Getting Ready for Summer Climbing

Many clients give me a call and ask "How can I get in shape?" for one of  our climbs or courses. What should you be doing to get the best out of your course and enjoy the mountaineering experience? Of course it all starts with baseline cardiovascular conditioning. We recommend training with an aerobic activity 4-5 times per week, for 40-60 minutes each session. Remember that you want this cardiovascular training to be the most effective, so keep in the range of 60-70% of your maximum heart rate (220 - your age approximately). Mountaineering is a slow, long distance activity. Summit days are usually 12-14 hours of sustained effort, with breaks of course and time to take in the view.  Great training activities for mountaineering include hiking, hill walking, running, road biking, mountain biking, treadmill, stairmaster or elliptical machines. I always recommend training hikes with 25-30 lbs of weight on hilly terrain. Plan on 3-4 hours of hiking, pack your pack with a couple gallons of water (2.2 lbs per gallon) for the way up and when you reach the top of your hike, you can dump out the water and save you knees the pounding on the way down the trail. You just need the weight in your pack to work your legs on the up hill parts, or better yet, get a friend or spouse  to go along with you, carry the pack with a full blown picnic lunch complete with wine and great food. Once you reach the high point of the hike have a great picnic lunch and now you have a light pack for the decent. Make your training enjoyable and you will stick with it, thereby helping you to enjoy all your mountaineering adventures this summer. 

Altitude & You: Preparing for Mt. Shasta

Ascending to altitude affects everyone in different ways, but there are some things you can do to help prepare yourself for the ascent.

• HYDRATE! HYDRATE! HYDRATE! Make sure your are fully hydrated prior to the day of the climb. You should drink 3-4 liters of water per day, for a couple days prior to the climb. You should be urinating 6-9 times a day, clear and copious!
• Reduce your intake of diuretics (things that make you urinate) such as coffee, alcohol, soda, and other things with caffeine. This makes it easier to hydrate...but if you drink coffee, don't cut it out all together, just reduce the amount you usually drink.
• Get to the trailhead early, rest, take it easy. You are going to stress your body climbing for the next couple of days. It's good to get plenty of sleep and rest prior to the climb. Climbing is like running a really, really, slow marathon.
• Remember there is a 12-24 hour lag time between going to altitude and the symptoms of altitude illness. So take it easy on the hike in, watch your guide(s); they go slow and steady, and you should do the same!