Pre walk


This is based on a no pan, no washup system and was conceived to require the least amount of water and effort possible.
Food is stored and hydrated, via cold or hot water from the Stove System and eaten in the same resealable bag (1-5). Hot water hydrated food is placed inside a thermal jacket (9) to preserve heat and aid in the cooking process, this also conveniently acts as a hand friendly heat barrier during eating.
For more info on this cooking system see The Alpine Oven blog.
The daily menu includes:

Breakfast (1) - porridge with dried milk, sugar and freeze dried fruit. 658 Kc, 200g
Drinks pack (2) - tea, coffee, fruit tea, soup, cocoa. 492 Kc, 158g
Lunch (3 & 6) - assorted nuts, dried fruit, two seed bars and oatcakes (6) 1803 Kc, 402g
Dinner (4) - pot noodle. 561Kc, 124g
Pudding (5) - angel delight with added dried milk and freeze dried fruit. 420 Kc, 115g

This equates to just under 4000 calories for a packeted weight of 1kg per day. Total weight of food to be carried for twelve days equals 12kg.
Drinking vessels (7) are cut down Pot Noodle pots 17g and hold 300ml, for tea and coffee.
A Spork (8) 10g completes the system which has been proven on a 3 night acclimatization camp above 3000m, on the Allalinhorn glacier above Saas Fee in Switzerland.



Pictured below are the meals packaged into 12 daily packs, (gas canister for scale) and view inside of rucksack, protected from heat by metallic bubble wrap. Not much space left!



Post walk
Thrown in at the last minute were 12 Mars Bars 720g and 4 tubes of Primula squeezy cheese 660g ( for the oatcakes ), taking the total weight of food to 12.4kg. The Mars Bars were a heavy addition but worth their weight in gold for that extra boost when needed. The squeezy cheese was also essential as I could not have eaten the dry oatcakes on their own.The food as a whole worked well, the only drawback being the lack of water effecting the processing of dry food. Nuts were un appetizing in a dehydrated state and being heavy, I would reduce the amount in future. 100g of porridge was a lot to eat first thing in the morning so I would do likewise, down to about 70g. Pot noodles were good but I wish I had taken more flavours as I got a bit tired of curry every night! I did carry out 1.43kg of food that I had not time, inclination or water to eat, my appetite was effected by trapped wind, dehydration, exhaustion and the heat. I could have comfortable left out a days food over this period but who's to say these conditions are typical. Here's a short video showing the simplicity of food preparation in the field, a Pot Noodle shown in this example -

The pre-prepared fast, no fuss meal preparation really paid dividends at the end of a long hard day.