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Posts from 12/2012

Mountaineering Training | The Holiday Workout

Posted by: | December 17, 2012
Categories: *Mountaineering Fitness & Training

Air and automobile travel, shopping, traffic, in-laws, it’s dark, cold and wet outside…the Holidays are here!

Does all of this have an impact on physical fitness? It can, and as a result I need a workout I can do anywhere and in a short amount of time. Here is a favorite, I call it the Four Hundred by Two by Ten. Let’s call it the Holiday Workout. Try it two or three times this week.

The Holiday Workout goes like this:

1. Run or walk 400 meters. Conveniently, this is the distance around an athletic track (or around a football field). You can also do it on the trail, even if you have to guess the distance (or use a watch and run/walk for 2 minutes).

2. Do two strength exercises. I suggest ten repetitions of Bicycle Crunch and Push Up, or the Russian Twist and 30 seconds of the Plank. You can chose whatever you like and try to make one an upper body and one a mid-core exercise. For an explanation of the strength exercises, and a list of others, see the Daily Dozen.

3. Repeat ten times and that’s it - an all-body workout that trains both strength and cardiovascular fitness! Stay focused and it will only take you about 45 minutes.

You can make it a social activity by doing it with friends and family. If someone is more fit, try to double up on the strength exercises. If someone is less fit, give them a head start on the run/walk section.

The end of the year is approaching; next week look for our ‘Home Stretch‘ post - a stretching routine you can do anywhere, anytime.

Happy Holidays!

- John Colver

John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle.

Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts with John and other readers on the RMI Blog!

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Descend to Basecamp

Posted by: J.J. Justman, Geoff Schellens | December 17, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'

Hello everyone! It’s Team One on Aconcagua. Well, it’s a bitter sweet. For the good news, the entire team is safe an sound in base camp. For the not so good news Aconcagua is angry. I don’t think we did anything to offend her but it is clear she is not in a good mood.

For two days our team survived restless hours in the wind at 18,000 feet. Yesterday, the winds calmed to 35 mph allowing us to climb to 20,118 feet. When we returned the forecast that was given to us came true. The wind picked up again and it was time to batten the hatches.

Our plan was to do our last acclimatization day yesterday, which we did. Then to rest today, then move to high camp, then summit. The winds on the summit currently are close to 100 mph and they are predicted to be stronger through the 23rd. Well past our window of opportunity.

Our team made the decision to head toward safer and calmer territory. We are all in basecamp after a tough day carrying heavy packs downhill.

It may seem disappointing but when the mountain says No, you have to accept the fact there is nothing you can do about it. The team is in great spirits and we are thankful we are down out of the hazardous wind and bitter cold.

RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Cayambe Summit!

Posted by: Casey Grom, Eric Frank | December 17, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 18,997'

Hello everybody back home.  This is Casey Grom checking in from the Ecuador expedition.  Just wanted to let everyone know that we are standing on the summit of Cayambe right now!  Beautiful day, a little chilly though.  There’s a slight breeze.  We had a total of 10 climbers reach the summit…  One climber and one guide turned around at about 18,200’, just short of the summit.  It’s been a really long day.  The route is in good shape, but it’s just a really long route.  Took us six and 1/2 hours for the first group and about 7 hours and 45 minutes for the second wave of climbers to reach the summit.  Everyone’s been doing great, pushing real hard and are pretty tired.  We’re going to take a few minutes get something to eat and drink and start making our way back down…....... We look forward to talking with you soon.

RMI Guide Casey Grom

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Vinson Massif: Team Winds Down at Union Glacier Basecamp

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall | December 16, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Vinson Massif
Elevation: 7,200'

An easy and slightly surreal day for the team, after so much walking and dealing with discomfort… to be thoroughly inactive, waited upon and flat out comfortable in the luxurious dining tent at Union Glacier. 

The team wasn’t visibly anxious to be missing out on exercise, nor did anyone seem worried over whether the Ilyushin airplane would fly on time.  We sat, we ate, we concurred.  Life is good.  There was a persistent and slight breeze blowing all day long at the Union Glacier camp, but the air temperature is so warm (compared to anywhere on Vinson) that we routinely walked from tent to tent without gloves or jackets, crunching along on well-packed snow. 

If all goes well, the plane will fly from Punta Arenas tomorrow and the RMI Vinson team will head back to South America and a victory feast with Seth Waterfall.  I’ll stay in to greet the next RMI Vinson team and get started on a new adventure.  Many thanks to those who have followed our trip for the past two weeks.  Your comments were passed on to us (we don’t surf the web, but we exchange email with RMI headquarters) and produced many smiles on twelve sunburned faces.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Vinson Massif: Team Ready, Bags Loaded, Hoping for Flight Tomorrow

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 16, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Vinson Massif

Hi RMI,

We gathered with about 30 other climbers this morning for our pre-trip briefing with ALE. Mike Sharp, one of the owners, gave a very detailed presentation about what is going to happen over the next few days. As you might imagine, logistics for getting to the “bottom of the world” are complex. Even though we have already traveled thousands of miles to get to Punta Arenas, we have about 2,000 more miles to fly and two different airplane types to go before we get to Vinson Basecamp. Covering everything from flight plans to arial maps of Union Glacier and the climbing route to ways for dealing with the extreme cold, it is critical information to know before we fly out of here and land in the middle of Antarctica.

After the meeting, we weighed our bags and sent them off to the airplane so they can be loaded and ready for our flight.

Weather permitting, we are planning for an early flight tomorrow, with the airport transfer scheduled for 7:00 am. Next dispatch will hopefully be from Union Glacier.

All the best,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin

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Ecuador’s Volcanoes: The Team Readies for Cayambe Summit Bid

Posted by: Eric Frank, Casey Grom | December 16, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 15,300'

Hello, this is Eric Frank and the Ecuador crew checking in from climber’s hut here on Cayambe at 15,300’. The sun’s just gone down and we had a pretty restful day.  We slept late this morning, had a big breakfast, and then climbed for about an hour and a half to get up to the toe of the glacier.  We trained for a couple hours, talked about the climb and then came back to have a big dinner.  We’re hoping to be in bed in the next thirty minutes. And we’ll be getting up in the middle of the night to make our attempt to climb Cayambe.  So check back tomorrow, hopefully will be giving a call down sometime in the mid morning to early afternoon to let everyone know how things are going. Have a great night.

RMI Guide Eric Frank

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Aconcagua RMI Team One Spend the Day Acclimatizing

Posted by: J.J. Justman, Geoff Schellens | December 16, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'

Hey all, this is Geoff and JJ with Aconcagua Team One. We are currently back at Camp Two after an acclimatization hike up to 20,000’ today.  Moderate winds, a cloud cap pretty heavy this morning, breaking up this afternoon, pretty clear now with still some winds hanging in there. We are all doing well and everybody’s happy and we are just waiting for a good weather forecast come our way, which would be great. That’s all for now, bye.

RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

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Ecuador’s Volcanoes: The Team Checks in from the Cayambe Hut

Posted by: Casey Grom | December 15, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 15,300'

Hello again from Ecuador. Today we are greeted with a beautifully, clear sky and amazing views of Cayambe looming far above us.  We packed up all of our climbing gear, and loaded up the vehicles and headed into the town of Otavalo. Otavalo is home to one of the largest open-air markets in all of South America. The team spent about 2 hours shopping and trying out our bargaining skills with the locals.  From the sounds of it, some of us did better than others. After town we started our two-hour drive through the beautiful countryside of Cayambe. The road slowly climbs up the ridge line that allows us access to this massive mountain. Due to the tough conditions of the road, we hiked the last little bit, which helped out with our acclimatization process. We are currently relaxing in the Cayambe’s climbers hut at about 15,300’ that overlooks a lot of the many glaciers here. The team is doing great and everyone’s ready to go to bed after an enjoyable dinner of pasta, vegetables and chicken. To top it all off, we were treated to an amazing sunset tonight that reminded me of the sunsets in central Oregon. Buenes noches and we look forward to checking in with you guys tomorrow. Have a good night.

RMI Guide Casey Grom

On The Map

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Vinson Massif:  A Quick Descent

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall | December 15, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Vinson Massif
Elevation: 7,200'

There was a wind blowing in the night at high camp.  It was just a few miles per hour, but it was steady and we’d been exceedingly lucky in not having any wind for four days up high, so it was a worry.  But a needless worry, since by morning it was gone.  We ate, we packed and by ten in the morning we were walking downhill with great big packs.  Everybody was thinking about getting those big packs down the steep fixed ropes… the last real obstacle to our safety, but we caught those ropes and slopes in perfect condition.  They were still in shadow and the tracks of teams that had descended several days earlier were still in perfect condition and useful as stairs.  We made it to our old digs at low camp in just a few hours, packed and repacked there and then plodded down the Branscomb Glacier toward Basecamp.  Cresting the final hill, we saw two Twin Otter airplanes sitting patiently and waiting to take us away.  This was a pleasant surprise as we hadn’t really discussed an exit strategy yet with ALE, our logistics company.  At Basecamp by four in the afternoon, we shuffled duffels and boarded the planes.  Some of us were treated to a magnificent scenic flight as the pilot performed a mountain reconnaissance for future climbs on our way back to Union Glacier.  The Twin spiraled around one Matterhorn after another and dove through tight v-shaped passes.  A smooth landing at Union got us in just in time for dinner.  A wonderful dinner, whilst sitting in chairs, with backs.  True luxury.  We caught up with fellow climbers from the mountain (who we hadn’t seen for days) and with the wonderful staff at ALE.  Life is considerably warmer and easier at Union Glacier, and the team is excited about being a step closer to home, but we’re all still buzzing over the mountain that we lived on for the last nine days.  And climbed.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Vinson:  Team #2 Readies in Punta Arenas, Chile

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 15, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Vinson Massif

Our second Vinson trip of the season has officially started. After some fairly long flights and a few delays, we all arrived in Punta Arenas yesterday. Fortunately all our gear has also arrived.
With all the excitement of a new adventure starting and the fact that it does not get dark here until almost 11:00 pm, it was well after midnight before we decided to call it a day.
Since there was not a whole lot on the agenda today, we took full advantage of this by sleeping in and having a late breakfast.
We finished up the last of our equipment needs by checking out a few of the local gear shops and a stop at the grocery store to buy some additional snack food. At the same time we able to explore a little bit of this neat little town.
With our bags more or less packed up, we headed out for a nice dinner at La Marmita. The food is incredible here and it is no wonder why it sits at the top of the restaurant list for Punta Arenas.
Tomorrow we will have our briefing with ALE (Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions), to go over the details of our flight to Vinson and the rules of climbing in such a remote and pristine environment.
Will check-in tomorrow.
All the best,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin

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