PEAK tools and food: requirements and carrying burden
Controls after picking up ropes, pitons, food, and medical items. Check hands versus backpack, placement surfaces, remaining uses, and cooking exceptions to reduce wasted actions and items.
Edition: PC Steam app 3527290, standard release, no mods. Normal expeditions on standard Peak difficulty, solo or co-op for up to four. Tenderfoot, high Ascent, and Custom Runs are covered only where they differ.
Verification scope: Standard patch 2.6.a, dated October 2, 2026, checked against official sources on October 4, 2026. The Final Ascent and camp autosaves are implemented. Excludes beta, mods, and unreleased ports. Individual controls/item effects were checked against public sources, not tested in-game on 2.6.a.
Sources checked: 2026-10-04
26 / 26 rows
Check pickup, retrieval, and use separately
Picking up with E does not necessarily make an item ready when needed. First check hand slots, back slot, remaining uses, and the on-screen use target. Other modes or mods are outside scope even for items with identical names.
- Pick up with E and check which 1/2/3 slot it occupies. Retrieve stored items from the bag somewhere safe before using them.
- Select the item and read prompts for self-use, use on others, or placement. Left-click is ordinary use; right-click is alternate use or use on someone else.
- After use, check remaining uses, placed objects, or gauge changes rather than repeating the same input pointlessly. Empty your hands again before climbing.
Right-click with a tool and empty-handed Helping Hand are different. If you want to pull a teammate, check that you are not holding food or medical supplies.
Choose climbing tools with their placement in mind
Followers must reach a rope's end, and you must be able to grab a piton again. Successful placement alone does not guarantee reaching the next foothold.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Item/purpose | Required state | Use/placement input | Effect/consumption | Exception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rope Spool / leave a downward route | Hold it and face a valid anchoring surface | Use the wheel to extend length → check the blue anchor preview → hold left-click | Consumes deployed length; movement uses less stamina than a wall | First check that players below can reach the end. Heat destroys it. |
| Piton / wall rest point | In a hand slot, not the bag | While gripping the wall, hold right-click. Stay still at the blue preview to place, then grab with E. | Holding the placed protrusion restores ordinary stamina | Only one person can hold it at a time. Naturally occurring rusty ones break. |
| Anti-Rope Spool / upward route | Held, with open space above | Adjust length and anchor. Grab with E and move with W/S. | Rope floats upward; usable length is limited | Unlike a normal downward rope. Floats away if dropped. |
| Natural vines / section traversal | A vine within reach | Grab with E and move toward the destination footing | Uses less stamina than walls, but drains even while stationary | Not a recovery spot like a piton |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Confirming a rope without checking length or valid anchoring can leave a route too short to reach. Rather than chasing a numerical maximum distance, choose a placement whose bottom end and landing spot you can see. Grab placed normal ropes/Anti-Ropes with E, move up/down with W/S, and release with Space. This differs from releasing left-click on a wall; check the exit footing before jumping across.
Do not use the same item for hunger, injury, and cold
Representative items are separated by purpose here. Does not cover every item, numerical value, or guaranteed spawn. Match what you found to your current state and avoid consuming it when unnecessary.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Item/purpose | Required state | Use/placement input | Effect/consumption | Exception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food such as Granola Bars | Need hunger relief or extra stamina | Hold it and complete ordinary use | Consumes food; affects hunger and extra stamina | Not every food heals injury |
| Bandages / injury | Injury remains | Hold to treat yourself, or use the alternate action on someone else | Consumable reducing injury | Not a universal hunger/spore cure. Cooking gives no extra stamina. |
| First Aid Kit / several conditions | A treatable condition such as injury, poison, or spores | Hold it and wait for use to complete | Consumable treating applicable conditions | Do not assume it universally cures load and hunger too |
| Heat Pack / cold | Need protection against Cold | Use it from hand inventory before entering a dangerous wall | Consumable for suppressing Cold | Not a meal replacement or protection against heat |
| Energy Drink / brief speed boost | Plan footing where you can stop after it expires | Drink the ordinary uncooked item, choose a destination, and move | Temporarily speeds movement/climbing, followed by drowsiness | Not a full ordinary-stamina refill. Cooked versions can launch you when drunk. |
| Backpack / extra storage | Back-equipment slot free | Place on flat ground and hold E to access the radial menu | Four extra slots; contents still add load | A piton inside cannot be used directly while climbing |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Do not read this as every stamina problem being solved by a boosting drink. If injury has narrowed the gauge, prioritize treatment and short footholds over speed.
Check the cooked result once; do not keep heating
Interact with a fire while holding an item to cook. Food and tools produce different outcomes. Work on one item at a time near the fire, stopping when appearance or item state changes.
- Hold only the food to cook, aim at a lit fire, and use the E cooking prompt. Avoid doing this while still holding a bag or rope.
- Stop at Cooked. Heating to Well-Done does not stack the same benefits.
- Do not assume overcooked items retain their original performance; check their state first. Some tools become unusable when heated.
- Identify natural ingredients by name/appearance. Do not equate cooking poisonous berries with cooking poisonous mushrooms, or test unidentified food high on a cliff.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Target | What cooking can do | Assumption to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary food | Often improves hunger recovery/bonus stamina | Repeated heating makes it infinitely stronger |
| Poisonous berries | Current mechanics allow cooking away their poison | All poisonous ingredients become safe |
| Poisonous mushrooms | Heat does not remove poison | Declare safety from color or heating alone |
| Shroomberry | Extra effects by color change daily | A color safe yesterday behaves identically today |
| Climbing tools/bag | Tools can break, and bag contents may cook too | Cooking everything, including non-food items, is beneficial |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
This is not an identification encyclopedia for every ingredient. Keeping reliable supplies makes your next decision easier than having everyone eat unidentified food simultaneously.
Decide how to use the three hand slots first
This example assumes one treatment item, one food item, and one placement tool. It is not a fixed strongest loadout, but a way to swap based on found items and the next danger.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Next situation | Keep ready in hand inventory | Bag/inventory review | Departure decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long wall | Piton or rope | Are placement tools only in the bag? | If no rest point exists, change plans before climbing |
| Injured with a narrow gauge | Treatment item | Can you leave unused heavy items behind? | Check capacity after treatment before climbing |
| Hunger increased | Food with a known effect | Has the person carrying food gone ahead alone? | Distribute to those who need it before moving |
| Cold section | Cold-countering item | Can you take it out of the bag before entry? | Check the next shelter, such as a cave |
| Co-op group may split | Basic supplies for each person | Do not put all food in one person's bag | Does the rear player have something usable too? |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Solo players should prioritize items they can retrieve and use themselves. Co-op allows support, but supplies may not reach someone in time if nobody knows where they are.
Checks when tools cannot be used or do not work
Before pressing use again, check where the item is and its requirements.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Use problem | Inventory/footing/status check | Next action | Version difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannot place a piton | In the bag? Blue preview? Are you staying still? | Move to hand inventory and remain at a valid surface until placement completes | Do not confuse it with old advice about throwing to place/recoverable ropes |
| Rope is too short | Did you extend length before anchoring? | Check the bottom end with the wheel before anchoring | Distinguish normal ropes from upward Anti-Ropes |
| Medical supplies do not cure hunger | Type of remaining condition | Choose food instead | Separate bandage and first-aid-kit targets |
| Movement is difficult after a drink | Energy Drink effect ending and drowsiness | Move to the planned safe footing and check your status | Drowsiness handling changed in 2.0. Do not use the old “removes 100” explanation. |
| Cooked tool no longer works | Burnt/destroyed indication | Use another undamaged tool or route | Do not apply food improvements to all tools |
| Cannot climb after picking something up | Still holding an item? | Store it in an available slot or place it safely, leaving hands empty | If rebound, current control settings take priority |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Does not list every quantitative food value, tool spawn rate, or fixed location. If a use prompt differs from this text, first check the standard-version number and presence of mods.
Frequently asked questions
Can I throw a piton into a wall?
Do not treat ordinary pitons as thrown items. Put one in hand inventory, hold right-click for the placement prompt while climbing, and stop at a blue position to place it. Then grab with E to recover.
I placed a rope, but teammates cannot reach it
Check the unwound length before anchoring and the bottom end's position. Adjust length with the wheel before fixing it. The users must reach the lower end, not merely the anchor.
Is Energy Drink for stamina recovery?
Its main purpose is a short speed boost. Drowsiness follows, so do not treat it as a cure for all hunger and injury. Choose the destination footing before using it.
Does cooking make every ingredient safe?
Poisonous berries and mushrooms differ. In the current version, cooking removes berry poison but not mushroom poison. Overcooking and special food effects also exist, so safety is not universal.
Why did tools in my bag burn?
Cooking the bag itself or placing it on hot ground can affect the contents. Separate organizing and cooking areas, and take out only the food you intend to cook.