As the backcountry season begins to open up in the Northern Hemisphere, thoughts turn to being prepared for emergency scenarios. This means first-aid kits and repair kits are robust enough to do the job, yet light enough to haul in the pack all day long. Here’s Teague Holmes’ take on the preparedness/efficiency equation. 

 

Backcountry Skiing First Aid Kit Series: Starting in the Middle

 

For the next part of our first aid kit series, I wrangled Teague Holmes from Summit County, CO. Teague is a reformed skimo racer. These days, he is well known for huge outings around his home in Colorado as well as steep skiing exploits around Chamonix. 

I asked Teague to put together some information on his first aid kit/emergency system for a few reasons; first, he isn’t a guide, so he has less professional obligation to be well prepared. Second, I know Teague is a thoughtful gear nerd who leaves no stone unturned when optimizing his pack weight and kit, which he somehow fits (often including a paragliding wing) into a 23L(+) Apocalypse Equipment pack. Given this, I had a notion that his kit would be lighter, and more pared down than my own. Turns out, we seem to have converged on a similar setup. Teague gets into more detail on his repair kit here, and I appreciate the sentiment that everything in a pack can become a first aid item in an emergency. 

Here’s what Teague is carrying: 

 

The Teague Holmes repair kit in its minimalist glory.

The Teague Holmes repair-prepared kit in its minimalist glory.

 

Repair kit

The repair kit is just as important—maybe even more so—as a first-aid kit to keep moving, get out, and prevent injury.

  • Five feet of bailing wire, ski pole splints (corrugated gutter or sliced ski pole sections) and zip ties.
  • Skin tail, basket, extra long, Voilé strap, small star drive, or Allen wrench to adjust bindings. 
  • A very small multitool with pliers and screwdrivers.
  • Space bag, not blanket.
  • Firestarter : Cotton balls soaked in Vaseline with KT tape wrapped around the bottle. 
  • Cash$$

 

Holmes' first-aid kit is populated with items that balances preparedness with weight efficiencies.

Holmes’ first-aid kit is populated with items that balances preparedness with weight efficiencies.

 

First aid/comfort kit

  • inReach and or iPhone 14 with SOS. Charge, test, and know how to use.
  • Lipstick size auxiliary battery and mini charging cable for phone and rechargeable headlamp (Petzl Actik core).
  • One or two Honey Stinger waffles and a ginger chew. 
  • Steri-Strips, smoothing non-stick dressing, maxi pad, regular thinner, gauze, miniature finger Sam Splint—mostly for fun. Consider carrying a full-size Sam splint
  • Foot kit (including KT tape mentioned above), band-aid, Dr. Scholl rubberized and sticky blister padding, cotton balls for toe padding, and a little moleskin
  • Alcohol pads, small sticky foam pad, sunscreen packet, one pair of contacts, eyeball hydration tubes, large band-aid, rubber gloves, cling wrap, caffeine tablets, standard pain medicine (including ibuprofen, Tylenol, Excedrin, naproxen, sodium, narcotics), a lighter with duct tape wrapped around it, toilet paper, athletic tape wrapped around a Chapstick with SPF.
  • Chemical pack toe and hand warmers. 

Total Weight: ~500g absent inReach and phone

 

With a total weight of ~500g, it makes for a tidy and light package.

With a total weight of ~500g, it makes for a tidy and light package.

 

Additional components of the safety system

  • Two light puffies instead of one puffy. (One synthetic, one down or both synthetic.)
  • Zip-off three-quarter-length long underwear.
  • An extra underlayer/synthetic shirt, lightweight shell.
  • At least two pairs of gloves and sometimes mitten shells

I adjust what I carry occasionally, depending on the mission—proximity to help/a car, or more remote tours. Also, there are times when I do go as light as possible, even for big missions, and leave some items behind. If I leave a few items behind I aim for 300 to 400 g total.

 

Conclusions 

As mentioned in the intro, there’s some convergence between the kit outlined in my original piece in the first-aid kit series and Teagues’ kit. My plan going in was to seek a well thought out, super minimal kit for this post, but in my conversations with Teague, and knowing how devoted he is to a light pack, it seems like showing the convergence here is worthwhile. Similarly, in the comments for the last post, Dr. Patrick Fink commented with a very similar kit to both Teague and I—which takes my idea of looking at a light – medium – heavy kit from a recreational minimalist, a guide, and a medical provider, rather than just three similar kits.