I've cycled through every type of energy bar and most no-brainer snack foods over the last few years. I'd love some new ideas for light-weight stuff that works well on fairly-strenuous climbs where you don't want to bring extra weight. So far, I've gone through:

1) power bars, cliff bars, luna bars, etc etc etc of most flavors
2) granola bars, kudo bars, etc
3) GORP, GORP+chocolate chips/m&m's/etc, honey-roasted peanuts, etc etc etc
4) Gu and many of the copy-cat brands
5) PBJ sandwiches
6) Tortillas and cheese
7) beef jerky
8) dried fruits of various types (cherries, blueberries, mangos, strawberries, cranberries, etc)

pizza.

how much, and how long does it keep? approach only?

I've made and used this stuff before Moose Goo

It's tasty and easy to pack. These days, it's all snickers or payday bars (when it's hot out).

I guess fast & light food seems silly to me. Top alpinist probably need to worry about it. Folks like you and I just need to get more fit.

I've climbed with pizza before. Take one of those Trader Joes personal pizzas, bake it, fold it in half and wrap in aluminum foil. Kept for 30 hours without any issue.

Great. Now I'm craving pizza. Damn all of you!

I prefer bagels instead of torts. Bagels smoosh up great, and they have more calories. Add dried salami, and a nice hard cheese, and you've got lunch + dinner.

I like tiger's milk bars. Don't forget candy -- swedish fish, dots, and snickers. Buy a banana power bar for emergency food -- fuckers are so nasty, you'll never eat it and it'll sit in your pack until you're dying. And even then, you might skip it....

Granola or Cereal (Captain Crunch?) in ziplock baggies with dried milk for breakfast -- just add water.

Fuck GORP. Peanut M&Ms, baby.

Well since I'm a young growing boy, I cooked a whole digorno pizza, cut it up and put it in foil. ate it over teh course of two days. that, plus a nalgene of beer is great.

+1 - Pop Tarts, candy bars (Snickers and Payday for sure), summer sausage, a block of cheese, butter horns, the shittier the better.

where do you get the summer sausage? any brand/etc that you've found is better than others? I never eat that stuff at home, but on the trail it would be awesome, I'm sure.

Last climb I did I loved my food selection:

Trader Joe's Brown Rice Torillas
Trader Joe's Dutch Gouda Cheese
Salame
wraps with above ingredients

Trail Mix

Trader Joe's pre cooked indian style rice with lentils rolled in above mentioned tortillas

Get summer sausage at any grocery store. Tastes pretty good to me with cheese and crackers, but it's about 90% fat. Good for staying warm at the bivy, not so good for a fuel source during exercise.

I've brought Gouda on trips before. That stuff rocks.

Gorp never mix salt and sugar as a combination.

Now as separate food items that's different.

They sell packages of presliced salami, mixed nuts, and dried fruit like apricots. I've also taken various crackers, and those individual cheese sticks too.

Chocolate is good too, but you better think about how warm the environment you're going to hang out in is.

Make sure to sniff the salami if it smells funny then feed it to the snaffelhounds.

I take along a loaf Garlic Cheddar or Onion bread from Trader Joe's or Great Harvest. Don't know how long it lasts, cause it's never made down the mountain.

Before climbing Baker once we all stopped at the Olive Garden to eat. Everyone ordered a pizza, and the server had half of it wrapped in foil for us for the climb.

Gummibears, starbursts, or jolly ranchers for quick energy, plus they are not prone to melting like chocolate.

Peanutbutter sandwiches fair better than PBJ. Make them on bagels for added durability. Should keep for at least two days in a ziplock.

A cup of dry granola is good for breakfast and packs well. Add a cliff bar and a half a nalgene full of nearly-frozen water and you've got the breakfast of champions!


Summer sausage is a great supplement to any freeze dried dinner crap.

Snickers bars are a good addition to the normal cliff bar menu. They have more calories and you can still eat them when frozen or cold.

performancemenu.com

oh yeah speaking of FOOD

My wifes oatmeal choclate chip cookies, are a great source of energy and DELICIOUS! she makes some for me each time I go climbing, no more Gu, power bars etc.....

butter, marshmellows, water, sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, butterscotch chips, honey, peanut butter, chocolate chips, rolled oats, nuts, powdered milk, cheerios, soy protein powder, M&Ms... mix wet then dry then combine - bake into bars. mmmm

I usually make a couple of bagel sandwiches: cream cheese and a big wad of lunchmeat. They hold their shape, and you get the chewiness and a bit of moisture. They seem to last 2-3 days without any problems. The hard part is finding decent bagels these days: Bagel Oasis has the best.
If you're bringing a helmet along, you can pack your food inside the helmet in your pack on the approach, for some protection.
Also, apples: juicy, sweet, no packaging to feel guilty about.

I buy the Gallo (or there are other brands)Italian dry salami as it is a bit tastier than your average summer sausage. An Aged Gouda or Gruyere is great and packs well for several days. Soft pitas work well if you get tired of bagels.
On the candy front: sour candy, paydays or nut-rolls in summer and snickers in winter. Also, I make some killer triple chocolate brownies that power you through a long alpine day.

Cashews and teriyaki jerky mixed in a baggie. You can add dried blueberries, cherries or other fruit to it if you want.
Peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Put them in a baggy you can use for trash and then stuff them in your pack so they get smooshed. I also like some powdered Gatorade along to flavor water and get some electrolytes.

Do you have any sort of proportions or recipe for this? it sounds awesome.

My standard food is either Pro Bars, GORP+M&M's and dried mango or a burly ass bagel sandwich for on-the-move food, granola with raisins, protein powder and powdered milk (just add water) for breakfast, and some sort of high carb/protein egg noodles or dried lentils or some such plus summer sausage and smoked gouda for dinner. And I usually bring some satsumas, fuji apples or some other fresh fruit for the first day.

I also try to eat a big Italian or similar carbo-loading meal the night before a big trip.

Bagels are great, but they are bulky. I've brought one before, plus a PBJ, but more than that is too bulky.