RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Way to go Dereesa! What a great epic adventure. Thanks for getting to share it, distantly, with you.
Posted by: Arch Lamb on 3/20/2019 at 11:10 am
What an amazing team, and beautiful experience. Special shout out to Dereesa!
Posted by: Davene Dietzler on 3/20/2019 at 6:38 am
Rest those Schwarzenegger calves John G!!!!!!
Posted by: Clay junell on 3/20/2019 at 5:13 am
Wow, amazing! We can’t wait to go in 2020! Safe travels, everyone!
Posted by: Deborah Ruttee on 3/20/2019 at 4:44 am
Posted by: Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 4,383'
Way to go, Chad. You are finally fulfilling a lifetime dream. Looks like you are having fun with your new found friends. Rock on, buddy. Can’t wait to hear all about this fantastic venture.
Posted by: Warren Burgert on 3/22/2019 at 1:18 pm
Way to go Jayne and rob…watching you keeps us young !
Posted by: Ernie & Victoria on 3/19/2019 at 2:31 pm
On The Map
Rob- thought I saw you in the restaurant picture with EBC crew. Have a great trip up the Khumbu. Sorry to miss you for Spain and Norway with Gabi. Namaste.
Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 3/17/2019 at 8:52 pm
Congrats on making it to the destination, Eileen! You rock! :) Love you!
Posted by: AJ & Steph Mikloiche on 3/17/2019 at 12:17 pm
Posted by:
Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
When training for any sport, the best training advice is that you need to “do the sport.” If you are training to run a 5k race, you should spend a significant amount of your training running. 24 hour mountain bike race? You are going to spend a lot of training time on a bike. Crossfit competition? You’d better flip a lot of tires, do a lot of burpees, and swing a lot of ropes. So what do we do when our chosen sport is mountaineering?
For the lucky amongst us, we have mountains and hills nearby. We can lace up a pair of boots, put on a weighted pack, and head out the door for a several hour hike. So many of our climbers don’t have the luxury of living nearby mountains (for many, not even many hills), yet so much of our training advice relies on gaining vertical elevation throughout the workout. For flatlanders, one of the best options to still achieve vertical distance during a workout is to use a treadmill set at its max incline.
On Mt. Rainier we aim to climb at a pace of about 1000 ft/hour. We use this measure because our pace varies with the terrain. In flatter terrain with less rise per step, we’ll up the tempo and move a bit faster. As the terrain gets steeper and the effort increases, we back the speed down somewhat, all in an effort to continue to move efficiently. 1000 ft/hour, therefore, is a useful benchmark in your training.
A treadmill typically has a max incline of 15%. To climb 1000ft. on a treadmill therefore, you need to walk roughly 1.25 miles of horizontal distance (what the treadmill measures). Setting the pace to 1.25 miles per hour on the treadmill will approximate the pace of the climb, at least on paper.
There is a physics argument around frame of reference that argues that a treadmill should be the same effort as hiking outside (the same argument is made for stairmasters), however, physiological studies show that heart rate and oxygen consumption (a way to measure effort) are lower on a treadmill for the same pace on solid ground. This suggests that a treadmill then requires somewhat less effort and is in effect easier. How much easier? This is a difficult question, that doesn’t have an answer. With this knowledge, we can simply set our pace to be faster than 1.25 miles per hour and increase the difficulty through speed. If we increase the difficulty enough, we will approach the difficulty of the climb.
Other great options for tailoring your training to the vertical gain involved in climbing include stadium or office building stairs. In this case, you are moving your center of mass uphill, just like in mountaineering, so 1000 ft/hour will feel similar to the actual effort. Embrace the options that are available to you, grab a pack and some weight, and see how much vertical you can incorporate into your training!
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Comments? Questions? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
Hi, looking into training and wanted to get a treadmill at home. The ones that dont take up an outrageous amount of space (and $) really only go to 10% incline. I wanted one at home so i can get used to walking for longer durations. Is 10% still good enough for training if supplemented with stairs/gym, outdoors, etc? I also have a weighted vest that I would incorporate and make heavier over time. Thanks!
Posted by: sab on 10/8/2025 at 12:29 pm
Hi. I have an inclined NordicTrack treadmill that goes up to 40% incline. It just doesnt feel like its 40% because I can do 2 miles an hour at this from 20% to 40% climbing about 3000 miles and i am tired but not “dying”- like at different climbs. Any suggestions?
Posted by: Mo on 12/12/2024 at 8:07 am
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls from the summit of Orizaba, Mexico.
On The Map
I am beyond thrilled for you Dave, and the team! Sending great vibes for your descent of Orizaba! Enjoy!!
*L
Posted by: Lori Macaluso on 3/9/2019 at 11:24 am
Hi Team - Phew! Glad to hear the flight went smoothly! I was a little nervous when Bruce and Michael told me about the airport, and my curious self started down the deep and dark hole of the internet. Looking forward to tomorrow’s update!
Posted by: Katie F. on 3/20/2019 at 9:48 am
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