The Rucksack is a very important item of equipment It should be waterproof and large, even if you do not intend to carry much.  Nothing is more uncomfortable than a small full Rucksack, perching like a football on one’s back.  By the time a packed lunch and a cardigan as well as some spare gear is stuffed into the sack, it swells.  Two outside pockets and one large inside division are indispensable.  Keep wax, scraper, string, etc., in one outside pocket ready to hand.  Map in the other.

Leather shoulder straps are the best as they do not cut the shoulder in the same way as webbing.  I once hunted a great many London shops in vain for a Rucksack with leather shoulder straps.  They all had thin webbing, which soon turns into a wisp and hurts the muscles of the shoulder.  The leather straps should finish on a ring at the top which should be attached to the top of the Rucksack by a leather tab firmly sewn on.  This is a much safer system than running the string, which pulls up the top of the sack, through the shoulder straps at the back, because the pull on the string chafes it and gradually cuts through it.  Some experienced runners prefer the Bergans Rucksack on an aluminium frame.  It is unquestionably heavier than the ordinary sack, but the frame resting on the hips helps to distribute the weight and it is said to be less tiring to carry.  Another joy about it is that the frame keeps the sack off the back, so that there is an air space, and the usual poultice effect of an ordinary Rucksack is avoided.

There are many different types of Rucksack to be had in Switzerland.  They should be waterproof and as the waterproof material is very expensive now, a good serviceable sack costs at least Frs. 17.00 to 25.00.  The better Rucksacks have straps fixed outside for carrying one’s coat or possibly sealskins. (Sohms skins should be carried inside the sack.) I advise people to carry the various contents of their sacks in different bags, or tied up in handkerchiefs.  This may sound old-maidish, but it is a trick I learnt from Swiss climbers and I am very thankful.  Anyone who has hurriedly searched his sack for some particular bit of gear knows the sort of haystack which results, while if first-aid equipment, sealskins, spare bindings, emergency rations, mending outfit, etc., are all carried in separate, differently coloured bundles inside the sack, endless time is saved.  This is particularly worth considering in a blizzard, when fingers are cold and nothing can be found.

Skins are used for climbing uphill on tour.  They consist of long strips of sealskin, which are attached to the running surface of the Skis.  The hairs lying towards the back of the Ski catch in the snow and prevent the Skis from slipping backwards, which is a great help and saving of energy.  The Skis can be kept in good slipping condition with oil or wax, and when the skins are taken off at the top of a run, very little further preparation is necessary.