RMI Expeditions Blog
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Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
There are several schools of thought on the best nutrition plan for mountaineers. Serious mountain climbers need to focus on endurance while hobbyists have a bit more room to formulate their nutritional needs based on many factors. It is important that mountaineers plan their nutrition differently depending on whether they are about to start training, are currently training, climbing or recovering. The most important factors to consider are your energy needs and adequate hydration.
It is advised to start on your training diet a few days before actually starting to train. The reason is because carbohydrates are the best source of fuel for training and are stored as glycogen molecules in the muscles. A carbohydrate loaded meal the day of training will not provide the energy stores needed to reach peak performance. Therefore a carbohydrate-rich diet should be started at least a few days before beginning training.
Training nutrition should focus on muscle building. Many people think that protein is all that is needed to build muscles, but carbohydrates are the energy needed to make it happen. Therefore a combination protein and carbohydrate-rich diet is essential for training. Some healthy foods that can bulk up the daily carbohydrate content in your diet include: whole wheat pasta, whole wheat breads and fruits. Make sure to eat vegetables since they are needed for cell repair for a body under stress. Also, to get some extra protein, eat more meat, dairy and beans, if you are not a meat, dairy or bean enthusiast try a whey protein powder shake daily. For strength training you need about 0.7 to 0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight. And don’t forget fats. Fat is a necessity since it can enhance your performance. Try mega doses of healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil on salads and use coconut oil for frying and sautéing.
Remember that the nutritional needs of athletes in training must be met daily and not just on actual training days in order to ensure sufficient energy storage. On training days some people like to use sugar to enhance endurance. Sugar just prior to training may provide some additional energy but this depends on the athlete. Each athlete would do well to experiment with this strategy to gauge their blood sugar reaction. Sugar can be a quick source of energy immediately before training, but for some people it can cause a real energy drain if it wears off in the middle of the training session.
For climbs, there are plenty of well-balanced pre-packed meals to ensure you get adequate nutrition. Protein is especially important for athletes to optimize the benefits of carbohydrate storage and to repair muscle tissue broken down during mountain climbing. Endurance athletes have a daily protein requirement of 0.6 to 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight. It is vital to athletic performance to remember the importance of quality protein. For example protein from fish, chicken, milk and peanut butter will serve you well. And of course for a climb, increase your carbohydrate intake to get adequate energy; try rice, pasta, bread and fruits. Staying well hydrated will provide a little extra energy, so keep drinking. A study shows that drinking tea will not dehydrate a climber but can improve their mood, so try taking some tea on your next climb.
Recovery nutrition is often the most overlooked aspect of mountaineering. When you finish climbing and no longer need the extra energy, it is still not time to let up on eating correctly. Immediately after the climb your body needs to replenish its energy stores and repair muscles. So go back to your pre-training diet for a few days after a climb. Since recovery nutrition keeps you prepared for the next climb, after those first few days keep on with your balanced nutrition plan and stay hydrated to maintain muscle strength.
The love of mountaineering can be enhanced when the body has all the necessary tools to thrive. Finding the right combination for your body may require a little experimentation to find just the right nutritional plan for you. Be sure to incorporate a balance of healthy carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Most of all, don’t forget to stay hydrated.
Read the Q&A with Dietician Sally Hara about nutrition for mountaineering training...
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
This post was written in collaboration with Whittaker Mountaineering.
Relevant Studies:
- Kerksick C, Harvey T, Stout J, Campbell B, Wilborn C, Kreider R, Kalman D, Ziegenfuss T, Lopez H, Landis J, Ivy JL, Antonio J. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Nutrient Timing. 2008;5:17.
- Major GC, Doucet E. Energy intake during a typical Himalayan trek. High Altitude Medicine & Biology. 2004;5(3):355-63.
- Montain SJ, Shippee RL, Tharion WJ. Carbohydrate-electrolyte solution effects on physical performance of military tasks. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine. 1997;68(5):384-91.
- Westerterp KR. Limits to sustainable human metabolic rate. Journal of Experimental Biology. 2001;204(Pt 18):3183-7.
- Zamboni M, Armellini F, Turcato E, Robbi R, Micciolo R, Todesco T, Mandragona R, Angelini G, Bosello O. Effect of altitude on body composition during mountaineering expeditions: interrelationships with changes in dietary habits. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism. 1996;40(6):315-24.
Posted by: Leon Davis, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
When the team met this afternoon at the Anchorage Airport, it was impossible to ignore the weather here. From soggy Seattle or the still frozen north, here in Alaska it's sandals and shorts weather. Our team is assembled and now in Talkeetna slapping mosquitoes and laughing with new friends and teammates. Tomorrow we will pack, prepare, and hopefully fly onto the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Before bedding down we paused to raise a glass to the upcoming adventure.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
On The Map
Posted by: Linden Mallory, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
A thin covering of clouds rolled into the Ruth Glacier last night just low enough to brush the summits of the surrounding peaks. The clouds acted as an insulating layer, preventing the previous day's heat from fully dissipating overnight and we awoke early to relatively mild temperatures. The warmer temps softened the blow of waking up early and breaking camp - not the most pleasant experience when the thermometer hovers in the single digits - and soon we had everything packed into our backpacks and sleds and were skiing down the Ruth Glacier as the first ray of sunlight reached us. We spent the day traveling downhill, dropping from Mountain House northwards into the center of the Ruth Amphitheater before veering to the east and making a large 180-degree turn until we were eventually headed south down the Ruth Glacier and into the heart of the Ruth Gorge. This early in the season the glacier is still covered in a thick layer of winter snow, smoothing over the crevasses and undulations in the glacier and among the travel very smooth and straightforward.
Soon we entered the Ruth Gorge proper, a "narrow" stretch of glacier (still almost a mile wide) that is reported to be close to 3,000' deep, and walled by massive rock walls on both sides, the highest being the East Face of Mt. Dickey which rises an impressive almost 5,000'+ above us, whose summit remained shrouded in clouds. We traveled down the Gorge, occasionally stopping in awe to admire the landscape around us, until we reached an altitude of about 4,600' at the entrance to a side valley that is framed by "747 Pass" - a gap in the rock walls purported to be large enough to fly its Boeing namesake through. Here, we established our camp, just as the temperatures warmed enough to begin softening the surface snow and slowing our progress across the glacier. We spent the remainder of the afternoon establishing our camp in the center of the flat glacier that runs through the Gorge and brushing up on various climbing skills and techniques. If the weather holds, we are in a good position to make a push through 747 Pass and climb the glaciated West Face of Mt. Dickey tomorrow morning before returning to our camp here in the Gorge.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory & Team
Posted by: Linden Mallory, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'
The little town of Talkeetna, Alaska, was beginning to wake from its quiet winter slumber when we arrived yesterday evening. The long warm evening calling out locals and climbers alike to relax on the outdoor patios along the main strip. After dropping off our gear we grabbed a quick bite at the legendary West Rib Pub, enjoying some excellent caribou burgers as our last meal before heading into the mountains.
The morning was perfectly clear and calm and after checking in with the National Park Service we headed over to the airplane hangar at the Talkeetna Airport to finalize our gear preparations - spreading warm clothes, bags of food, skis, and climbing gear across the floor of the hangar, taking careful count of everything, and then miraculously packing it all back up into our bags. By early afternoon we were ready. We traded out our jeans and flip flips for high tech synthetic shells, pulled on our boots, and clambered into the ski plane - a turbo prop with skis known locally as a Beaver - and took off for the Alaska Range.
As soon as we climbed above Talkeetna, the incredible mass of the Alaska Range loomed in front of us over the dash board of the plane, crowned by the recognizable summits of Denali, Mt. Hunter, and Mt. Foraker. We flew above the landscape of thinning forests and lakes and gradually the formidable wall of mountains began to fade into series of valleys, ridges, peaks, and glaciers. When we reached the toe of the Ruth Glacier we made a gradual turn to the north and flew right up the center into the Ruth Gorge - a stunning stretch of glacier lined by the massive granite walls of Moose's Tooth, Mt. Dickey, and Mt. Braille. North of the Gorge stands the Ruth Amphitheater - a huge glacial cirque surrounded by massive peaks, including the summit of Denali high above. After making a few extra circles because the views were simply too stunning to pass up, we landed on the glacier near the Mountain House, a small hut perched on a rocky outcropping in the middle of the glacier.
We unloaded the plane, said goodbye to the pilot, and opting for the true McKinley experience, set to work establishing our camp on a shallow ridge to the west of the Mountain House. After getting ourselves settled in, we took advantage of the good weather to spend a few hours reviewing glacier travel skills and crevasse rescue techniques. Once the sun finally began to creep behind the nearby ridgelines, the temperatures began to sink and we found ourselves pulling out our parkas and adding layers - despite the warm weather it is still early season in the Alaska Range.
We are all settled into camp after an excellent dinner and getting ready for bed despite the sun still being high in the horizon, not much darkness up here this time of year. We are planning on leaving our Base Camp here early tomorrow morning and traveling back into the Gorge to scope out some potential climbing objectives before we set up camp. We are all doing well and very excited to be in the mountains!
RMI Guide Linden Mallory & Team
On The Map
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Geoff Schellens, Jake Beren
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Guide News
Elevation: 15,584'
The Dhaulagiri team called the RMI Office this morning to check-in. Here is a summary of our conversation:
First and foremost, everyone is healthy and in good spirits. The weather forecast is calling for more of the same—gorgeous, clear mornings followed by afternoon snowstorms. They are refusing to let the plethora of new snow dampen their spirits. A new team has arrived at base camp and everyone is enjoying the new company. The team is getting ready to head to bed for the night. In the morning they will begin heading uphill to get into position for their summit attempt.
The team sends their love to everyone following along! They will keep us posted on their upward progress.
Good luck to the team and stay safe!
Posted by: Barbara Schwarz on 5/1/2014 at 11:27 am
May The Force be with you. Your strength, will, and wisdom make an awesome contender for Mother Nature. Power on.
Posted by: nsb on 4/30/2014 at 10:29 am
Posted by: Billy Nugent, JJ Justman, Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest
Elevation: 4,383'
In Lukla, roughly eight thousand vertical feet below our Everest Basecamp home of the past three weeks, we were pretty comfortable. But just for one night. The team was awake by five am yesterday, eating by 5:30 and walking over to the airport check-in at six. We watched -partly in awe, partly in horror- as Twin Otters, Dorniers and A-Stars roared in and out of the compact one acre loading and unloading zone, pirouetting into place, revving engines, disgorging trekkers, cases of beer and heavy bags of rice at a frenetic pace. When summoned by frantic hand gestures, we shouldered our packs, walked out onto the tarmac and took over the seats in a Twin.
A few minutes later, we were in the air, over a few craggy passes and cruising toward Kathmandu. Upon landing, we were no-longer climbers, or even would-be climbers, we were happily transformed to overdressed tourists. As such we took off a few layers and began showering, shaving and eating eating eating.
Although we are still far from home, the program is finished. We continue to enjoy each other's company, we still rely on one another to make sense of the sad events and unexpected turns our trip has taken. The team is grateful that so many have followed our journey on the blog and offered up kind words and support.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Watching the Discovery Channel broadcast on the Avalanche. Thank you Dave, Mark & team!
Posted by: Susan on 5/4/2014 at 7:13 pm
Dave - We’ve been thinking about you guys every day for the past two weeks. Glad to hear everything is well with you. There will be many more days to climb. Stay safe.
Posted by: James Woodwell on 5/2/2014 at 9:24 pm
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Geoff Schellens, Jake Beren
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Guide News
Hello,
This is the Dhaulagiri Climbing Team and once again we wanted to apologize for the lack for the lack of communication, but as we said before we have been having a few problems with the satellite “sat” phone. But, right now we can send a dispatch.
We have been discovering the worst weather that we have ever witnessed. This Himalayan peak is pretty much keeping us working really, really hard. We are getting snow storms every day. The only time we have not had afternoon storms have been when we have all day storms! But, that hasn’t kept us from climbing. The last two days we have been working very hard being the only team on the mountain breaking trail to establish Camp 2. In the next few days we are going to be looking at the route between Camp 2 and Camp 3 which is one of the hardest parts of the climb. If that is a go we’ll have a summit bid.
Like I said, we have been receiving anywhere from a foot to two feet of snow every other afternoon and it has made our job hard. A couple of other teams have arrived, but they are not as ambitious to work up high yet. We are not going to quit until our plane leaves. We have a little bit less than 10 days here to make it happen. We have a really good weather forecast and will keep our fingers crossed that we are going to have a shot at it.
So if the sat phone keeps working for us we will keep you posted as much as we can. So please keep your fingers crossed for us. This is Dhaulagiri and we hope you all take care. We hope to communicate good news soon!
RMI Guide Elias deAndres Martos
Dhaulagiri Team checking in April 28th.
Crested Butte is keeping fingers crossed! Be Safe!
Posted by: Jessica on 4/29/2014 at 9:57 am
Jake must be enjoying the powder skiing.
Posted by: Pete Sowar on 4/29/2014 at 7:19 am
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Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
Mental preparation for mountaineering is just as important as the physical training. Often the mental hurdles of the mountains can be just as intimidating and overwhelming as the physical challenges. You’ll want to have some strategies to rely on when the climbing gets difficult and you can use your training to figure out what works to keep you mentally engaged and focused during the climb. Below are a few ideas we’ve gathered from our guides and climbers over the years:
Break It Up
Instead of viewing the climb as single massive undertaking, break the trip into sections, and sub-sections, and sub-sections of sub-sections. If summit day is still days or even weeks away, don’t focus on it when you’re first shouldering your pack. Instead, break the trip in smaller portions: reaching Base Camp, moving to Camp 1, etc. Then segment out the day’s climbing into sections and concentrate on just the stretch you’re on. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the enormity of the climb ahead but by breaking the endeavor into smaller sections of climbing you can separate it out into achievable parts.
Climb Beautifully
When the going gets tough and you find yourself struggling, try focusing all of your attention on the physical movements. Dial in your cramponing techniques, concentrate on climbing in perfect balance, focus on your footwork, pay attention to your rope interval. Turning your attention to these small tasks brings your attention to the immediate actions you are taking and keeps you engaged and focused.
Focus on the Now
Much like climbing beautifully, try focusing on the immediate trail ahead and don’t go through the exhausting mental exercises of “what-if”, “maybe”, or “perhaps” of what is over the rise. Instead of worrying about how intimidating the crevasse crossing you heard other climbers mention might be, what the altitude will feel like, how long the descent is going to be, or any other number of possibilities, focus on the route in front of you. By staying focused you won’t burn mental energy exploring unknowns and you’ll stay engaged. When you get to those times of the climb or places on the route, you may just find that they are far more manageable than you led yourself to believe.
Count
When the going gets really tough, try counting steps. Many climbers descend from the mountains with tales of putting their heads down and counting a certain number of steps - 20, 50, 100 - before looking up again. Don’t lose focus of what you’re doing and continue to climb safely and in tandem with your team, but counting is another way to give yourself something immediate to focus on to help get through the challenging sections.
Wander
On most climbs there are many moments such as the approach or the descent where you’re off of the technical sections of the mountain that require active focus and you’re simply walking up or down a trail. It’s okay to let you your mind wander! Stay engaged with what you’re doing so you don’t stumble, but let your mind think about things other than the trail ahead. Maybe it’s thinking about how to plant the garden, remembering quotes from your favorite movie, solving a nagging problem, or even what meal you’ll treat yourself to after the climb - anything that can give you a little mental escape.
Every climber has different mental strategies that work for them. The trick is finding what works for you. Whether it’s a long weekend hike or a tough interval session, you can use your training routine to experiment with different ways of keeping yourself mentally engaged, even when the training get’s tough.
Did we miss something? Share your suggestions on mental strategies and read past Weekly Mountaineering Training Series on the RMI Blog!
Awesome advice! It all makes perfect sense!!!
Posted by: Tammy Doppenberg on 4/28/2014 at 8:50 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Billy Nugent, JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest
Billy Nugent led the way out of Namche, down the big hill and into the valley of a thousand farms and small villages. We made it in six hours to a comfy tea house next to the airstrip in Lukla. The rain caught us for the last hour or so, but didn't actually bother anybody enough to make them put a raincoat on. We ate the afternoon away in our new low-altitude home. Mark Tucker made a surprise appearance for dinner, having finished up his duties at Basecamp today and figured out a way to heli-hike in minutes what had filled up three days for the rest of us. We are now poised for an early wake-up and some airport hustle that may or may not get us to Kathmandu by fixed-wing aircraft. All depends on the weather.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Nicole LoBiondo: I hope you have safe travels back home and I am so happy to hear that you and your team are safe! I’ll see you soon! Much love, Sammy
Posted by: Sam Borneman on 4/28/2014 at 8:25 pm
I hope you all have safe travels back home! I can’t wait to hear all about your adventure at Copper Canyon with a margarita! And of course the salad with the bacon, fish tacitos and the steak!!!! Love ya Nicole!
Posted by: Lisa Taddeo on 4/28/2014 at 7:13 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, JJ Justman, Billy Nugent, Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest
Elevation: 11,300'
Today was a big walking day, up and down the hills of the Khumbu Valley from Pheriche to Namche. Right out of Pheriche, where we started hiking at 8 AM, we crossed the river, climbed a hill and turned into the inhabited portions of the Khumbu. We turned our backs on rocks and ice and walked down into rhododendrons, pine trees and villages. JJ led the way as we rolled through Shomare, Pangboche, Deboche, Thyangboche, and Phunky Tonga. We got hot enough to sweat a bit, which was a novelty, we passed a million trekkers and heard about a million helicopter laps as the B2's and B3's flew over us on their way back and forth to Everest Base. Finally, at midday, we got working our way up the giant dusty hill that would put us on level with Namche. It took us about six hours to reach Namche -still quite familiar to us since we spent three days acclimating in town on the way in. This time... no acclimatization needed... so fine to be below 12,000 ft for the first time in close to a month. The team enjoyed a fine evening at comfortable Camp De Base.
One more big day of hiking to go before Lukla International.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Nicole Lobiondo: Safe travels from Lukla to you all! Nicole H.
Posted by: Nicole Howard on 4/28/2014 at 6:27 am
Hey Spencer, So sorry you weren’t able to make it this time. You’ll be back under better circumstances and the summit will be that much more sweet. Safe journey home!
Uncle Matt
Posted by: Matt Pietro on 4/27/2014 at 12:40 pm
Very useful information, thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Vivek on 11/2/2020 at 1:32 am
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