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Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jack Delaney, David Price
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,131'
We had a great day at Mt. Erie on Tuesday for the first day of our Expedition Skills Seminar - Shuksan. We went through gear, learned knots, anchors, belaying, and rappelling. We also did a bit of top rope climbing in boots to get ready for Shuksan. We then prepped and got ready to head onto the mountain for the next few days. We had a great day with a bit of cloud cover to keep it cool. We then moved into camp at the toe of the Sulphide Glacier with some incredible views for the next several days!
On Friday, we made our summit attempt with 100% of the group reaching the summit at 9,131'. It was a long day and we arrived back in camp late. Everybody is happy. We'll train on Saturday and check in then.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
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Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
This allows me to see:
1. What I'm capable of today (see my post "Setting A Baseline" if you need help with this).
2. What I need to accomplish on my target date.
3. Where I should be during the process.
My experience is that progress is rarely a straight line on a graph and you may be ahead or behind at any given point; but you can see generally what you've achieved and identify what work remains to be done throughout the training period.
So, what if you're running short on time to prepare? This happens often. If the goal is ambitious, we may need to intensify our focus and really adopt the mindset of an athlete.
Some training recommendations if you are short on time to prepare:
• Try to establish a sensible progression and use the entire time you have rather than "front load" your training (which could create setbacks or injury).
• If you do have an aggressive training plan, be sure to focus on rest and recovery as well as quality nutrition.
• Make your training as specific as possible: Mountain climbing and hiking are perfect. Cross country skiing, running, Stairmaster, and cycling are all also good. Focus in on these activities to benefit the most from your training.
• Embrace the adventure and focus on the process more than just the result; it's easy to expend a lot of energy thinking only of the summit. By focusing on enjoying my training and doing the best I can each day, I find I enhance my training experience and my overall experience on the climb.
Take some time this week to sit down, pull out a pencil and paper, and graph out the training progression you need for your climb. It will give you a clear picture of not only where you need to be for your climb, but also where you need to be in three months, in one month, and even next week. Keep this graph in a convenient place and pull it out every once in a while to check in on yourself. It can be helpful to establish specific, repeatable benchmarks to revisit during your training to measure your progress. Check out RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer's ideas on using benchmarks.
- John Colver
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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 here on the RMI Blog!
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Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Posted by: Emma Lyddan, Hannah Smith, Lily Emerson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,800'
The Four Day All Women's Climb August 6 - 9 was unable to summit due to weather. RMI Guides Emma Lyddan, Hannah Smith and Lily Emerson turned the climbers around at 12,800' due to lightning, ice and rain. The teams returned safely back to Camp Muir. They will descend the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise later this morning and conclude their program at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.
Photos: Hannah Smith
Great job everyone! Glad to hear the group is safe and sound. I love you Ashley!
Posted by: Brian Battaglia on 8/9/2022 at 10:36 am
The clear, beautiful skies made for a cool and frosty night down at Ixtaccihuatl Basecamp. The team woke up to flakes of snow hitting our face, courtesy of the moisture from our breath. We ate our breakfast, packed our bags and were on our way.
The sun was strong, but a cool wind kept our temperature regulated quite perfectly as the team worked their way up. Our months of hard work and preparation paid off as the team was strong as ever. Making the move from 13,000ft to 15,400ft is no small feat, especially with the heavy loads of the day. We made short work of it though, getting to our high camp in around four hours flat. Now we need to move into camp, relax for a bit, and talk logistics for the day ahead. I’m proud of the way the team performed today and it makes me as hopeful as ever for our summit day tomorrow.
RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli
Posted by: Alex Van Steen, Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Carstensz Pyramid
Elevation: 13,900'
On The Map
Dave Hahn and Team Members from the Vinson Summit
On The Map
congratulations Mindy! So proud of your big achievement! You are great. Bill
Posted by: Bill Liu on 12/19/2011 at 1:17 pm
I hope soon I will be able to do what you have done, congratulations on your climb
Posted by: grover rose on 12/15/2011 at 4:13 pm
Posted by: Alex Van Steen, Jake Beren
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,127'
Thanks for the tips! Would definitely want to have a trekking pole myself brought on hiking.
Posted by: Marge on 5/25/2016 at 10:57 pm
I’m doing the Ironman Lake Tahoe as a training program for my Mountaineering goals. What are your thoughts? If I do well with the Ironman at 6,000+ feet in elevation will this be more than plenty of training? I have 9 months until the race. After the race I expect to be in the best shape of my life.
Posted by: Will Beaubien on 1/26/2014 at 6:44 pm
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