Get water on the Go - 3 tips

Here are some tips for “water harvesting” on the move.

1) When you grab or cut snow chunks to add to your water bottle, collect from the bottom edge of a snowfield or serac. This snow is heavily saturated with percolation and will add more water than the same snow volume gathered from above

2) If climbing across easy ground, harness-clip your bottle and frequently add handfuls of snow to your water, without stopping. On a warm, sunny day, this snow will melt or form a drinkable slush — bring a straw and some Gatorade powder for a poor-man’s Slurpee.  (One more reason not to use a water bladder.)

3) Water running down a face in a broad, yet shallow, curtain can be hard to collect. Here’s a trick: remove your jacket and long-sleeved shirt, and then spread and flatten your hand across the rock, giving the wet slab a chest-level “high-five.” The water will collect on your fingers and run down to your elbow in a stream; fill your bottle from this drippage point.

This tip is from Climbing magazine