THE SUBJECT OF PRE-ACCLIMATIZING COMES UP OFTEN, REGULAR AS CLOCKWORK WHEN THE MAIN 8000m SEASONS ARE ABOUT SIX MONTHS OUT OR THE LENGTH OF AN OFF THE SHELF 24 WEEK TRAINING PLAN FROM SOMEWHERE LIKE TRAINING PEAKS. IN THE HIGHLY INDUSTRIALIZED 8000m SCENE OF TODAY, THE COMMERCIAL ELEMENT HAS LONG BROKEN IT’S LIMITS OF THE COUNTRIES WHERE THE MOUNTAINS ARE, SPREADING IT’S TENTACLES INTO THE LIVES, HOMES AND POCKETS OF PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD.
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THE COLD HARD FACT IS THAT NORMOBARIC TRAINING IN TENTS DOESN’T NOT WORK – IT’S JUST THAT IT DOESN’T WORK AS WELL AS SOME OTHER METHODS EITHER IN EFFICACY OR FOR YOUR DOLLAR. THESE METHODS ARE NOT CHEAP, AND THOUGH THEY MAY SKIM TIME OFF YOUR TRIP, THEY DON’T MAKE THINGS CHEAPER OR EVEN LESS TIME-HEAVY.
FOR NORMOBARIC METHODS TO WORK YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN THE REGIMEN AND A CONSTANT RELIANCE ON NUMBERS THAT ARE PLOTTED TO GRAPHS AND ALGORITHMNS BASED ON DATA AND THEORY. THE ACTUAL QUALITY RESEARCH IS LOW, THOUGH THERE IS SIGNIFICANT ANECDOTAL MATERIAL, BUT EVEN IT IS ACROSS A TINY AND DISPARATE TEST SAMPLES THAT IN NO WAY CONSTITUTES REAL SCIENCE. THAT SAID, SOMETHING IS ACHEIVED, JUST WHAT IT IS IS STILL A LONG WAY OUT FROM BEING COLLATED. THE ASSUREDNESS OF THE RESULTS ARE THE ASSUREDNESS OF COMMERCIAL INTERESTS THAT KNOW THEY HAVE A WILLING AND GULLIBLE MARKET THAT ALSO FALLS FOR THINGS LIKE TITANIUM SPOONS AND PRAYER CEREMONIES, AND THAT WHEN MOST USERS WILL ONLY STRAP ON HIGH-FLOW OXYGEN SETS ASAP ANYWAY ANY PROBLEMS CAN BE SHUFFLED AWAY. WHAT THE REAL EFFECT OF NORMOBARIC TRAINING IS, IS SHORTENED LOGISTICS FOR APPROACHES AND TIME SPENT IN LOWER CAMPS, PERHAPS NOT SURPRISINGLY THE PARTS OF A TRIP WITH THE LOWEST PROFIT MARGINS…
CYNICAL? YOU BET. WE KNOW THE EQUATIONS AND HOW IT ALL FITS TOGETHER, AND BEING OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY WE CAN CALL THINGS AS WE SEE THEM.
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NORMOBARIC PRE-ACCLIMATIZATION WILL NEVER BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROPER HYPOBARIC PRE-ACCLIMATION FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT NORMOBARIC DOESN’T INCLUDE THE ACTIONS OF REDUCED AIR PRESSURE WHICH IS THE PRIMARY INGREDIENT IN ACCLIMATIZING. CUT THE CAKE HOWEVER YOU WANT AND SKEW THE NUMBERS WITH WHATEVER TRICKS YOU HAVE, BUT IT DOESN’T CHANGE THAT THE MAIN FACTOR IS MISSING. THERE ARE FEW SOLID FACTS IN ANY THEORY OF ACCLIMATIZING, BUT THE ONE THAT THERE IS IS THAT REDUCED PRESSURE IS THE BOTTOM LINE.
NORMOBARIC SYSTEMS DO MOP UP SOME OF THE PERIPHERAL FACTORS FOR SURE, AND THEY APPROXIMATE SOME OTHERS, BUT DUE TO INHERENT DIFFERENCES AND THEN THE WIDE SPECTRUM OF SYSTEMIC ISSUES SUCH AS THE RELIANCE ON TECHNOLOGY, PROJECTED NUMBERS, GLITCHES IN LIFESTYLE AND COMBINATIONS, THE END PRODUCT LEAVES A LOT UP TO CIRCUMSTANCE AND ASSUMPTION.
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REAL ACCLIMATIZATION IS MEANWHILE QUITE STRAIGHTFORWARD; GO TO DIFFERENT ALTITUDES, FIND THE PHYSIOLOGICAL THRESHOLDS FOR PERFORMANCE AND RECOVERY, AND ADAPT TO THEM. THIS HAS WORKED FOR DECADES, AND IS STILL WHAT THE BULK OF EVEN NORMOBARIC ACCLIMATIZATION IS BASED ON, AND HAS IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK AS WELL AS THE RELIANCE ON MINIMAL OR EVEN ZERO TECHNOLOGY.
THE WEAKNESS IN TRADITIONAL HYPOBARIC ACCLIMATIZATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE EQUATION OF EFFORT TO GET TO THE ALTITUDES vs RECOVERY AND THE TIME NEEDED TO RIDE IT, BECAUSE THE OPPORTUNITES TO GET TO ALTITUDES IN THE 5000-6000m RANGE WHERE IT’S NEEDED HAVE ALWAYS MEANT WALKING FOR DAYS, RELATIVELY UNCOMFORTABLE CONDITIONS THAT INCLUDE SUB-STANDARD FOOD, AND THE DIFFICULT LOGISTICS OF MOVING UP AND DOWN TO FIND THE BEST THRESHOLD. THIS HAS ALWAYS MEANT LOTS OF TIME, IN THE ORDER OF SEVERAL WEEKS OR A MONTH, WHERE REGARDLESS OF EFFECTIVENESS IT STILL CHEWED INTO RECOVERY AND THUS LIMITED WHAT WAS POSSIBLE. SLEEPING AT 5500m HAS ALWAYS BEEN POSSIBLE BUT IT TOOK A LOT OF ENERGY TO GET THERE, ON THE BACK OF A PYRAMID OF ASCENT THAT HAD A LOT OF DEAD-TIME BELOW IT WHERE ENERGY WAS SPENT FOR INEFFICIENT RETURNS.
STILL, THIS METHOD COULD WORK WONDERS AS GENERATIONS OF INCREDIBLE ASCENTS SHOWED, SOMETHING THAT HAS NOT BEEN EVEN CLOSE TO MATCHED IN THE DECADE NOW OF NORMOBARIC AVAILABILITY.
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BUT NOW THIS HAS CHANGED, WITH THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO ACCLIMATIZATION SINCE THE AIRPORT WAS OPEN IN LUKLA, WITH THE ABILITY TO DRIVE AND LIVE AT ALTITUDES IN PARTS OF TIBET THAT INTEGRATE THE ENERGY AND TIME SAVINGS OF NORMOBARIC WITH THE AUTHENTIC PROCESS OF HYPOBARIC. THE TECHNOLOGY HERE SHIFTS FROM ADAPTED MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND MONITOR FEEDBACK, TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF CHINA AND THE EMERGENCE OF BETTER, SAFER, AND SHORTER ROADS.
THIS MEANS EVERY INCREMENT OF ALTITUDE CAN BE ATTAINED BY ROAD UP TO 5500m, AND FROM THERE TO 6000m BY SHORT TIMES ON FOOT. RATHER THAN ONLY THE 30% OF A DAY SPENT UNDER EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE THAT A NORMOBARIC SYSTEM PROVIDES, WE CAN SPEND THE ENTIRE 24hrs AT INCREMENTS THAT BEST FIT OUR CONDITION, INCLUDING RETURNS ALL THE WAY TO 2000m IN A MATTER OF HOURS.
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IN REAL NUMBERS, THIS MEANS BEING ABLE TO ACCLIMATIZE ADEQUATELY IN JUST OVER A WEEK, AS WE HAVE PROVEN ON MULTIPLE TRIPS WHERE WE DID ASCENTS TO 6000m ON 12 DAY RETURN TIMELINES FROM SEA LEVEL. THIS CUTS WEEKS OFF AN 8000m TRIP, FROM BOTH THE APPROACH AND THE CLIMBING, BY ARRIVING AT BASECAMP IN A FAR MORE RECOVERED CONDITION AND BEING ACCLIMATIZED FOR REAL.
IN ENERGY TERMS, OUR PRE-ACCLIMATIZING PROCESS SAVES TENS OF THOUSANDS OF KCALS OVER A REGULAR ASCENT SCHEDULE, FURTHER FORTIFIED BY THE AVAILABILTY OF GOOD FOOD IN CHINA. COLLATED AND VIEWED IN AN EASY TO ABSORB WAY, WE SAVE THE ENERGY EXPENDITURE OF APPROXIMATELY 45 MARATHONS COMPARED TO THE ASCENT SCHEDULE OF A REGULAR 8000m TRIP.
READ THAT AGAIN.
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NONE OF THIS SKIMS OFF MOUNTAIN TIME, WHICH IS WHAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR, AND ACTUALLY INCREASES IT BY DOING SO AT GREATER EFFICACY. IF YOUR DOLLAR IS ABOUT TIME SPENT IN INCREDIBLE PLACES NO ONE ELSE WILL EVER SEE, THIS METHOD COVERS MORE PLACES, MORE CULTURE, AND MORE TIME TO EXPERIENCE IT, THAN SLEEPING IN A TENT AT HOME OR IN TEAHOUSES FULL OF TREKKERS.
OVERALL THE COSTS ARE FAVORABLE, BY SHORTENING THE SLOWED APPROACHES AND HANGING AROUND CITIES AND BASECAMP, AND ALLOWING US TO USE THE TRANSIT TO XINJIANG AS A FUNDAMENTAL RECOVERY PHASE IN ACCLIMATIZATION. THIS METHOD TAKES ALL OFF THE INCONSISTENCIES IN REGULAR ACCLIMATIZATION OUT, AND TURNS THEM INTO POSITIVES IN WAYS NO OTHER METHOD CAN WITH NO LOSS OF THE GOOD STUFF YOU HAVE COME TO THE MOUNTAINS FOR.