Close your eyes and imagine hunkering down for the night in a tent camped on the side of the mountain. A 21,000-foot mountain. In the Himalayas. In sub-zero temperatures. In the middle of a snowstorm. For four days. It may be your worst nightmare but for some climbers and alpinists, that's just a Wednesday at the office. Perhaps no one knows the drill better than filmmaker and athlete Jimmy Chin . Not only does he routinely cheat death with adventures like skiing in avalanche conditions, he's a renowned photographer , capturing every harrowing moment through his lens.

Chin told us about what eating and cooking (yes, cooking) is like on expedition. Spoiler alert: It ain't glamping. We're talking oatmeal and cous cous 12 days in a row, packing enough food for 7 days but being stuck on a mountain for 18, and eating every meal out of one pot and a spoon shared by three people—all while functioning on decreased dexterity and brain power thanks to the freezing temperatures and thin air. This is adventure eating at its highest altitude.

Ben Moon

What's the food like when you're on expedition?

Jimmy Chin : It's pretty basic. When we attempted to climb Meru [the subject of the documentary with the same name , which Chin co-directed with his wife Chai Vasarhalyi ], our menu was really simple. We had oatmeal with protein powder and dried blueberries in the morning. We also made a drink with Perpetuem powder [a protein powder formulated for endurance athletes] and drank it three times a day. It didn't taste like much but it was hot and milky so that was nice. While we were climbing, we'd eat a couple of energy gels and a bar.

Do you have any favorite flavors of bars or gels?

No, it's really just fuel. But our most treasured possession was a Heath bar, which we split three ways every night. For dinner, we had cous cous, but that was really just a vehicle for olive oil.

Renan Ozturk

Why olive oil?

It's really calorie-dense for its weight, and it also just tastes great. We'd pour that into the couscous with chunks of hard Italian salami and Parmesan cheese. You need a hard cheese because it's durable; you can just toss it in the bottom of your bag and know it won't get crushed. We only had one dish on the menu, and it was that. Conrad [Anker, Chin's climbing partner along with Renan Ozturk ] thinks the fewer decisions you have to make in this scenario, the better. When you’re climbing something as challenging as Meru, it’s all about efficiency. Even a decision as small as what to eat for dinner would expend energy you need for making other, more dramatic decisions.

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Renan Ozturk, Chin's climbing partner, in the portaledge on Meru. Photo: Instagram/@jimmy_chin

Wait, how did you cook oatmeal and couscous on the side of a cliff?

You have a hanging stove in your portaledge . You’re literally just boiling water and pouring the couscous in. We only had one spoon to keep the weight of our gear down; just take a bite and pass it around.

Speaking of dramatic situations, didn't you almost run out of food on the expedition?

Yeah. We normally make an assessment of how many days we think it’s going to take to summit the mountain based on how difficult the climbing looks—and mix that in with a little optimism. We had planned for seven days of climbing and brought the appropriate amount of food.

But after two days of climbing we got caught in a four-day storm. That’s six days right there; then we proceeded to climb for another 12 days. And in really cold temperatures, you’re burning thousands of calories.

That sounds miserable.

Well, you go into it knowing that. You know that if you’re really going to push yourself physically in this way, there’s going to be some form of deprivation. I had done multiple expeditions, at least 15 with Conrad. And each time, I'd routinely lose 10-20 pounds. During the storm we were rationing and not eating much. You’re not moving, so you’re basically hibernating.

Jimmy Chin

Did you fantasize about food?

We had food fantasies all day long, about things like cheeseburgers, pizza, a really marbled rib eye steak. It’s funny; you don’t end up talking about sex like you normally would [with friends]. It’s the hierarchy of needs. That basic need isn’t being met, so you’re like “Oooh, let’s talk more about food!”

What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten on an expedition?

I've tried to eat little shrubs before. We were on an unsupported 20-plus day traverse, following the migration of endangered antelope across the Chang Tang Plateau. We were like, “Oh, this is what they ate; we should try it.”

You were just pulling shrubs out of the ground and eating them?

Yeah. They didn't taste too bad!