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Best stoves and pot size for Denali

Original Post
Fintan K. Maguire · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 0

We will be a team of 4-6 climbing the W. Buttress route starting around May 12th. We are considering MSR xgk, dragonfly, and whisperlite stoves. Also what size pots, brand, and number? Last but not least, should we ditch sleds at 11 or take up to 14 camp?
Thanks for the help

John Balciar · · Centennial, CO · Joined Sep 2012 · Points: 0

I went on a guided trip with RMI in 2005. We used MSR xgk stoves, and some basic large aluminum pots like the Open Country 10 quart aluminum kettle. We took sleds to 14.

Steve Williams · · The state of confusion · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 235

XGK's were our stove of choice back in 2003. Worked like a charm.
We were attempting the West Rib, so we ditched our sleds early,
and used drag bags for the rest of the trip--but they were
a real pain going down hill.

Allen Sanderson · · On the road to perdition · Joined Jul 2007 · Points: 1,203

XGK (aka the blow torch) is SOP on Denali. Take a couple of them.

As for pots Evernew titanium pots - get a couple of the larger one for melting snow;

basegear.com/evernew-ti-ns-…

basegear.com/evernew-ti-ns-…

As for how high to take sleds. Take a light load up to Windy Corner or to 14k and dump it. Then decide ...

Greg Miller · · Westminster, CO · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 30

My brother took XGK's up Denali and liked them, and said that a 2.5L MSR Reactor Pot (not the stove, just the pot) lines up quite nicely on top of the XGK, and boils water in a hurry.

BGardner · · Seattle, WA · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 0

I've guided the West Butt 5 times.
I'd recommend the wisperlight, almost as powerful as the XGK and way more useful if you actually want to do some cooking. You'll spend a lot of time with the stoves on your trip and the XGK are just loud.
For a group that big I'd bring 3, plus a few spare pumps and a repair kit.
The newer Wisperlight Universal even lets you run the stove on canisters which is nice for making quick drinks.

Pots- Bring one or two smaller ones for cooking and as summit pots but also bring at least one big pot (10-15 quart) for melting snow. The big pot can be anything. I normally just go into Fred Meyer in Anchorage and buy something cheap.

Make a stove board that will support all three stoves.

Most folks bring sleds to 14. Makes getting out of there in one trip a lot easier.

Martin le Roux · · Superior, CO · Joined Jul 2003 · Points: 401
GregMiller wrote:a 2.5L MSR Reactor Pot (not the stove, just the pot) lines up quite nicely on top of the XGK, and boils water in a hurry.
We used an MSR Reactor (pot + stove) side-by-side with an XGK EX on a trip to the Alaska Range earlier this year. I was surprised to see how much faster the Reactor was. It melted snow and boiled water in about 2/3 the time than the XGK, even though we were using the XGK with an MSR heat exchanger. And of course the Reactor was much easier to get started.

I did some tests when I got home and got the same results. I also tried an MSR Reactor pot on the XGK, but it wasn't any different from using a regular pot + MSR heat exchanger. It's the combination of the Reactor pot and Reactor burner that makes the difference.

Because the Reactor's so much more efficient than a white gas stove you only need about 2/3 the fuel (by weight), but isobutane containers are heavier and total weight ends up about the same either way.

The main issue with isobutane is that you have to keep the fuel warm in cold conditions. That means keeping the canister in your sleeping bag overnight and standing it in a water bath when in use. And isobutane canisters are much more expensive than white gas.

Whatever you do, don't take a Dragonfly. The problem is that the Dragonfly's fuel line doesn't loop through the flame, unlike the XGK and Whisperlite. I once tried using a Dragonfly on trip to the St Elias range and it gave us no end of trouble.
Fintan K. Maguire · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 0

Thanks for the great info. One of the team members already has the xgk. If we bring 3 stoves should we have 2 xgks and 1 whisperlite or 2 whisperlites and 1 xgk?

Martin le Roux · · Superior, CO · Joined Jul 2003 · Points: 401
Fintan K. Maguire wrote:One of the team members already has the xgk. If we bring 3 stoves should we have 2 xgks and 1 whisperlite or 2 whisperlites and 1 xgk?
If it were me I'd just bring two stoves of the same type (preferably XGKs if you want to use white gas) and some spare parts, maybe a complete spare pump. The MSR pumps are more robust than they used to be but a couple of years ago I had one break on me in the field.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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