“THERE’S ONLY 2 RULES; WHAT A MAN WILL DO, AND WHAT A MAN WON’T”
NO ONE CLIMBS A HIGH ALTITUDE PEAK ON LUCK
MORE THAN ANY OTHER PURSUIT ALPINE CLIMBING IS DEPENDANT ON PREPARATION. THERE ARE TWO ASPECTS WHEN PREPARING FOR THIS SORT OF TRIP; CONDITIONING & TIME SPENT CLIMBING, BUT THE PRIMARY FACTOR IS CONSISTENCY. MODULATED AND CONSISTENT PREPARATION IS WHAT WILL GET YOU UP & GET YOU BACK DOWN PEAKS LIKE K2.
.
KNOWING WHAT OPTIONS YOU HAVE AND WHAT YOU’RE WILLING TO DO IS THE VERY SOUL OF ALPINE CLIMBING AND WE HAVE FOUND OVER THE YEARS IT’S OFTEN THE SAME ISSUE THAT LIMITS A CLIMBERS A PROGRESS, BECAUSE THE SAME REASON IS GIVEN; I’VE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE. SUDDENLY IDEAS THAT FIT CLIMBING BACK HOME CAN FEEL VERY, VERY SMALL AND PEDANTIC WHEN THERE’S 1000m OF CLIMBING, AND ANOTHER 1000m AFTER THAT, AHEAD.
THESE ARE THE MOST COMMON COMMENTS ON FAILURE WE HEAR AND WHAT EACH SUGGESTS
01
“I’VE NEVER HUNG ON GEAR BEFORE”
SUGGESTS NOT HAVING BEEN SO REMOTE THERE’S NO OTHER OPTION
02
“I’VE NEVER MIXED CLIMBED BEFORE”
SUGGESTS HAVING CLIMBED MOSTLY ESTABLISHED ‘SPORT’ ROUTES
03
“I’VE NEVER OPEN BIVIED BEFORE”
SUGGESTS NOT HAVING DONE LONG, UNSUPPORTED ROUTES
04
“I’VE NEVER HAMMERED IN A BEAK BEFORE”
SUGGESTS CLIMBING ONLY IN POPULAR AREAS, WITH EXTABLISHED GEAR
05
“I’VE NEVER PISSED IN A BOTTLE BEFORE”
SUGGESTS NOT HAVING BEEN IN SERIOUS CAMPS OR SERIOUS COLD
06
“I’VE NEVER DUG A LEDGE BEFORE”
SUGGESTS NOT HAVING BEEN ON BIG STEEP ROUTES
07
“I’VE NEVER CARRIED 120L BEFORE”
SUGGESTS HAVING ONLY DONE SHORT TRIPS
08
“I’VE NEVER FAILED BEFORE”
SUGGESTS ONLY BEING GUIDED OR NOT TRYING ANYTHING HARD ENOUGH
DESPITE NONE BEING ABOUT HARD TECHNIQUE , THEY BECOME REASONS TO TURN AROUND ON LONG AND EXPENSIVE TRIPS
WHAT MATTERS MOST IS FUNCTIONAL MOUNTAIN EXPERIENCE WITH AN ARRAY OF SKILLS THAT NEED TO BE INTENTIONALLY PRACTICED. ESPECIALLY THE ‘UNCOOL’ ONES THAT DON’T LOOK LIKE THE SLICK STUFF IN THE PHOTOS. AIDING SHORT SECTIONS, HAMMERING PEGS OR JUGGING FOR SPEED DON’T TURN YOU INTO A REGRESSIVE PIRATE OF ALPINE ETHICS – IT TURNS YOU INTO AN ADAPTABLE ANIMAL. THESE ‘GUERRILLA’ TECHNIQUES ARE NOT THE EVIL UNDERBELLY OF PROGRESSIVE CLIMBING, IN A PLACE LIKE THE NORTH RIDGE THEY ARE WHAT PUSHES PROGRESS FORWARD. BUT THEY NEED PRACTICE BEFORE SHOWING UP THERE.
AN INDUSTRY HAS EMERGED OFFERING PROGRAMS TO PLAN & DIRECT PROGRESS. THE BEST OF THESE PROGRAMS,AS FOUND ON SITES SUCH AS UPHILL ATHLETE, COVER A LOT OF DETAIL AND HAVE YEARS OF RESULTS TO SHOW THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. WE DON’T NEED TO GO INTO THOSE PROGRAMS HERE AS THEY SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES, BUT HAVE SOME POINTS THAT CORRELATE THEM DIRECTLY WITH THE TRIPS WE RUN
01
ENDURANCE
THE ABILITY TO KEEP MOVING UPWARDS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH OF. ORBIT YOUR TRAINING AROUND THAT. IF THINGS MUST BE CUT, MAKE ENDURANCE THE LAST TO BE SO.
02
INJURY FREE
DO NOTHING TO PUSH RISK OF INJURY & EVERYTHING TO RECOVER IF YOU DO. THIS DOESN’T MEAN ISOLATE IN A POOL, IT MEANS AVOID TRAINING WHERE AN INJURY BACK-SQUADS YOU OUT OF THE TIMELINE
03
HILLS
GOING UPHILL IN BOOTS & SCRAMBLING IS YOUR BREAD & BUTTER BECAUSE IT’S WHAT THE LARGEST PART OF ANY TRIP TO ALTITUDE IS MADE OF AND IT’S THE BIGGEST CHUNK OF TIME TO SCHEDULE
04
BODY STRENGTH
PULLING, CARRYING & HANGING ON. A SACK OF SAND, A ROPE TO PULL AND A LEDGE TO HANG FROM WILL COVER MORE THAN A GYM CAN.
05
NIGHTS OUT
THE MEASURE OF AN ALPINIST IS NIGHTS OUT NOT DAYS. ON ALL OUR TRIPS, STRAIGHT AWAY WE CAN TELL WHO CLIMBS DAY ROUTES BY THE ROAD AND WHO STAYS OUT LONGER
06
TURNOVER
TRAIN TO RECOVER AND INCREASE YOUR TOLERANCE TO WORK. LACK OF RECOVERY MEANS YOU CAN’T BE TRAINING SUFFICIENTLY HARD ENOUGH WHEN YOU DO.
07
DIET
REAL ENDURANCE TRAINING IS WHEN YOU SIMPLY NEED TO GET ENOUGH KCALS IN, SO PRETTY FAST YOU FIND THAT SIMPLE QUALITY BEATS COMPLICATED SUPPLEMENTS.
08
ROPEWORK
DON’T WAIT TILL WINTER TO PRACTICE YOUR ROPEWORK AND WASTE PRECIOUS WINTER WEATHER WINDOWS ON. KEEP A ROPE BY THE SOFA TO PRACTICE KNOTS & COILING.