Part 3: Equipment and Clothing. Part 3: Equipment and Clothing - Denali National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service) Both limbs and lives have been lost for inability to build a snow shelter. A small steel shovel is invaluable for digging into the hard ice found high on Denali or Mt. Foraker. Brush up on snow shelter construction prior to your climb and always allow for good ventilation while cooking. Bring steel crampons that work with your combination of boots, overboots and gaiters. Strap-on, step-in, or new-matic style crampons are all fine so long as they work with the rest of your footwear equipment. Again, field test your equipment well in advance of your expedition, ideally in the context of a real climb. Aluminum crampons can be tempting to bring due to their light weight, but aluminum does not hold up well to the use and abuse of climbing hard ice and walking on rock. Be sure to bring whatever spare parts and pieces and tools you made need to repair crampons in the field.