An instructor at the US Army Mountain Warfare School breaks down every piece of gear a mountain soldier would carry on a cold-weather mission, including tactical gear, mountaineering equipment, and avalanche rescue tools.
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00:00We're super vulnerable in the types of terrain features that we're going to be moving troops
00:04through.
00:05Relying on the terrain to mask our position and protect us, so hopefully we're not getting
00:11in a fight at all.
00:12We're going to be in a bad place if we do.
00:13My name is Sergeant First Class Tim McLaughlin, and I'm an instructor at the Army Mountain
00:17Warfare School.
00:18The Army Mountain Warfare School provides tactical and technical training in mountain
00:22operations and cold weather operations.
00:24I've spent most of my military career in the Vermont National Guard, serving in the mountain
00:27infantry and here at the Army Mountain Warfare School.
00:30So as we go through this loadout, there's a lot of specialized equipment for mountaineering.
00:34For each particular mission, each particular day, we have to be selective with which equipment
00:38we bring with us and which we do not.
00:40To begin, I'll start talking with some of my tactical equipment.
00:44First thing in the winter months is dealing with over-snow mobility.
00:47In deep snow, it is hard to travel.
00:49Our tools for that, we need some sort of tool that gives us increased surface area so that
00:53we're going to float on top of the snow.
00:55These are the tool for moving in the high mountains during the winter months.
00:59They can go faster, further than anything else.
01:02They can traverse steep side slopes.
01:05They can move very efficiently in rolling terrain.
01:08And going downhill, nothing is faster.
01:10This gives us the most options for where we can go in the mountains.
01:17Snowshoes are lighter, cheaper, don't require any sort of specialized training.
01:22You can just strap them on and walk.
01:24They're significantly less efficient and limit where we can go in the mountains.
01:30We're certainly constrained to fewer and fewer avenues that we can use.
01:35Skiing does require a lot of equipment.
01:37The skis themselves, lightweight backcountry skis with alpine touring bindings on them
01:42that can travel both uphill and downhill.
01:46Alpine touring boots that are lighter and more flexible than alpine boots, allow soldiers
01:53to still climb and travel and do other tasks besides just skiing downhill.
01:59In addition for going uphill, we have climbing skins.
02:05These are adhesive skins that go to the bottom of the ski for uphill travel.
02:08They'll slide well going forward and have small hairs that will grab the snow, allowing
02:13you to move upward.
02:15In addition, you may carry, especially in a military context, ski crampons.
02:20For firm snow, these go right into the bindings and provide an extra little bite for wind
02:25pack.
02:26Whether using snowshoes or skis, poles are a key piece of equipment moving in deep snow.
02:32Ski poles provide a rest for shooting off of.
02:34They provide additional stability.
02:36They also, if you've ever gone prone in the deep snow, it's hard to do.
02:41You're just going to sink down and not be able to get your weapon and your optics above
02:44the snow.
02:45They also provide, if we do go prone, the platform that we can rest our elbows on and
02:51push back up when we go to stand up again.
02:53So operating in the snow, we do want snow camouflage to blend in with our environment.
02:58It's hard no matter what human beings stand out in the snow.
03:01We don't look like snow.
03:03So moving, it may not be super critical that we're wearing the snow camouflage.
03:07Oftentimes people are going to be able to observe us anyway, but especially once we
03:10get to our final location and go static, oftentimes we are hiding in the snow, right?
03:15We are digging in to create shelter.
03:16The snow can protect us both from the weather, it can protect us from observation.
03:21The snow is where we're going to be hiding.
03:23So we need to be able to hide in it.
03:27So over whites, especially in a wood environment, we're going to be wearing the pants at the
03:34least may stay green and brown up top and over white jacket as well.
03:40The other piece is an over white tarp.
03:42So this is for either covering packs or when we get in our final position, build our site.
03:47We can use in whatever aperture we build, use this as a thermal screen, at least give
03:52us something between any optics looking at us and our body heat.
03:57It's not as good as natural snow.
03:58Natural snow is going to protect us a lot better, but it gives us something.
04:02It can also be used for building shelters, a lot of things you can do with cloth.
04:07Collecting snow, you pile up your snow in there for when you're making water at the
04:10end of the day.
04:11My kit for operating in the role of a mountain guide is extremely minimalist, right?
04:15My main job supporting a unit is to be able to climb through obstacles.
04:20I need something that I can climb and ski with, which means it can't be heavy.
04:24I need to be able to see my feet.
04:26I want to be able to layer over it with my warmer clothing, keep radio batteries warm
04:31and the like.
04:32So small chest placard, a couple of magazines, med kit and radio pouch, shoot, move, communicate.
04:41With the high chest rig, one of the things it does is as we start doing technical mountaineering,
04:46it separates our tactical equipment from our technical equipment, right?
04:50So on a mountaineering harness, we'll have everything we need for putting in ropes, protecting
04:55ourselves, protecting the team, and then we have our fighting gear up high so we're not
04:59having to work through both systems.
05:04For a weapon, I'd be carrying an M4.
05:06We're trying to be as light as possible.
05:08We love snipers and we love machine gun teams in the mountains.
05:11They can get up high and cover a lot of ground, but again, my job as a guide would be to get
05:16them through terrain, get them up into those positions.
05:19This would really just be for personal protection in the worst case scenario, maybe providing
05:24local security for those teams once they're in place.
05:27Pretty standard M4.
05:28A couple of things specific to the winter environment.
05:30One, muzzle cap, trying to keep snow out of the barrel as we're moving.
05:36Two, we want to protect the lenses of our optics.
05:39So I know I've been guilty of throwing away muzzle caps and bikini covers when I get these.
05:43I want the optic to be ready right away, but an optic is worthless if it's fogged up or
05:49filled with snow.
05:50So in general, better to have things covered, protected, only takes a moment to take off
05:55caps and you'll have an optic that works.
05:58As far as setup, two point adjustable sling.
06:03We do want something that we can get up high and out of the way.
06:06We're super vulnerable in the types of terrain features that we're going to be moving troops
06:10through, relying on the terrain to mask our position and protect us.
06:14So hopefully we're not getting in a fight at all.
06:16We're going to be at a bad place if we do.
06:18Frequent in the military, people don't sling their weapons muzzle up, but in deep snow,
06:24having the muzzle up is going to help keep it out of the snow.
06:27Along with the optics on the weapons, we have our night optics.
06:30Also a real challenge in cold weather.
06:33The cold lens, any warm, moist air, like our breath, like the perspiration coming off of
06:38our skin will fog these very easily and that fog will freeze and you won't be able to use
06:43your optics anymore, right?
06:44So compared to in warmer environments, nods are generally worn further from the eye.
06:49Always carry some type of a lens cleaning rag, usually in a pocket, usually another
06:54one in the kit, usually another one stowed somewhere else, so I have plenty of these.
06:58The last piece, if I'm supporting a unit in a tactical scenario, I'm going to bring more
07:02cold weather clothing than I normally do.
07:04Compared to my role as a teacher here, where we are constantly moving, I can keep myself
07:10warm through that movement.
07:12Tactical situation, I'm going to be spending a lot more time static.
07:15So at the very least, I'm bringing an additional puff coat, I'm bringing my puff pants and
07:23a foam pad to keep me warm when I'm sitting or lying in the snow.
07:27So already our kit's starting to add up quite a bit, right?
07:30And I haven't even gotten into any technical mountaineering, which oftentimes we're trying
07:34to avoid the more technical terrain, so having to make compromises.
07:38For our training exercises and our goals within this course, right?
07:40My main job is to be an educator and introduce students to this terrain.
07:44I'm going to strip down a lot of this stuff and go with just what is necessary to manage
07:50the terrain and protect the group.
07:52So packing for the mountain walk, I'm going to try and be very selective with what I bring.
07:56I need tools to protect myself, right, in movement and technical terrain.
08:01I need tools for a rescue and to deal with any contingencies we have up there.
08:06And then I need everything to keep myself comfortable, functional, and working, right?
08:11Because whether I'm trying to teach, whether I'm trying to guide, or whether I'm trying
08:15to respond to emergency, if I haven't taken care of myself, I'm not going to be able to
08:18do any of those things.
08:19First off, my clothing.
08:20So a cold-weather clothing system, it should be made up of layers.
08:23A base layer made of either synthetics, wool, some sort of material that's going to wick
08:27moisture away and maintain its warmth, even if it's damp.
08:31An insulating layer, appropriate for the current conditions for the day, it's going to help
08:35trap air and keep us warm.
08:37And a shell that's going to protect us from the environment.
08:40I have two main choices for shells, and I'll usually go one way or the other.
08:45Hard shells, for warmer weather, at or just above freezing, where the snow is going to
08:50be very wet, I'll need the additional protection of a more waterproof layer.
08:54Soft shells, for when it's colder, provide adequate protection, but allow more moisture
08:59to breathe out of the layers underneath, so I'm not getting as wet inside.
09:03So to start the day, I'm going to layer for moving, being comfortable, trying to be, I
09:07say comfortably cool, I'll actually be a little bit cold, but that means I'm not going to
09:11be getting wet, sweating inside my layers.
09:14So for handwear, I'm going to try and match the conditions of the day.
09:17It's really cold, thick, fluffy, warm mittens.
09:21As it gets warmer, I can get by with thinner and thinner gloves.
09:24It's a balance, right?
09:25Because while I'm doing, while I'm climbing, doing technical skills, tying ropes, the more
09:28dexterity I have, the better I can do that part of my job.
09:32But if my hands are really cold, I can't do it either.
09:34So if it's cold, I have to go warmer.
09:36So I'll wear gloves that match the current conditions.
09:40On my head, we have a fleece cap, neck gaiter if it's windy, and usually some type of a
09:50hood.
09:51And we use all three of those in conjunction.
09:53The neck gaiter covers the lower face, the hood covers over the back, and then that neck
09:58gaiter can be rotated so that the wet portion in front of your face is constantly getting
10:03dried.
10:04We're constantly exhaling a lot of moisture, right?
10:06It's going to soak into this material and it's not going to be able to do its job anymore.
10:09In addition, anytime we're looking through optics, whether that's on a weapon or nods,
10:13covering our face is going to blow all that moisture up and into those optics.
10:17So we're going to do our best to leave this down and just lifting it up when there's heavy
10:21winds and we need to rewarm our face a little bit.
10:23With all these components, right, with the clothing, we've got a really good clothing
10:26system.
10:27Like our grandfathers and great grandfathers that fought in Ardennes and Chosin would be
10:31really jealous of what we have today.
10:34The materials are great.
10:35One of the challenges is the gaps, right?
10:37So when I'm making selections, right, I'm thinking about the gaps between my sleeves
10:41and my wrist, my neck, the gap between my pants and my jacket, my boots, and the bottoms
10:47of my pants.
10:48So gloves that have like a gauntlet style cuff helps cover up that gap, hoods help close
10:57the gap between our torso and our head, and gaiters are used to close the gap between
11:04our boots and the bottoms of our pants.
11:06They also do a good job of protecting those more fragile shells from sharp points from
11:10crampons and our other mountaineering equipment.
11:14So on my body, I'll carry any immediately essential gear that I'm going to need.
11:18So in my pockets, that lens cleaning cloth, keep at least one lighter on my body, keeping
11:24it warm and dry, cold and windy, a little bit of lip balm to help protect my lips.
11:29Usually I'll carry an extra set of glove liners.
11:33These will, as the liners and the gloves I'm using get wet, these will migrate to
11:37internal pockets so that they can be drying as they go and I can be swapping out and having
11:41dry hands.
11:42In addition, if I'm carrying additional navigation equipment, I'm going to be carrying this directly
11:47on my body.
11:48So map and compass, these provide our analog backup for any of our other tools.
11:55Usually we'll have a detailed, if we're responsible for walking point or guiding, we'll have a
12:00detailed route card showing our plan and checkpoints along the way.
12:04In addition, we have a piece of avalanche safety gear that we have to wear on our bodies.
12:08This is an avalanche transceiver or beacon.
12:10It's a small radio beacon that while we're in avalanche terrain, we have it on, it constantly
12:16emits radio pulses that if we're buried, the same tool can come out and be used to search
12:22for those signals.
12:25And if we can find the buried person under the snow.
12:28Avalanche beacon, it needs to be protected.
12:29It needs to stay on your body, right?
12:30Doesn't do us any good if it gets ripped away from us during the slide.
12:34So it's worn underneath your layers, protected in a chest harness where it's secured.
12:40There's a lot of ways an avalanche can kill you besides just burial, but if you're caught
12:44in an avalanche, you are buried.
12:46This is what's going to turn like the possibility they might be able to rescue you before you
12:50asphyxiate versus like recovering your body.
12:53This is my climbing harness.
12:55On the harness, I have mainly baseline equipment.
13:00So the general equipment we'll carry for climbing, the stuff I need to build rescue systems and
13:05to protect myself while I'm moving up and down.
13:07Repel device for descending ropes, belaying climbers, a few locking carabiners, right?
13:14Where we want additional security to secure a human load.
13:17Few cords for building anchors, shorter pre-tied cord for friction hitches, Prusik's and autoblocks.
13:26And I carry a Paz, a personal anchoring system, some type of a tether to attach into anchors
13:33and fix ropes, protect myself while we're moving up there.
13:35That's my normal baseline.
13:36In addition, in the winter, I have ice clippers.
13:40These are fixed carabiners for racking ice screws so that they're easily accessible on
13:43the harness.
13:45And specifically for the mountain walk, I will be carrying a mechanical ascender.
13:49So an ascender is a tool, grabs onto a rope, goes up, doesn't go down.
13:55So we can have fixed ropes up through steeper steps with long sections where the soldiers
14:01can climb through it and they won't be exposed to a long fall.
14:04All right, which gets me to my pack.
14:08So our pack, you know, like oftentimes you look at soldiers in other environments, they
14:13think about their mission essential equipment being on their kit or on their body.
14:17In the cold, like everything is mission essential, right?
14:21Your pack is part of your mission essential equipment.
14:23Just not having another warm layer or jacket, extra set of mittens could be the difference
14:27between life or death.
14:28So this stays with us all the time.
14:32As far as the way it's packed, in general, it's packed in order of precedence of when
14:35I'm going to need to access things.
14:37So I'll start getting into it here.
14:40First off, got my ice axe on the outside.
14:45I do have options as far as what type of an ice axe to carry.
14:49So when we bring students on more technical routes, we use technical ice tools.
14:56This allows us to climb vertical ice with more security.
15:00Anywhere we're bringing students where we're using fixed ropes to protect them, I don't
15:03need this to climb.
15:04I should be able to climb with a single non-technical tool comfortably.
15:07If I'm struggling with this, they're going to be struggling on the rope.
15:11The main choice I have is whether to bring a tool with an adze or a hammer.
15:16Early season, if I don't have good ice anchors and I'm looking at needing to pound pitons
15:21in ice-filled cracks, I'll bring the tool with a hammer so I can pound pins.
15:26If I'm anticipating digging in the snow, building snow anchors, maybe chopping steps in the
15:30ice, then I'm going to bring the ice axe with the adze, the more traditional ice axe.
15:34It's a hybrid tool, so it's got a little bit of curve and it's got a hand stop for when
15:38I'm climbing steeper, but otherwise it's a pretty traditional profile for an ice axe.
15:45Coming into my pack, we need our avalanche safety gear immediately accessible.
15:53If there is an avalanche and people are buried, we're immediately putting our transceivers
15:57to search.
15:58We're trying to find them and get them up before they start asphyxiating.
16:03Our other pieces of avalanche gear are our shovel, these should be right on the outside
16:10of the pack, up near the top, and our probe.
16:19So a probe is a long collapsible pole.
16:25So avalanche probe, it's a long collapsible pole.
16:28This is used to confirm the location once we've finished our beacon search.
16:34And collapsible metal shovel, let's dig them out.
16:41Balance these right, they have to be durable.
16:43You're always striking that balance of the smaller the shovel, the easier it is to carry,
16:47but the harder to actually dig.
16:49So you want a big enough shovel to dig up your friends when they can't breathe.
16:57So talking about the pack itself, it's a mountaineering pack, this is in the 50 liter range.
17:02This is pretty standard for our light day winter mountaineering.
17:08It's got enough space for our cold weather stuff and our technical stuff, but small enough
17:14that we can still climb with it.
17:16It's like a single body top loading.
17:18It's got a lid for stuff we need immediately accessible, but otherwise it's a pretty stripped
17:22down pack without a lot of features because they're trying to keep the pack as light as
17:26possible.
17:27So next on top would be my crampons.
17:33Crampons would go on after the harness.
17:36Crampons are simply spikes that we wear on the bottom of our feet, right?
17:39Spikes on the bottom for while we're walking flat on the ground and horizontal spikes in
17:44the front for climbing steeper ice or snow.
17:48These are general purpose crampons.
17:50They have horizontal tips with a wider profile than some more technical crampons.
17:55For where we're trying to bring our students, we're looking at a lot of snow, mixed ice
17:59and snow.
18:01These are pretty durable.
18:02They hold up pretty well.
18:03It does everything we need them to do.
18:05All right, next in my pack is things to keep me comfortable throughout the day.
18:09So I want to have access to my water.
18:12Water, if you keep it outside of a pack on an exposed kit, it's going to freeze really
18:17easily.
18:18These need to be protected from the cold weather.
18:20In windy conditions this week, it's not critical to have the insulated cover, especially if
18:24it's inside my pack, wrapped up in a jacket.
18:27But if it gets much colder, this is absolutely mandatory equipment.
18:31I usually start the day, I fill it with tea, either tea or coffee, something warm that
18:36I can drink throughout the day.
18:39Next I'd have one additional warm layer.
18:42This could be like a fleece or a light jacket, something just as I move, I can layer up or
18:47down with, right?
18:48The way I'm layered when I step off is for high activity.
18:52As we start getting into steeper terrain, there's going to be more pauses, there's going
18:55to be choke points, movement's going to slow.
18:58I'm going to want an additional layer to stay comfortable during those times.
19:01The other piece, and it's a bit of a maybe, is goggles.
19:05High wind days, these are absolutely critical.
19:07You need to be able to see.
19:08These goggles are different than most military goggles.
19:11Most goggles are ballistic goggles designed to protect you from fragmentation, intrapanel,
19:16the like.
19:17These are not ballistic, but they are double pane.
19:20So like a ballistic goggle has a single pane that in cold weather, the glass will become
19:24cold and it will almost instantly fog up against your warm eyes.
19:28So these have a double pane, a little air gap between the two lenses so that it won't
19:33fog up as easily.
19:34Beyond that is food for the day.
19:37The instructors, we fend for ourselves, so it's usually a sandwich, bread, meat, and
19:42cheese.
19:43Our students get cold weather MREs.
19:46The big thing we're thinking about with food for the day is things that won't freeze, right?
19:51Some food is great even if it's frozen.
19:53Other things, it becomes unchewable, right?
19:56Energy bars, things that harden up, like they need to be kept in your clothing to keep them
20:01warm and soft.
20:02Other things, it doesn't matter as much.
20:05Still awfully nice to, even with something you're not worried about freezing, awfully
20:08nice to put it right next to your hot tea so it's nice and warm when you pull it out.
20:12Below that in the pack, I'm starting to get out of personal comfort gear and into emergency
20:19gear.
20:20So the next piece I'm going to need is a rope.
20:24So our students will carry for a rescue.
20:26As an instructor, I do want an additional rope.
20:29So this serves two main roles.
20:31It's either if I need to get a single ambulatory student down, say someone broke a collarbone
20:38and injured their arm somehow, they can still walk.
20:41I'm going to use this rope to protect just them, get them down and get them to higher
20:45care.
20:46I do have two main choices on rope.
20:49Skinny dynamic climbing rope is what I would use if I was escorting like a small team in
20:54a tactical situation.
20:55If we're climbing on the rope, we're looking for something like this.
20:58If I'm escorting a larger group, let's say squad size or larger, or I'm more concerned
21:03about rescue, fixed ropes, the durability of a static rope is going to be better suited.
21:09Cool.
21:10So now I'm starting to get into rescue and anchoring gear.
21:15So ideally, if we have to rescue somebody, we're going down with them.
21:19Lowering is always better than raising, but if we have to raise, pulleys make a huge difference
21:24in our efficiency.
21:25So as an instructor, I'll carry a couple of pulleys, a couple extra pieces of webbing
21:28for getting creative with anchoring and then anchoring materials.
21:33So one of our main tools in the winter is our ice screws.
21:38They have sharp teeth, hollow core.
21:40These just get screwed into the ice and become what we can secure ourselves to.
21:45Got a full selection of them, right?
21:46I'll usually carry at least one or two shorter screws in case I need to build anchors where
21:50we don't have much ice.
21:52In addition, I'll carry a longer screw and a thread tool.
21:57So a thread tool is just a small sharp hook that we use when we drill a hole through the
22:03ice.
22:04We can pull a piece of rope or cord through it.
22:06In addition, I'll carry a small assortment of rock gear.
22:09Got a full climbing rack, and this really is dependent on where I'm going and what anchors
22:15are there.
22:16If it's unknown, I might carry less than this, and the size range might skew on, I don't
22:22know.
22:23I just have to bring more, right?
22:24Next I have my, oh my God, I'm going to die mittens.
22:29This is, I'm never going to be doing mountaineering work in these.
22:32These are really, if somebody gets hurt, we go static.
22:34I end up spending the night.
22:35These are so I don't lose my hands.
22:37In addition, I will carry a couple extra dry layers.
22:41How much depends on the day.
22:43This will vary, but at the least I try and keep a warm hat, additional glove liners,
22:52maybe an additional base layer.
22:54If the base layer gets really wet, sometimes it's nice just to have that dry layer against
22:59the skin as you dry out the other layers.
23:02Towards the bottom of my pack, I have a first aid kit, less focus on bleeding control compared
23:07to an IFAK.
23:08I've got a lot more bumps and bruises, small cuts type of treatment gear, types of things.
23:15Someone gets hit with an ice tool, gets hit by falling ice.
23:18They have small lacerations, don't have to stop gunshot bleeds, but we want to be able
23:23to clean people up, tape them up.
23:25I will carry a little bit of additional gauze and tape in here as well, perhaps a cravat,
23:34more of a general purpose kit.
23:37For additional first aid gear, I do keep a SAM splint inside the frame of my pack.
23:44These don't take up much space, they don't fit in the kit, but if we do have to splint,
23:49especially arm, elbow, wrist injuries, make it a lot easier for us.
23:54So main body of the pack is empty now, just getting to the lid of the pack.
23:58So the lid, this particular pack has two compartments, one underneath, one on the top.
24:02Generally the top is stuff that I need to access throughout the day.
24:05So I do keep a warmer face mask in there.
24:09I do like, if I'm going to be wearing goggles, something that has holes to direct that warm
24:15moist air away from the goggles.
24:17So this only comes out if it's really windy.
24:19I've got my radio that we'll be operating on for the day, got more chapstick, and a
24:26few snacks, maybe some sunscreen if it's going to be sunny out there.
24:30On the underside, it's usually more emergency gear, so I've got a couple sets of hand warmers.
24:36These aren't for me, I try and dress warm enough that I'm going to stay warm.
24:39This is really for if we have students with really cold hands, we can give them something
24:43to actively rewarm them.
24:45In addition, extra crampon bars, these break fairly frequently.
24:51So if a student has a blowout up high in the gully, we have a replacement for them.
24:54T-strap, sort of a do-all strap.
24:58It's great for splinting, great for securing things, great for equipment repairs.
25:03Headlamp in case things go late.
25:07Spare batteries.
25:09I will be perhaps bringing a snow saw for isolating columns to do tests, trying to identify
25:17unstable layers in the snowpack.
25:19My snow study kit, right?
25:21I'll have all the tools that I need for looking at that snow, making a record of it so that
25:27we can track it throughout the season.
25:29Crystal card for looking at the snowflakes, a loop, so a small magnifying glass, again
25:36to examine those snowflakes, and then notebook to record everything that we're seeing out
25:42there, and we'll try and track that throughout the season.
25:44Different seasons, I might be carrying different anchoring gear, right?
25:47Sometimes things are really icy, I don't need that rock gear.
25:51Springtime, early summer, nice firm snowpack, I might be bringing snow anchors with me.
25:57Snow is light and fluffy right now.
25:58This time of year, if we were going to make snow anchors, it'd be with skis, not with these.
26:02Did forget a pretty important piece of equipment, my helmet.
26:07So that is it.
26:08This is all the gear that if I was guiding a unit, this is everything that I'd be bringing
26:13with me.
26:14You know, we start doing this at war, I'm going to be bringing even more.
26:17Might have to get a bigger pack.
26:22Snowshoes, we're going to bring those.
26:26I hate snowshoes.
26:28It really is though, for most of the army, it's the answer, like, it takes years of practice
26:34to develop good skiers.
26:35Dudes need to be specially selected for it, so.
26:39But you suck.