Attempting to ascend TWM. Any tips?

[Catlover]

The title sums it up, haha. During my realism challenge, I'm going to set a goal to reach the summit. It will be a slow run, depending on how difficult it is to climb. I've never gotten close to climbing before, so even simple tips are useful! My style of playing will basically be Loper weather and supplies, and then Voyager with animal hostility (though of course no grace periods because they make it easier)

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[manolitode]

Sounds like a solid goal. I guess what you need to bring depends on how you choose to climb the mountain. Are you familiar with a way up? If you plan on exploring the path from scratch, you'll need to bring more resources like cloth, coal, dry food and hot drinks. Even better, a well-stocked mountaineer's hut to return to every once in a while. Some starting advice then: bring a bedroll on your first attempt. You want to bring coal if you're not well-oriented on the mountain, it will keep you warm. Coal is preferable instead of cedar/fir since you want to be lightweight. Bring something warm to drink and some food (more nutrition await you at the top). You will be climbing a lot of ropes so keep an eye out for caves and shelter where you can rest. Coffee is your best friend on that mountain. And since you're on loper-weather, keep an extra eye out for discrete (and not so discrete) changes in snowfall intensity. If you get lost up on the mountain in a snowstorm without access to shelter, that's pretty much it. Apart from that, don't forget to make sure your clothes and tools are in tiptop shape before you start ascending. Best of luck!

  

 

[Catlover]

Much thanks, @manolitode! 

One question, is there wildlife around the summit and on the mountain. I have never seen any, as I have only tried before on Voyager-Pilgrim difficulty. 

[manolitode]

3 hours ago, Catlover said:

Much thanks, @manolitode! 

One question, is there wildlife around the summit and on the mountain. I have never seen any, as I have only tried before on Voyager-Pilgrim difficulty. 

No problem! All animals but the moose are on the mountain. You might wanna be extra careful in the area around deer clearing. The summit is a safe haven. 

[Catlover]

@manolitodeI was too lazy to document it, but I began in Voyager, just to gain confidence before advancing to higher difficulties.

Where I left off, I was in PV, six days in, pretty warm, encumbered, exhausted, nearly dead from two wolves intent on my demise, and lost in the farm, seeking refuge in a barn. Thank the lord for hay beds! Aside from the wolves, it's going decently! I'll be heading on to TWM in a week or so, in game! 

And thanks, again, for the help! Can't wait to climb to the summit

[manolitode]

@Catlover Ah I didn't realize you were playing on a brand new playthrough. Sounds like a good idea to grab som resources before you head off, don't forget to loot the crashed planesite on your way to TWM. Do let us know how it goes :) 

[Applesauce]

I just got back from my first trip up there so here's some things I learned -

You won't need a rifle, maybe a revolver for scaring off wolves. I brought a bow and got by with like 6 arrows for the first half. Speaking of wolves, they can be pretty easy to avoid if you just know where they are. Stay vigilant and you'll learn their patterns quickly. If you find yourself having to go through a wolf, know that there's plenty of fallen trees for you to shoot them from. Also the landscape can be very hilly so it's good to always to have the high ground. Something I didn't know was that there's a bear who like to wander behind the mountain, along with a couple wolves. You shouldn't have much of a problem avoiding them either, and again there's lots of obvious fallen tree to seek safety on. That's all my tips, so good luck and safe travels!

[Catlover]

@ApplesauceI have already gained a revolver and 20+ bullets, and it was pretty handy during a struggle. My shooting skill still leaves much to be desired and only made a wolf charge, but hey, I'll improve! And thanks for the tips, they'll definitely come in handy. 

@manolitodeI'll make sure to loot the plane first! I'll possibly make a new topic documenting what happens if I can be bothered. I'll make sure to keep you updated on here at least!

[Jimmy]

if I plan an early Summit to Timberwolf Mountain on Interloper, there's a fairly linear route to guarantee enough calories that I shouldn't require food, merely a bedroll or enough cloth for two snow shelters plus a hacksaw.

Coming fully rested from Pleasant Valley, I usually grab a half dozen birch barks and two rabbits before hitting the Mountaineer's Hut. Dropping the rabbits at the hut and warming up while I harvest them, I set them to cook for the half hour or so while I bag the two other rabbits down on Crystal Lake. The four should fill my calorie meter, and give me enough time to brew a cup of hot birch bark tea for a warmth boost.

Full and warmed up with a half dozen torches pulled from the fire, I then wander down to the Wing, grab the canned food, tea and coffee, then run down Echo Ravine carrying my fire to ward off the wolf at the Engine and start up a small campfire to scare him off, looting the sweaters, socks and shoes. I slip up to the cave above the engine, set a fire and brew a litre of water in some cans while I warm up a second birch bark tea on the ground. While this boils, I grab the four or five coal from the cave, and check there's no wool ear wraps near the corpse in here, which is a possible spawn.

By the time I'm done looting the cave, the water should be just finished boiling, so I harvest any burnt out torches, feeding them back in the fire if I need more duration to pull back to a half dozen torches, then drink my birch bark tea and climb up to the three-way Cave. I'll use the duration of my warmth to stock up on sticks and bag the three rabbits nearby, then boil another litre of water while I harvest their carcasses for meat, cook them for dinner before I sleep here, and spend the litre of water I made by brewing three coffee and one tea for when I need extra condition recovery while I sleep, remembering to drop one coffee before I rest and feeding the fire up to eight hours duration for a ten hour rest.

In the morning I pick up the coffee, eat whatever leftover rabbit I have, then take a sip of water, pull a torch and make for the Deer Clearing. If the deer carcass is near the base of the rope, I'll start a small fire here, warm up and harvest the venison while I brew water, and heat my coffee again, then drink my coffee, eat the cooked venison to max out my calories, then drop any leftovers and ascend the rope to the deer clearing. If there's no deer carcass I simply drink my hot coffee at the base of the rope to maximize the warmth duration, since I'll be without a torch after ascending.

I usually grab the coal in the cave and whatever other loot is there, then loot the cargo container for tomato soup, cloth and scrap metal before hiking to the rope climb up to the Secluded Shelf, drinking a second coffee before the climb. I typically don't bother with a torch here, paying the price in warmth and condition to save a match like the cheapskate I am.

Once inside the Secluded Shelf, there's coal galore to loot here, plus a possible magnifying lens on one loot table. With a dozen or more coal in my pack, I head out of the cave, grab the rabbit outside and hope for a deer carcass before the summit climb to fill my calorie meter once more. If I've been efficient, I should have just enough energy to make the third climb to the summit without resting by drinking a third coffee, though I may need to drop all my lovely coal and assorted firewood beforehand.

After that, it's just a case of gathering sticks on the summit for a fire inside the Tail Section, resting, looting the place down to the rivets, and then spraining every part of my body returning to the Mountaineer's Hut the fast way. Calories at this point should be sufficient to see me down the mountain even without touching the looted foods from the journey, though returning to Pleasant Valley might cost a few cattails harvested from Crystal Lake without a rabbit hunting detour. If I feel particularly scroogish, I'll save the cattails and head directly for the rabbits at Misty Falls Picnic Area to fill my calories again, though I might also require a second hunt at the rabbit grove near the hunter's blind if I didn't already clear this spot on my trip up.