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Writer's pictureRose Pearson

How to poop on a portaledge

Updated: Nov 20

Portaleges are often crowded affairs. This makes taking care of business all the more challenging.

There are many places in the mountains, maybe most, where taking a crap and leaving it just doesn't cut the mustard. You should think twice about leaving a deposit in-situ if you are on a regularly climbed route, near a waterway, somewhere arid or very cold with slow decomposition, or somewhere of cultural significance. How would you feel bivvying on a small ledge if someone had left a big poo in the middle?

Ok, so you're convinced by the pack-it-out philosophy, but how, exactly, do you manage this half way up a big wall? In this article, I'll share five tips and tricks for having a clean and successful shit on a portaledge.. or anywhere really.

Things don't always work out! A stain on the rock after a failed portaledge pooping incident.
  • Have a plan - Make sure you know what your pack-it-out solution is ahead of time! How are you going to separate your pee and poo? What are you pooing into or on? How are you containing the deposit to avoid any unpleasant explosions later on in the trip? And, how are you going to clean your hands? There are no right answers here, but I'll share a simple approach that works for me.

  • Separating pee & poo - In most cases it is only necessary to carry out your poo. This will make your load much lighter and less messy. Somewhere warm like Yosemite you can pour your pee directly onto the wall and it will quickly evaporate. While separation is straight forward for the men, this is more complex for those of us with a vagina. I pee into a wide-nose Nalgene (she-wee could work too) which I wedge in place prior to pooing. Make sure you have correct alignment! I then use two hands to hold open the bag I am pooing into.

  • What to poo in - I like large (something you can fit a whole chicken in) freezer bags which I hold open and in-place right against my bum, so I can't miss. I then triple bag. Other options are zip-locks, wag-bags ($$ & volume), and corn-starch bags (bio-degradable). The key thing is to ensure a good seal or knot and some redundancy through multiple layers of bags!

  • Containment - Heaps of options here. I've had good experience with a hanging poop tube beneath the haul bag. It's light so you can clip it directly beneath so it is protected from wear and tear, but could still tag up in an emergency. Another more recent innovation is to cut open empty water jugs. Insert the bagged poop, before duct-taping the water-jug closed again. This is good - but maybe a few too many steps for any slightly incontinent climbing partners you might have... If you are alpine climbing, one or more robust dry bags can do the trick - again much lower risk if you've separated out the pee.

  • Be organised - While you might be one of those lucky people who typically knows an hour or more before you need to take a poop, everybody has a bad day! For this reason, it's really nice to have all the poop kit in one place - if you're big-walling, think a dry-bag at the top of the haul bag that can be clipped to the haul line in a hurry. This should contain your toilet paper / wet-wipes, freezer bags (and/or zip-locks), and hand sanitizer... and some way of ferrying your un-planned but bagged poop back down to the containment vessel!



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