The sun was bright but the air was so cold it sent chills through my body. I Woke up at 4700m altitude, not ready yet to brave the feeling of cold on my cheeks by pulling the hood of my sleeping bag from over my face to make a little gap for my eyes. I wanted to see the conditions of the weather outside our little plywood teahouse room ‘window’. For a second I thought it was cloudy - which is unusual at this time of year in the Khumbu, but then realised it was just a thin layer of ice on the inside of the window.
Procrastination kicks in at the thought of getting out of my sleeping bag - as I know its going to be followed by a lot of ‘labour style’ noises (due to the cold) until I am wrapped in merino and warm again. A feeling of happiness and Stoke crept through me as I wiggled my toes feeling my base layers which I had remembered I placed in the bottom of my sleeping bag. A Himalayan hack I learned from my friend James, so that when you get dressed in the morning in -10 degrees, its like having a warm hug to your body (and always makes a smug smile creep across your face.)
There was a feeling of excitement and anticipation this morning among the team as we were doing our highest ascent of the 14 day trip up the Renjo La Pass at 5360mtrs altitude. The sky was blue and the air was crisp - spirits were high as we tucked into our chai teas and porridge ready for our ‘big day’.
In my opinion - What are the raddest points to Mons Royale merino tech?
* You can pack SO light! - because a top will last me 4 days instead of one. Meaning I can pack 4 times less kit. (Every gram counts when trekking / mountaineering and trotting the globe chasing mountain adventures - so this is a dream come true!)
The same goes for the merino socks. I can wear them and wear them and wear them, genuinely for about a week with no odour what so ever. Winning.
How does this work? It works because merino wool is different from other fibres. The wool has a wavy structure to it which makes it very difficult for sweat and stinky bacteria to attach itself to the garment - meaning you can repeatedly wear it and still smell fruity fresh!
This makes these magical - mystical garms not only environmentally friendly because you are washing them a lot less - but means you can still feel AND smell sassy AF during sweaty activities.
When I thought of wool historically - I thought of those horrendous woolen jumpers my grandma knitted me, that I was forced to wear on visits to the grandparents. They were scratchy, itchy and pretty damn ugly. Mons Royale merino base layers and outerwear is the complete opposite to this.
It doesn't itch all - its soft against the skin - and I am one who is really picky about fabrics as I have sensitive skin, and I’ve never worn warmer, dryer or more comfortable base layers than these. They are always the first thing I pack for any adventure - hot or cold.
You can wear them as base layers…or outer wear ! Their designs look super rad and they aren't the type of base layers you are ‘embarrassed to strip down too that you hide under your clothes’ - they are ones that you want to strip down and stand on a mountain top for everyone to see. (See below picture!)
On this trip when summiting the Renjo La Pass the sherpas even commented ‘Rebecca you look so fashionable on the mountain’. I laughed on the outside, but on the inside I felt like saying ‘thats Mons for you’. A fashionable piece of kit that really does work. In all my mountain adventures I couldn't recommend it enough.
You feel rad wearing it, you look rad wearing it, It is rad.
On the highest summit of our trip - the Renjo La Pass - 5360mtrs altitude with Everest, Lhotse, Nupste and the Gokyo Lakes in the background.
To read about the sustainable magical technology of Merino - check it out on the Mons website
To shop their rad range of merino garms - click here!