combo

Have you used the 1 liter pot before to melt snow for cooking water for 2 people?  For two people, I personally would want a bit bigger pot.

For the summit day, I would think each person would need 3 plus liters which would take a long time to melt with just one 1 liter pot.  (Perhaps the guides are supplying the water?)

Bruce,

Admittedly, no.  The last time I melted snow was about 5 years ago on a winter trip to the Adirondack High Peaks.  I had a 1.6L MSR stainless steel pot, a Whisperlite stove, and a heat exchanger that clamped on around the outside of the pot.

Before that, it was Rainier in 2011, and we had a two 2-gallon pots with 3 Dragonfly stoves under each pot, melting snow for a group of 12, which admittedly took a long time.

The gear list recommendations from AAI are kinda fuzzy on this:

Stove and Fuel
Liquid fuel or canister stove. Fuel is available at AAI the morning of the course.
✫ NOTE: Many people choose to share stoves, fuel and tents to decrease weight. However, some
people prefer to camp in their own tents and use their own stoves. This can be determined on the
morning of the first day of your program.
✫ Example : Soto Windmaster, MSR Windburner

Pots
Bring one pot.
❏ Early-season: Bring a bigger pot for melting snow; 1.5L to 2L
❏ Mid or late-season: 0.5L to 1L

The recommendation of a Soto Windmaster and .5L to 1L pot for a single person has led me to believe that this setup would be reasonably adequate for 2 people.

OK. Disregard my comment. Go with the guides’ recommendation.  Their bullet for mid or late season makes it sound like you might have access to open water.

Thanks.   I feel like there are some aspects of the itinerary that are still fuzzy, and I’m finding that I just need to trust their gear recommendations rather than try and make guesses about where they’re gonna have us make camp and what the conditions will be at those camps.

It’s slightly frustrating because I tend to obsess over details like that.

10 days will be a lot of fun. When you do your graduation climb you should be fully confident in your ability to self arrest.  The glissading is a lot of fun too.

Bruce,

6 days actually, with one of those being a intro to rock climbing at a different crag, before we go to Mt Maker.  I already dabble in sport and a teeny bit of trad, so the rock climbing day will be a review for me and to prove to them that I know my basic systems.   Members of our local outdoors club ran a mountaineering workshop on Mt Olympus and Mt Rainier, but that was 12 years ago and I haven’t used those skills since.  I’m looking forward to getting an updated, professional perspective on things like crevasse rescue and rope management when crossing a glacier.  Two other friends from the same outdoors club are taking the class with me.  We’re hoping to then tackle some of the other cascade volcanoes in the future.

My wife and I camp in the WA Cascades all year long, so we melt snow all the time. We usually use a soto windmaster stove (and place it on a 1/8″ thick piece of closed cell foam) and an Evernew 1.3L pot. If windy we cook either under a tarp (to block the wind), or in our tent vestibule. We have also sometimes used a remote canister stove (MSR Wind Pro II) with good results. We use a moulder strip with our Soto in the winter, early spring, and late fall. I don’t think you’d need the moulder strip for summer Mt. Baker climbs.

Thanks for your insight, Paul.

With my departure being just 10 days away, I’m very excited and very much looking forward to this trip.