K2 NORTH
RIDGE
PREPARATION
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IDEALLY A CLIMBING TRIP IS THE CULMINATION OF A PROCESS OF PREPARING FOR IT. THERE’S SEVERAL PARTS TO THAT; GETTING IN PHYSICAL CONDITION, GETTING THE GEAR & SUPPLIES, RESEARCHING WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO, GETTING READY FOR THE TECHNICAL ABILITY NEEDED etc, AND THE THING WE’VE NOTICED THAT HAS THE SINGLE BIGGEST EFFECT – TIME IN THE HEAD SPACE.
VOLUME OF TIME IN THE MIND SET OF AN EXPEDITION IS THE ONE THING THAT BOTH HOLDS THE REST IN CHECK AND ALLOWS THE CLIMBER TO DEAL WITH AN EXPEDITION WITH PERSPECTIVE. YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE GEAR, ALL THE TRAINING, HAVE READ ALL THE BOOKS AND CLIMBED ALL THE GRADES, BUT WITHOUT THE HEAD SPACE TO TIE IT ALL TOGETHER AND GET ON WITH THE HARD WORK IT’S EASY FOR EXPEDITIONS TO LOSE FOCUS AND MOMENTUM.
THEORETICALLY ALL THE OTHER PARTS SHOULD PROVIDE AN ACCUMULATION OF THE ‘EXPEDITION HEAD SPACE’, BUT MORE AND MORE WE ARE SEEING THAT IT DOESN’T NECESSARILY. THESE DAYS PREPARATION FOR MANY IS AN ONLINE, GYM-FOCUSED & QUICK-AS-POSSIBLE PROCESS THAT CAN BE GOOD AT TICKING OFF LISTS AND SESSIONS BUT NOT BY DEFAULT GOOD AT BUILDING AN EXPEDITION MENTALITY. IT’S NOT UNCOMMON TO SEE VERY FIT, WELL SUPPLIED CLIMBERS WITH YEARS OF CLIMBING BEHIND THEM BE BARELY FUNCTIONAL WHEN IT COMES TO DOING IT ALL ‘FOR REAL’ ON EXPEDITIONS. EVEN CLIMBERS WITH SIGNIFICANT COMMERCIAL 8000m CLIMBING EXPERIENCE DON’T NECESSARILY HAVE ALL THE NUTS & BOLTS SORTED FOR EXPEDITION ASCENTS AS WE’VE SEEN A SURPRISING NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME AWAY FROM PEAKS LIKE EVEREST WITHOUT ACTUALLY KNOWING HOW TO CLIMB.
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THE EXPEDITION HEAD SPACE
EASILY PUT, THE EXPEDITION HEAD SPACE IS YOUR ABILITY TO PUT ALL YOUR OTHER BITS OF PREPARATION INTO ACTION IN A WAY THAT WORKS. THE FITNESS, THE GEAR, THE FOOD, THE TECHNIQUES etc ALL GET ORCHESTRATED TO WORK TOGETHER TOWARDS THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TRIP.
A GOOD WAY TO LOOK AT IT IS THE COMBINATION AND INTERACTION OF ALL THE PIECES; HOW DOES YOUR GEAR WORK UNDER THE REAL CONDITIONS OF EXPEDITION USE? DOES THE FITNESS YOU’RE TRAINING REALLY APPROXIMATE WHAT AN EXPEDITION WILL DEMAND? DO YOUR CLIMBING SKILLS COVER ACTUAL EXPEDITION TECHNIQUES?
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HOW TO PREPARE
THE WAY TO PULL ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER IS SHORT TRIPS THAT EMPHASIS COMBINING THE ELEMENTS. DO THE ASCENT GAIN IN YOUR EXPEDITION GEAR, PITCH TENTS ON TINY CHOPPED LEDGES, CLIMB ROUTES WITH THE EXACT GEAR, SPEND DAYS EATING ONLY YOUR PLANNED FOOD. THE AIM HERE IS KNOW HOW ALL YOUR ABILITIES PLAY OUT IN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS FOR WHEN THE TIME COMES TO DO IT.
INITIALLY THE PIECES NEED TO BE DEVELOPED SEPARATELY BEFORE THEY CAN BE COMBINED; YOU NEED TO DO THE PULL UPS & THE LONG RUNS, YOU NEED TO GET THE BOOTS & THE PACK, YOU NEED TO HAVE CLIMBED ENOUGH ICE, ROCK & SNOW TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT’S ABOUT – AND FOR MANY THIS IS THE POINT WHERE THEY STOP. IN REALITY THOUGH, THIS IS THE FUN SHOULD ACTUALLY BE BEGINNING.
THE ULTIMATE PREPARATION IS SCALED DOWN TRIPS THAT MIMIC THE FINAL OBJECTIVE, TRIPS LIKE OUR 6000m ASCENTS IN TIBET OR THE TIME-PROVEN EXPERIENCE OF GOING TO THE ALPS OR ALASKA OR TATRAS etc, BUT OUTSIDE OF THAT THE EXPEDITION HEAD SPACE CAN BE DEVELOPED WITH SHORTER TRIPS PLANNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE RESULT. THE KEYS HERE ARE
1) TRIPS THAT HAVE RELEVANT OBJECTIVES
EXPEDITIONS HAVE BEGINNINGS, MIDDLES & ENDS SO SHORT TRIPS THAT HAVE THAT GET YOU INTO THE PERSPECTIVE OF STRATEGY, EXECUTION & ADAPTING. UNLIKE COMMERCIAL CLIMBING, EXPEDITION CLIMBING HAS ALL SORTS OF SMALLER STAGES EITHER SIDE OF THE MAIN OBJECTIVE THAT DON’T HAPPEN ALONG WELL ESTABLISHED LINES. IF YOUR EXPEDITION HAS RIVERS TO CROSS, REMOTE TERRAIN TO COVER, BIG LOADS TO CARRY & SMALL CAMPS TO CHOP, THESE ARE ALL SUB-OBJECTIVES YOU NEED TO BE READY FOR.
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2) TRIPS THAT MULTI-SKILL
DAYS AT THE ROADSIDE CRAG, INDOORS OR ARE VERY FOCUSED ARE OK BUT LACK THE BACKBONE OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING WHICH COULD BE CALLED THE ART OF COMBINATION. SHORT TRIPS THAT COMBINE SETTING CAMPS AND CLIMBING, HEAVY CARRIES AND EATING, TECHNICAL CLIMBING WITH EXPEDITION GEAR etc ARE WHEN YOU FIND THE OVERLAP OF SKILL SETS THAT MAKES EXPEDITION CLIMBING IT’S OWN DISCIPLINE.
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3) CLIMBING THAT USES THE SAME GEAR
THE NATURE OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING IS IT USES DIFFERENT GEAR, CLOTHES, STOVES etc TO THE EVERYDAY. LONG PITCHES AT ALTITUDE AND IN THE COLD TEND TO NOT RELAY ON CAMS; 5.9 MOVES NEED TO BE DONE IN CRAMPONS; ROPES THAT ARE VERY SKINNY NEED TO BE JUGGED WITH 15kg ON YOUR BACK; STOVES NEED TO BE USED IN CRAMPED TENTS. ALL THAT COOL 8000m GEAR IS ONLY COOL WHEN YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO USE IT.
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4) NIGHTS OUT UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS
IT’S THE OVERNIGHTS THAT COUNT. 150 CLIMBING DAYS A YEAR IS COOL, BUT ON EXPEDITION IT’S YOUR CAPACITY TO START & END YOUR DAYS IN THE MIDST OF THE CLIMBING THAT MATTER. OVERNIGHTS ARE WHERE YOU FIND OUT WHAT YOU NEED TO SLEEP, HOW YOU COPE WITH BOREDOM & HOW ORGANIZED YOU ARE WITH YOUR STUFF – THE THINGS THAT WILL MATTER EVERY DAY ON EXPEDITION REGARDLESS OF HOW COOL THE REST OF THE DAY IS.
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5) FITNESS THAT REALLY APPROXIMATES WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING
EXPEDITIONS ARE ALL ENDURANCE. ANY FEATS OF STRENGTH ONLY HAPPEN ON THE TOP OF A HUGE AMOUNT OF STAMINA SPENT TO GET YOU THERE. YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT A MAP OR PHOTO AND JUDGE YOUR PHYSICAL CAPACITY AGAINST IT. CAN YOU CARRY 20kgs FOR 8hrs? CAN YOU MOVE UP 800m OF 50O SLOPES WITH A FULL LOAD? CAN YOU CHOP OUT A LEDGE FOR TWO HOURS AT THE END OF THE DAY?
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6) VOLUME
FROM WHAT WE SEE THE PRIMARY FACTOR WITH ALL THIS IS VOLUME; THE PEOPLE WHO SIMPLY DO MORE PREPARATION GET BETTER RESULTS THAN THOSE MAY DO MORE SOPHISTICATED PREPARATION BUT LESS OF IT. IT’S EASY TO CAUGHT UP IN THE MORE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF TRAINING, EQUIPMENT, FOOD & TECHNIQUE, BUT IN THE END THAT USUALLY ACCOUNTS FOR THE MINORITY OF AN TRIP. THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID THAT GETS YOU TO AND BACK FROM THE SIGNATURE STUFF ARE YOUR ‘BREAD & BUTTER’ SKILLS AND CONDITIONING THAT WILL GIVE YOU FAR MORE ADVANTAGE FROM IMPROVEMENT THAT ENDLESS MINUTE TWEAKING OF HYPER-SPECIFIC STUFF.
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OUR TOP 5 THINGS TO PREPARE
THESE ARE SOLID FUNDAMENTAL THINGS THAT 75% OF ANY EXPEDITION WILL BE BUILT UPON. MAYBE NOT INSTAGRAM MATERIAL, BUT THE BIGGEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK WHEN YOU HAVE WEEKS OF CLIMBING AT ALTITUDE AHEAD
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1) LOW TECH STEEP SLOPES WITH BOOTS & PACK
+/-50o SLOPES, FIXED LINES OR SOLO, SNOW, ROCK & ICE. ASCENDING & DESCENDING. BIG BOOTS & CRAMPONS, BIG PACK.
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2) SETTING CAMPS
PICKING SITES, CHOPPING LEDGES, GETTING TENTS UP, PACKING IT ALL DOWN AGAIN
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3) ALPINE PRO
PITONS, SMALL WIRES, V-THREADS & NATURAL FEATURES. GETTING THEM IN AND RETRIEVING THEM.
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4) LONG, SLOW & HEAVY OVER VARIED TERRAIN
CARRYING APPROACH-LOADS FOR HOURS AT A TIME, RESTING EFFECTIVELY, STEADY PACE THAT ALLOWS OPTIMUM PACK LOAD OVER GLACIER-TYPE TERRAIN.
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5) EASY TECHNICAL FOR LONG PITCHES IN BOOTS
LOTS OF HOURS OF GRADE II & III ICE AND MIXED TERRAIN. GET COMFORTABLE WITH THE ALL DAY BASE-LINE STUFF
