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Mountaineering Training | Training In Cold Temperatures

January 6, 2014

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Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training

Another wide ranging cold front is dropping across the U.S. this weekend, drawing down Arctic air and threatening to plunge temperatures below zero from coast to coast. Seriously cold wintertime temps aren’t abnormal for many athletes in more northern climes, and most grit their teeth, throw on a couple more layers, and continue with their training. Training goes on and we make the most of the weather, but treat these cold snaps with respect. Several studies, by the Norwegian and Swedish national athletic programs, as well as the US Olympic committee, have shown that strenuous endurance training in cold, dry conditions can lead to lung and bronchial irritation and inflammation, and that prolonged training in these conditions increases the incidence of asthma and bronchospasms. After the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998, the US Olympic committee found that over 25% of the American team suffered from bronchospasms (uncontrollable spasms of the bronchi), and that of cross country skiers (athletes making long and exerted efforts in snowy and cold conditions), this respiratory problem was present in over half of the individuals. A similar study of elite level cross country skiers in Sweden and Norway showed repeatedly that over half of these athletes display asthma like symptoms and decreased lung capacity. While a few days of training during a cold snap won’t be enough to cause most athletes long term respiratory distress, it could be enough to cause some bronchial irritation and inflammation that could impact training for the next few weeks. This may be a good time to focus your training week on a few more gym and indoor workouts, and if you do train outside, consider training with a neck gaiter or buff over your mouth, to help warm the air as it enters your lungs. In chronically cold places, such as Alaska, athletes have developed special masks for training in cold conditions. Essentially stripped down respirators, they hollow metal grid of the mask retains the heat of each exhaled breath, helping to warm the next breath. Stay motivated, wear a few more layers, and take care. If an outdoor workout leaves your lungs and throat feeling raw and irritated, don’t push it. Do your next few sessions indoors, the irritation heal and subside. Good luck and happy training! Read more about the respiratory studies here. Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!

Mt. Rainier: Four Day Climb Teams Reach Summit

May 10, 2021

Posted by: Adam Knoff, Ben Ammon, Camille Leininger, Taylor Bickford, Leif Bergstrom, Seth Burns

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Ben Ammon led their Four Day Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The weather is clear and cold and the climb took approximately 6 hours from Camp Muir to the crater rim. After enjoying some time in the crater and getting all the photos, the team will return to Camp Muir to pack up and then continue their descent to Paradise later today. They will end their adventure with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.

Congratulations to today's climbing teams!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Great job! Congrats!

Posted by: Ben Olson on 5/20/2021 at 2:43 pm

Congrats team! I’m coming August 20th…..training hard and can’t wait!

Posted by: Erick Mida on 5/16/2021 at 6:48 am

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Mt. Everest: Team is at the South Summit!

May 25, 2012

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Melissa Arnot

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 28,750'

RMI Guide Dave Hahn contacted Everest Base Camp from the South Summit. The team is doing well and the weather is great. They are enjoying watching the sunrise and have gotten some great photos. The team is taking a break at the South Summit which will allow climbers descending from the summit to get past. The weather is great, the team is strong, they have plenty of oxygen and a good pace so far. RMI Guide and Everest Base Camp Manager Mark Tucker

Mt. Rainier: Francis, Burns & Team Complete Great Week of Training

September 21, 2022

Posted by: Matias Francis, Seth Burns, Henry Coppolillo, Roland Scott

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 10,080'

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 16 - 21 led by RMI Guides Matias Francis and Seth Burns have wrapped up an excellent week of training at Camp Muir. The team enjoyed stellar weather and were able to complete their seminar training, ice climbing up to AI6+, alpine bouldering and candy bar snow protection tests (you will have to ask them) and more. The team will descend from Camp Muir today and return to Rainier BaseCamp for a final celebration. Nice work everyone!

Photo: Matias Francis

Ecuador Seminar: Team Rests and Prepares for Chimborazo

February 17, 2024

Posted by: Dustin Wittmier

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 13,123'

Friday, February 16, 2023 | 5:38 PT

This morning everyone reported having slept soundly. As it turns out, even climbing half of Antisana is still hard. We're recovering and now looking forward to Chimborazo, which has been giving us quite the show this evening. We're staying at the Chimborazo Lodge, an historic mountain lodge run by Marco Cruz, a climbing legend in Ecuador. It sits at about 13000' right at the base of the southwest flank of the mountain. There is no cell reception and no wifi, giving us a chance to unplug and hone our focus towards the task at hand, climbing another massive volcano. With any luck and a lot of trying hard we may have a chance to visit a truly majestic summit. Stay tuned!

-- RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

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Everest Base Camp Trek and Lobuche: Team Rests in Pheriche

March 28, 2022

Posted by: Adam Knoff

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche

Elevation: 13,950'

Today was officially a rest day. Our team had different definitions of what that means but all in all we are going to bed content.

If you haven’t already guessed we had breakfast at 7:30 am, drank tea and coffee until 9 then prepared to go on a short walk. Being a lazy day, three out of the five departed by 10:15 while two others stayed back to enjoy some down time in the lodge. The weather started cloudy but improved by late morning offering new views of Makalu, the world’s fifth highest mountain and the north side of Ama Dablam which we have been viewing from its more popular side on the west.

Two members of the team hiked to a small summit at 16,600' for some extra acclimatizing while the others went back to the lodge for lunch.

Overall it was a pleasant day here in Pheriche which should set us up for our next stretch to Lobuche tomorrow.

We hope all is well back home.

--RMI Guide Adam Knoff

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Following from Wisconsin.

Posted by: Paul Knoff on 3/28/2022 at 7:39 pm

Weather looks wonderful!! Enjoy your updates very much! Best as you walk on!!

Posted by: Jane on 3/28/2022 at 12:29 pm

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Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche: Team Visits Khumbu Climbing Center

March 26, 2022

Posted by: Adam Knoff

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche

Elevation: 12,325'

Today was a special day. If you listen to enough Tony Robbins you will learn that every day is a special day but for us, me in particular, this day was one I have looked forward to for fourteen years.

Before we get to why that is, I will say the team is doing great going from point A to point B and enjoying every bit this place has to offer along the way.

Today we did our standard packing, breakfast and launch with the starting point being Namche Bazaar and the ending point being Phortse village. The trail was a bit more difficult today with many ups and downs but in the end, we only gained 1000 feet. Our weather was cloudy so no mind-blowing views but the temps were good for walking, and we could see a long way up the valley so everyone was still in awe of the complete magic of this place. After a solid seven-mile jaunt, we landed at the Phortse Guest House which is owned by an old friend of mine and the reason this day is meant a lot.

18 years ago, Conrad Anker asked me to be an instructor for a school in Nepal he had planned in the Khumbu region of Nepal during the month of January. Back then I knew very little about this place but couldn’t pass up an opportunity to join Conrad Anker, John Krakuer and three other world class climbers to help create a vocational school at the base of Mt. Everest teaching local Sherpa and Nepali climbers more formal skills helping them peruse a career in expedition work.

Three years later I became the program director of that school but unfortunately passed the torch on when my son was born in 2009. It has been 14 years since my last visit which seems like an eternity. But reconnecting with old friends, seeming the new KCC building and sitting around a table eating bahl bot and drinking tea with all the Sherpas makes for an emotional reunion. I could not have asked for a better day.

Tomorrow we unfortunately leave Phortse and walk a solid 5 hours to Pheriche, our next village.

Thanks for following.

RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

I am so glad you are all having such a good time. Wish I could be with you!

Posted by: Catherine Symonds on 3/26/2022 at 1:46 pm

So very happy for a wonderful reunion!! Memories remaking !!

Posted by: Jane on 3/26/2022 at 12:19 pm

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Everest Basecamp Trek & Lobuche: Knoff, Smith & Team Trek to Gorak Shep, Enjoying the Views

March 30, 2022

Posted by: Adam Knoff, Hannah Smith

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche

Elevation: 16,950'

This morning came as both a blessing and a curse. Most of our previous evenings have transitioned nicely from our enjoyable group dinner into bed time which we naturally gravitate towards around 8:30 or 9. On paper this trip offers yak loads of down time and should, if played right, give each of us a solid 9 hours of shuteye.

But we all know plans, as perfect as they may seem, play out far differently than the spreadsheet says they should. Just ask Vladimir Putin about that.

But thankfully none of us are crazy, demented humans and simply get a bit sidetracked with issues such as stomach funkiness, altitude weirdness and in the case of last night, a pack barking dogs. There were only four of them, I know because I chased them around the village of Lobuche at 2 am with rocks and a ski pole, but nothing would make them stop. We were sleeping at an altitude of 16,000 feet so it wasn’t the easiest anyway but never had I heard nonstop dog shouting for 8 hours straight. So this morning was a blessing because they finally shut up when the sun hit but a curse because I was tired and cold and just wanted to stay in bed. But we had miles to cover!

After our standard breakfast, complete with dog stories, admissions of no sleep and an eagerness to get on the trail, we slung our packs and followed our Sherpa leader Dawa. The path started easy but soon steepened and became a lot more rugged when we began to cross a small glacier. Our objective was the last village of Gorak Shep, before getting to Everest Base Camp tomorrow. A steady three hour stroll landed us on target with views of Nuptse and Everest dominating the views up ahead. The day was perfect and we knew our hike up a ridge line to a small summit called Kala Patar was going to be stunning.

We powered down some lunch and headed out. The trail head was conveniently located two minutes from our lodge so before we could say yak cheese we were head up. The summit sits at 18,500 feet which we achieved an hour and a half after leaving. The vistas were as good as advertised and no matter how man times you see it, one can’t help but to be blown away by the size and power of the Everest cirque. We could also see Base Camp far below and got excited to go there tomorrow.

By 3 the clouds began to move up the valley, like they do every day at that time so it motivated us to descend and go get some tea.

Now we are resting before dinner and our schedule horizontal time. This isn’t planned, it’s a product of challenging days and a demanding environment. Plus it keeps us healthy.

Stay tuned for our journey to EBC tomorrow.

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Adam, All the best to you and your group. Amazing pics!

Posted by: Uncle Chris on 3/31/2022 at 11:01 am

Wishing a peaceful night and good weather. Looking fantastic from your reports! Thank you each day for the update!

Posted by: Jane on 3/30/2022 at 10:33 am

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Mt. Rainier: Team Turns Due to Hazardous Route Conditions

August 15, 2021

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Walter Hailes, Henry Coppolillo, Daniel May, David Shuer, Keeley Rideout

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 11,200'

Today's Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Walter Hailes, turned due to hazardous route conditions. The teams ascended to Ingraham Flats to watch the sunrise before descending back to Camp Muir where they had breakfast. They left Camp Muir around 9:45 a.m. and are working their way back to Paradise.

RMI Guide Alex Barber Safe At Annapurna Base Camp

April 25, 2015

Posted by:

Categories: Guide News

Just a quick note to you that everyone here at Annapurna is safe. Yesterday everyone came down off the mountain to wait out some heavy storms. It had been snowing steadily all day today when the large earthquake struck just before noon. It was so forceful! It felt as if we were inside a snow globe being shaken by God. The storm kept us from seeing much but we could hear avalanches ripping down the mountains all around us. The roar was so loud I thought we'd surely be hit. Annapurna Base Camp is situated on a muddy ridge clinging to an adjacent mountain. During the earthquake large sections peeled off and cascaded down some 800ft to the glacier below. Totally insane, but nothing made it to us, and everyone is safe here. My thoughts go out to everyone in Nepal, especially my friends in Kathmandu and over on Everest. Climbing Update: The 24th of April I descend all the way from Camp 4 at 7000m on Annapurna to base camp. But before I get into why I descended without attempting the summit I'll talk about the earthquake. It had been snowing steadily all morning today when, at around noon, a large earthquake struck. The earthquake was so forceful, it felt as if we were inside a snow globe being shaken by God. The storm kept us from seeing much but we could hear avalanches ripping down everywhere. The roar was so loud I thought we'd surely be hit. Annapurna Base Camp is situated on a muddy ridge clinging to a adjacent mountain. During the earthquake large sections peeled off and cascaded down some 800ft to the glacier below. Totally insane. As I write this another roar of what sounds to be a massive avalanche rips down Annapurna. On the 23rd I made my way up from Camp 3 to Camp 4. The route is straight-forward. It starts with a low angle section of ice up a serac out of camp 3. To a traversing section of steep snow then a long ramp to C4. The ramp connects the German Rib with the summit area of Annapurna. The ramp is a slope of 30 to 45 degrees and it was covered in fresh deep snow up to waist deep. That afternoon myself and another team set up camp underneath a serac at 7000m. Their plan was to start out that same night with their 4 Sherpa guides to leave at 8pm to break the route and the 4 members of their group to follow at 9pm. I decided not to attempt the summit because: - Too cold of a night to climb without supplemental oxygen - Retreat would be difficult at night as the wind was blowing too much snow and covering the track. - no previous time spent above 18,000', so I was not properly acclimatized. - too much technical ground below us - with forecasted storm by Noon the next day. - high risk of avalanche if caught above camp 2 after the storm. I descended from C4 the morning of the 23rd. As I was leaving, the members of the team that had attempted to summit started straggling in from their failed summit attempt. They were too tired to descend from C4. I re-broke the route to C3 in sketchy and quite heavy deep snow. As I dropped down a final steep descent before Camp 3 on an arm wrap rappel, I plunged into a concealed crevasse. I was already feeling quite sick from overheating in my down suit. The sun had come out and started slowly deep frying me in the down suit. But luckily I was stable enough that I could wriggle out of the suit without falling any further. Half way in a hole, about to vomit from overheating and my arm wrap biting into my forearm, I comically rolled down into C3. I was moaning in discomfort, dry heaved a few times, and laid there motionless for a time. I had to get moving again though, because the weather was coming in fast. I cached a few things at Camp 3 and started rappelling off the serac whose top forms the flat surface of camp 3. The route down the German Rib is steep and riddled with crevasses and alpine ice. But large areas of the route had deep snow blown in from the night prior. ... Another large avalanche is ripping down Annapurna... this place is quite unstable since the earthquake. Soon after completing my descent from the serac I, twice, stuck a leg into a concealed crevasse while rappelling down the further slope. I shouted to a Sherpa named Pemba from the summit team that we'd better employ the buddy system and re-break the route together. As we started down the visibility went to zero and a heavy fall of snow started. About midway down we lost our rappel lines and started carefully climbing down without the safety of the lines. Searching the snow with our ice tools for the rappel lines while slowly inching our way down. We were In a couloir with seracs all around and above us, my mind kept telling me we were in a very dangerous place to be moving so slowly. A few minutes before finding the lines again we set off a small slab slide 3 ft to our right. Things were getting spooky! Finally, we made the last rappel onto the glacier below the German Rib. Now the last hurdle was finding camp 2 in a whiteout. An island of safety in the insanely dangerous glacial field below the crosshairs couloir and sickle ice cliffs. In the reduced visibility we wove through large ice blocks of avalanche debris by GPS. We moved with baited breath - hoping not to hear that tell tale rumble that has become such a familiar sound to me here at Annapurna. The Korean team a day earlier had had a near miss right in this area. After having been on the move on a very scary mountain, in terrible weather, for 11 hours I finally arrived at Base Camp at 8:40pm that night. Descending through deep snow and limited visibility all day. At Base Camp I found out that an avalanche had hit the team at camp 4 earlier that night. No one was hurt but they had to cut their way out of their tents. They were also all exhausted from their summit attempt. Including one climber who had frostbite on his hands and one suffering from HAPE. They would later be rescued via helicopter. Three of the 5 teams here at Base Camp are leaving, The team that attempted the summit blew their oxygen supply. Another team's Sherpas bailed because of concerns that Annapurna wasn't to be climbed this year. The mountain is angry. Yet another small team's permit has run out. I was planning to stay until mid-May as now I am acclimatized and my equipment is cached. However, with recent events I'm not sure what will happen, there's a lot of hearsay... and Annapurna sounds extremely unstable right now. I've heard at least three avalanches while I was writing this. -RMI Guide Alex Barber

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Thanks for posting useful information about the annapurna climb. I read your complete blog and got i lot of information for my future trek plans. I really got to know about some interesting facts which I was not aware of. I have also got some useful insights from ExpedReview as well.

Thanks for posting wonderful content. Keep posting such types of blogs.

Posted by: John Andrew on 12/18/2023 at 1:40 am

seems like a good decision … move on the task apparently assigned to you

Posted by: TaskMaster on 5/3/2015 at 9:39 am

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Most Popular Entries

Mountaineering Training | Training In Cold Temperatures

Mt. Rainier: Four Day Climb Teams Reach Summit

Mt. Everest: Team is at the South Summit!

Mt. Rainier: Francis, Burns & Team Complete Great Week of Training

Ecuador Seminar: Team Rests and Prepares for Chimborazo

Everest Base Camp Trek and Lobuche: Team Rests in Pheriche

Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche: Team Visits Khumbu Climbing Center

Everest Basecamp Trek & Lobuche: Knoff, Smith & Team Trek to Gorak Shep, Enjoying the Views

Mt. Rainier: Team Turns Due to Hazardous Route Conditions

RMI Guide Alex Barber Safe At Annapurna Base Camp

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