1. A tunnel tent [we recommend the Hilleberg Nammajt 2, $545; hilleberg.com] is the easiest kind to set up while wearing mittens in 30-below temps and extreme wind. I anchor one end with an ice screw or snow stake and then let the wind blow it up. I've done it in as little as a minute and a half.

2. I'm always bending something back into place or adjusting my bindings, so my Leatherman Juice S2 [$60; leatherman.com] is indispensable. It has pliers, scissors, a Phillips, a flathead, and a knife—all of which are critical—and weighs just 4.4 ounces.

3. I take a Canon PowerShot G9 [$500; canonusa.com] that I keep close to my body to preserve the battery. It's manual and automatic, has 12.1 mega­pixels, and takes RAW-format pictures, so it basically has all the benefits of an SLR but in a smaller, lighter point-and-shoot.

4. I charge my iPod and satellite phone in a couple of hours with Brunton's SolarRoll 14 [$437; brunton.com]. It works even in whiteouts. It's also durable and very light, a little thicker than the paperboard of a cereal box.

5. I live in sunscreen. I'll use two: a sport cream like Reflect [4 oz, $5; rei.com], with an SPF of 30, and zinc oxide doubled up on my nose and ears. I put it on thick and leave it white. I like the smell. It's great to be sitting in the Arctic and having a really vivid image of the beach in your head.