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Light Van Man
The maker of the worldÕs lightest backpack also teaches ultra-light techniques in the USA. Simon Willis meets the Godfather of ultra-light hiking. The
hiking store was officially closed and Glen Van Peski was helping set out the
chairs for his first ultra-light backpacking clinic. Glen hoped people would turn up, but
the manager was not encouraging.
ÒWe might get twenty for a slide showÓ, he warned, Òbut IÕd expect only
about ten or twelve for a talk like this. DonÕt worry, weÕll ask them all to sit at the front.Ó As things turned out, the manager
spent most of that evening scurrying around his shop, tracking down extra
chairs for the one hundred and forty five people who arrived to learn how to
lighten their packs. Glen has
now given ÒLighten UpÓ seminars throughout the USA, has made a DVD of his
techniques, and if I keep nagging, he might yet make it over here for a TGO Challenge. A strange
yet happy set of coincidences led Glen and I to become friends. Before starting our Pacific Crest
Trail hike in 2002, Liz and I stayed with Glen and his wife Francie, when we
meet his sons and crazy dog Buddy.
One evening, Liz and I were instructed to spread all our gear on the
living-room floor, and Glen and a fellow ultra-light enthusiast Read Miller
made us justify every item we intended to carry. ÒWhy take two of those?Ó theyÕd ask, Òwhy not take this
and use it to do something else as well?Ó In our short time with Glen, we learnt his key principles
of ultra-light; pick the lightest you can find; pick items that have dual
uses; and donÕt take anything you donÕt need. These are
the basic principles with which Glen now begins his seminars, some of which
he gives at chain of outdoor stores called Adventure 16. ÒI go through general concepts of
lightening a load with a fairly detailed power point presentationÓ, Glen
explained, Òthen I pull gear out of my pack at a table up front. I used to pass it around but
sometimes it doesnÕt come back.Ó
Since he advocates the use of equipment that the stores donÕt sell, I
wondered why they allowed him through their doors. ÒWell, I try and point out the lighter stuff they have,
and they donÕt seem to mind.
Everyone wants to say they sell lightweight gear but no one wants to
sell stuff as light as IÕm talking about.Ó Glen also
shows a professionally produced DVD, which he based on the makeover TV
programme ÔWhat Not To WearÕ.
Instead of a victim being told what clothes suit their body shape, a
traditional hiker is given an ultra-light makeover. Glen says, ÒItÕs called ÔLighten UpÕ but could also be
called ÔWhat Not to PackÕ. We
take a hiker on a trip with their old gear, explain the concepts of
ultra-light, and finally take them out with light gear so they can see how
much better it is.Ó The DVD is
available from the Gossamer Gear website and plays fine on UK machines. Glen
first came to the attention of ultra-light enthusiasts because of a
revolutionary backpack which he designed, built and sold. He didnÕt get it right first
time. The initial design, the
G1, was based very loosely on Ray Jardine pattern [not a Ray Jardine pattern,
but a pattern that Ray Jardine mentioned in his first book], Òexcept it was
huge!Ó Glen admits, ÒAbout 7000 cubic inches (114 liters), which is kind of
humorous when you think about it nowÓ.
Between 1997 and 1998 he refined it three times until he ended up with
G4 and put the pattern onto the Internet for people to copy. However, such was the demand for finished
packs, he started GVP Gear with Francie and her friends doing the sewing and
Glen doing everything else.
Still the orders arrived and the waiting list grew longer. Glen found a pack manufacturer in
Seattle and ordered fifty, thinking theyÕd lie around in the garage for a few
years, but word spread and in 2001 Glen shipped his 500th G4. It became an ultra-light icon. Although
such small American companies are leading the new wave of ultra-light, Glen
doesnÕt believe its use is restricted to benign climates. ÒThis is another thing I teach. To a certain extent youÕre trading
experience for weight. You have
to carry your brain anyway, so if itÕs full of more stuff and if you can make
better use of what you have, you can go with less gear.Ó I asked for an example. ÒIf you look at the training films of
hypothermia and case studies of people who have died from exposure, most of
the time they are found with, or near, the gear they needed to live. The problem was they didnÕt have the
knowledge or experience.Ó Glen
ran an ultra-light seminar for a Search and Rescue team who, because they had
to carry ropes and other equipment, were looking to cut their personal loads. ÒThey told me itÕs extremely rare
people get into trouble because they didnÕt have the right piece of
equipment. Usually itÕs because
they donÕt have the experience to use the equipment they brought.Ó GlenÕs
website lists his backpacking gear, and heÕs managed to get his base weight,
excluding food and water, to well under 4lbs, thatÕs less than 2 kilos! But that comes with a warning. ÒI have a lot of experience with all
those items in a lot of different conditions, so IÕm comfortable using
them. But until you get that
experience, you must tread slowly.
ThatÕs even true for me.
If I ever get to Scotland to do the TGO Challenge, I will be packing
heavier than I would for a trek along the PCT just because itÕs
unfamiliar. You donÕt want to
cut things as close when thereÕs uncertainty.Ó As a day
job, Glen earns a comfortable living as a civil engineer, and right at the
start decided he wouldnÕt made a penny profit from either his pack making or
seminars. ÒI do it to be of
serviceÓ, he told me. ÒGod gave
me a way of looking at packs and other gear, and if that way appealed to
other people I figured itÕs my responsibility to make that gear and get it
out there. If people stopped
buying it, it wouldnÕt hurt my feelings.Ó ItÕs seems unlikely that will happen. The 2000th
G4 was shipped in December 2003.
Since then each design has been lighter than the last, the most recent
being the four ounce 33 litre G6-Whisper. As well as packs, Glen set up a business called Gossamer
Gear [not sure if it's relevant, but GVP Gear became Gossamer Gear, I did not
run two different companies] to sell an entire range of ultra-light
equipment, but again demand exceeded his ability to supply it all. He was about to close down, when long
time customer Grant Sible asked if he could take over the day-to-day
operations. The business moved
to Austin, Texas and recruited employees while Glen remains in California as
chairman and chief product designer.
He told
me about a testing trip a few years with two other experienced ultra-light
hikers. They tackled a five-day
winter hike through the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming with a combined total
pack-weight of 43lb, including food.
ÒWe hiked cross country, a lot of it off trail, and went over a high
pass in white-out conditions. We
faced two snow storms but we were fine.Ó Even in such conditions, Glen doesnÕt wear boots. He just remembers to sleep with his
shoes under his head so they stay pliable, or makes sure they freeze open. ÒEven in boots, after several days of
rain your feet arenÕt dry, and once your boots are wet, boy itÕs hard to dry
them out.Ó Glen put a photo on
his website of his home-made shelter used successfully in deep snow, and was
amused to learn it was later appropriated and used on a different website to
show the conditions in which a tarp was NOT suitable. ÒThis is what I mean about
experience. Someone thought it
was dangerous, but we were comfortable and safe.Ó Gossamer
Gear is now available through winwood-outdoor.co.uk Glen also teaches some clever
tricks. * Carry in your pocket a tiny bottle,
refillable eye dropper size, of concentrated liquid soap. Ideally this should be Dr BronnerÕs
peppermint soap as this can double as toothpaste (find it online or in health
food shops). Use this to clean
hands after every toilet stop and before cooking to maintain hygiene on a
long trip. * Replace heavy head torches with
a single LED key-ring torch (with a replaceable battery). Stick Velcro on it, and sew other
part of the Velcro to hat brim or side of fleece cap. Creates a light, cheap head torch. * Carry key-ring torch and mini
Swiss army knife on lanyard around neck where theyÕre always handy. * Use a thin, backpacking sleeping
pad cut to the length of your torso, shoulders to bum. For added comfort
carry an extra foot-long section to put under your hip bone, as this is the
area that digs into the ground. |
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