Many climbers do their best to avoid climbing in the dark. Fair enough: compared with daytime climbing it's colder, scarier, and ummmm … harder to see. Climbing in the dark, however, is an important skill that climbers of all levels should become comfortable with for several reasons. First, waking up at O-dark-thirty isn’t called an “alpine start” for nothing. Safety in alpinism hinges on the wee hours' freezing temperatures that keep the mountains glued together. In the interest of staying alive, alpinists often climb entire mountains by headlamp and are on their way down by sunrise. Second, some routes take longer to climb than daylight allows. Climbing in the dark comfortably and efficiently empowers you to blast long routes and can eliminate the exhausting hassle of hauling bags full of overnight gear and extra provisions. Finally, every climber occasionally gets caught out unexpectedly after sunset. In other words, you will climb at night eventually, whether you want to or not.

Like any skill, night climbing requires practice. Before launching up El Cap or a mile-high alpine north face with just a daypack, climb in the dark at a familiar crag with a familiar partner so you can dial your nighttime systems. The only safety issue is that climber and belayer will be out of sight from each other. No big deal; your partner often climbs out of view during the day, too. You just need to ensure that communication with your partner is unmistakably clear – as always. And the only extra gear required is an extra layer of clothing, a powerful headlamp, and extra batteries.

In April 2008, Alex Honnold and I free climbed Zion's Spaceshot (V 5.13a) and Moonlight Buttress (V 5.12d) in 12 hours – the majority of the latter in the dark. Honnold sported one Black Diamond Icon headlamp (100 lumens, 100-meters beam distance, 116-grams sans batteries) while I donned two smaller, slightly dimmer headlamps: Black Diamond's Spot (47 lumens, 70-meters beam distance, 50-grams) and Petzl's Tikka (50 lumens, 35-meters beam distance, 53-grams). I also attached a micro-headlamp, the BD Ion (12 lumens, 22-meters beam distance, 23-grams), to each of my shins for superior foothold illumination. After testing these and other headlamp combinations in Zion, both Honnold and I preferred the simple efficacy of one ultra-bright headlamp per climber. Since then I've climbed several big walls – a portion of each in the dark – and have fine-tuned my headlamp criteria for night climbing.

First, we must understand that lumens indicate the intensity of light at its source, while beam distance indicates how far the headlamp can project usable light (in other words, how effectively the headlamp uses its lumens to illuminate what you want to see). Headlamps with about 100 lumens, and a beam distance of around 100-meters are best, like the BD Icon, Petzl Myo RXP (160 lumens, 97-meters beam distance, 115-grams), and Mammut X-Zoom (100 lumens, 140-meters beam distance, 130-grams). Some headlamps are compatible with lithium batteries, which are not only lighter than alkalines, but they're brighter and longer-lasting in the cold.

Brighter headlamps exist, like the Ultimate Night Vision Headlamp that emits a blinding 500-plus lumens. But like all outdoor gear, weight has the final say: the UNVH is four times heavier (460-grams total) than the aforementioned climbing-specific headlamps. With headlamps, bright and light are right.

Despite our natural aversion to climbing at night, there’s nothing to be afraid of. In fact, becoming comfortable with night climbing may open doors of ascent possibility that you never knew existed. So the next time you’re out climbing and the sun is sinking low, embrace the evening, don your headlamp, and crank out a few more pitches – in the dark.

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