When spending some weeks in the mountains far away from shops, you have to bring everything yourself. The key is to leave out non-essentials, and not to forget the important stuff. I have always packed blindly according to this list, and never missed a thing. And porters have never complained that my bag is too heavy.

This list looks long, and some items are really not essential. But as long as you don't bring more than 17kg, that's alright.

Bear in mind that somebody will have to carry all that (and it won't be you), so do not bring 3 pairs of hiking boots, two down-jackets and 50 power-bars!

Very Essentials

• duffel bag, if possible water-resistant (otherwise put all your stuff inside in plastic bags)
• sleeping bag (when trekking in late autumn, it can get below -12 C°)
• cotton or fleece inliner for sleeping bag (US$10 in Kathmandu, gives you about 6 C° more in the sleeping bag in case it is not good enough)
• insulation mattress (thermarest are really nice, but everything will do)
• small day pack
• trekking boots

Clothes

• light shoes (sneakers)
• thin socks (3)
• thick socks (3)
• underwear (4)
• down jacket
• long underwear (2)
• shirts (3)
• cotton pants or trekking pants (2)
• long-sleeved shirts (2)
• sweater (fleece)
• down jacket
• rain coat / windbraker
• rain proof pants
• sun hat
• gaiters
• woolen cap
• gloves

Medicine

• Micropur
• Bioflorin
• Bepanthen
• Lip balm
• Immodium
• Mebucaine (Cough and throat medicine)
• Alcacyl
• Disinfectant
• Band-aid
• Blister band-aid
• Elastic bandage
• Stock cube (good when you're feeling sick but still have to eat)
• Vitamin pills

Snacks

• Cereal bars
• Glucose
• Green tea
• Chocolate
• Packaged cheese / tofu-sticks
• Peanuts

Toiletries

• high-factor sun cream
• moisturizer
• tooth paste
• tooth brush
• shaving cream
• washcloth
• small towels (2)
• razor
• liquid soap (biodegradable)
• nail clipper
• mirror
• scissors
• pin
• toilet paper
• Q-tips (6, good for cleaning ears, wounds and cameras)

Odds and Ends

• ski poles
• water bottle
• sun glasses
• umbrella
• army knife
• locks (2)
• camera (if you have an SLR, buy an UV filter and maybe a Pol filter, it's worth it)
  Some Hints about taking pictures in the mountains
  
• film (color and b/w, slides)
• small binoculars
• torch light
• spare batteries
• alarm clock (otherwise you might miss the sunrise)
• candles
• lighter
• thread and needle
• tweezer
• books
• notebook
• pens
• travel guide
• map
• walkman
• games (cards, dice, mastermind, rumicub, uno, frisbee, small ball etc.)
• old clothes
• pictures from your home and family
• cord to hang clothes
• clothes pegs
• plastic bags
• ear plugs

Documents

• passport and some copies
• spare passport pictures
• creditcard
• traveller's cheques
• $ 200 cash, some in small bills
• important addresses and phone numbers
• insurance info
• visiting cards
• tickets