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We enjoyed a rainy rest day at Refugio Grey. The wind and water on Lago Grey didn’t cooperate for a kayak tour but the time off our feet was appreciated. With only 7 km to Paine Grande we got a later start and walked through the 2011 forest fire scar that provided great views due to reduced vegetation.  The trail took us up and down a section of rocky bluffs filled with foxglove and tall grass over 4.5 hours. The winds are usually strong in this section and today was no different. Arriving at Refugio Paine Grande we got glimpses of the main rock formations this area is famous for. High winds, snow and grey skies up high made from some good spectating from within the beautiful and modern hut. Three days remain and we still have a lot of trail to cover and mountains to see. Thanks for following along. 

RMI Guide Mike King

By Geoff Schellens

Climbing big mountains is all about cardio, endurance, and strong legs, right? Wrong. While these are important areas to focus on during training, our core is easily overlooked. Our core connects our upper and lower body and is a vital part of stabilization when climbing. Carrying heavy packs on our backs, moving through uneven terrain, avoiding injury and maximizing efficiency are just a few examples of the need for a strong core. Below are five exercises for climbers that encompass our entire core: specifically the transversus abdominus (the cylinder providing stability) not just our rectus abdominus (that sexy six pack). Do these exercises slowly and with proper technique; please don’t risk injury forcing another rep. I recommend doing this routine two to three times a week and bumping up to four to five times a week after a month or more.

First, identify your core muscles and engage these. Lie down on your back and place your fingers 1 inch from the rim of your pelvic bone in towards your center. Push those muscles upwards. Those are your stabilizing core muscles.

Plank and Side Plank: Hold a push-up position with toes on the ground, legs together or shoulder-width apart, and hands on the floor directly under your shoulders. Engage your core and hold it. It is called “plank” for a reason; don’t let your back or hips droop or your butt rise up. At some point you will probably start shaking and it will become exponentially more difficult: hold it just a little longer. I keep a stopwatch on the floor in front of my face and try to hold the plank position 10 seconds longer each time. Keep your face relaxed with calm breathing. You can build up to forearm plank (instead of on your hands). Side plank is the same but rotate your body 90 degrees so you are facing the wall (or mirror). Remain lifted on one straight arm and the outside of the same foot. Keep your hips high: most likely you will droop towards the floor. If at first it is too difficult to keep your hips up with your legs straight, bend to your knee the leg closest to the floor. Don’t forget to get both sides.

Wood Chop: This is a great one for strengthening many of the smaller muscles in your core including some in the lower back. Start with a small weight (i.e. a full Nalgene water bottle), you can add weight later after you build technique. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the weight about six inches to the left of your left foot. In a controlled movement, lift the weight with both hands across your body ending with out-stretched arms high above your right shoulder. Control the weight back to the starting point and repeat. I go for 25 reps on each side and add weight after a few weeks.

Russian Twist: Sit on your butt with knees bent, feet hovering a few inches off the ground, and a straight back angled slightly away from your knees. Again start with a light weight and add more later. Hold your weight, a Nalgene or a small medicine ball, with both hands and in a controlled movement twist your torso to touch the weight to the floor on your left side then slowly twist to touch the weight to the floor on your right side. Start with reps of 25 and go from there.

Toe Touches: Lie on your back. With your legs together, lift them straight up, feet flat as if trying to stand on the ceiling. Take your two peace sign fingers together and cross your left fingers to the outside of your right foot. Come back to center, then cross your right fingers to the outside of your left foot. Keep moving back and forth with control. Start with 15 reps/side. The goal is to keep your shoulders off the floor and your legs & feet stationary.

Bicycle: Start with your back flat on the ground knees at 90 degrees above your hips and feet in the air. Your hands will be behind your head with elbows pointing to the sides. Extend your left leg out so the foot is about six inches off the ground and bring your left elbow to your right knee. Again don’t strain yourself: this is a slow and controlled, twisting crunch. Now bicycle your right foot out and bring your left knee up as you crunch your right elbow to this knee. The goal is to bring your elbow to your knee (not vice versa). Start with 20 reps and add more as you go.

These are five of my favorite core exercises that are easy to do anywhere. Hope you enjoy!

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Geoff Schellens is a senior guide for RMI Expeditions, guiding trips around the world. He has extensive experience on Mt. Rainier, in Alaska, the Himalaya, and Antarctica. Geoff is also an AMGA certified Rock Guide. He lives in Bozeman, MT.  

We got a casual start from Lago Dickson this morning around 11:15. The hike was about 5.5 hours and the Los Perros camp is in a colder and more humid area. So instead of rushing there we hung out this morning. The hike took us mostly through a dense forest and along side some beautiful glacial rivers with narrow canyons and a nice waterfall view at lunch. Shortly afterwards we began climbing a lateral moraine and got some nice views of the Perros glacier and surrounding peaks. There has not been much direct sunlight this trip and there also has not been much rain. The overcast skies have not made for the best pictures but the temperatures are good for hiking and everyone is enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Tomorrow we head up through John Gardner Pass, the highest point of the trek at 1200 meters.

Yesterday was a day that the Team won’t forget for some time. We got a 5:30 am wake up to pack while rain showered down on our tents at Perros Camp. By the time we set off uphill at 7:10 the rain had tapered off but the muddy trail would remain for the next few hours. The group weaved its way through roots and rocks trying to stay out of the calf deep mud.

As we got above tree line the sun had started to illuminate the fresh snow covered peaks above. The clouds stayed high allowing great views of the days previous terrain and the many glaciers surrounding John Gartner Pass. The 1968’ of elevation to the pass consisted of rock trails and snow melt streams. Arriving in the pass at 3840’ the warm up was over and the day’s work was just beginning.

The first part of the descent from the pass was 2,560’ straight down. The trail, if you could call it that is best summed up as a cruel game of chutes and ladders. People use the roots, rocks, trees, ropes and black iron plumbing pipe as handrails. Picking your way down and being cautious to not trip or tumble. With tired legs and a bit of mental fatigue we pulled into Paso Camp.

From Paso Camp at 1280’ we hadmore chutes and ladders terrain that eventually dropped us to Refugio Grey at 500’. To get there we had three impressive suspension bridges that spanned 300’ deep canyons. Along the way we enjoyed spectacular views of the Grey glacier which is one of the arms making up the Southern Patagonia ice sheet. We didn’t all get to camp at the same time, but arrived safe nonetheless to a hot dinner, drinks, showers and a comfy bed.

Aside from sore feet, knees and a few blisters the Team is doing well and enjoying a rainy rest day at Refugio Grey. Boat repairs are keeping us from a Grey glacier tour but there is hope for a kayak tour later this afternoon if the wind dies down.

Apologies for the delay in dispatches, we had poor signal at our last camp and yesterday were busy experiencing this adventure and tough day to concern ourselves with the internet. A huge shout out to Fernando and Francisca our Chilean guides for their professionalism, local knowledge and camaraderie during this trip so far.

RMI Guide Mike King

After many days of carrying loads up hill, we are finally at high camp, poised to make an attempt on the summit. Tonight will be our first of two nights spent at 19,600 feet, but it is unlikely many of us will sleep tonight. This will be due as much to nerves and apprehension as to the altitude. Regardless of whether sleep comes tonight, we will all rise early and begin the slow, steady march towards the top of Aconcagua at 22,842 feet early tomorrow morning, before the first light of dawn is on the horizon. It seems the mountain and weather gods have seen fit to push the worst of the winds farther out into the forecast, lucky for us. It will still be cold and it will still be hard, but this group of climbers just might have the right amount of grit to pull it off.

RMI Guide Nick Scott

On The Map

Due to an unfavorable weather forecast we have made the decision to alter our regular schedule. Instead of carrying to Camp 3 today, the guide team decided to rest at Camp 2 and move up to High Camp tomorrow. This advances our itinerary by one day and pushes up our summit attempt to Monday the 3rd. After carefully studying the weather and consulting with the locals who know Aconcagua’s weather patterns best, the guides and climbers believe that this decision provides us with our best window for a summit attempt. Everyone is feeling strong and has been acclimatizing well. We will give it our best efforts and hope that the winds hold off just long enough to make it to the top.

RMI Guide Nick Scott

On The Map

After many days of walking uphill, we finally turned ourselves downward towards basecamp. The mountain however, did not seemed pleased about our decision. We woke up this morning to raging winds that made taking down the tents and packing for the descent more of a chore than necessary. It seems the storm we were avoiding by advancing our itinerary had arrived. The winds howled at our backs the entire way back to basecamp. Despite the trouble from the weather, we made the trip back to the comforts of Plaza Argentina. A trip that took eight days to go up, we completed in just seven hours on the way down. Everyone was happy to be back in solid structures where the wind couldn’t bother us and to have ample oxygen to fill our lungs with. Just two more days and we will be back in Mendoza. We are so close to civilization we can taste it!

RMI Guide Nick Scott

On The Map

One of the unique aspects of a Denali climb is that it is one of the few big mountain climbs in the world where you can’t hire someone to carry some of your gear. There are no porters, donkeys, yaks, or other pack animals. This means that once the plane drops us off at Kahiltna Base Camp at 7,600’, we have to find a way to move three weeks worth of expedition provisions and our gear up the glacier, and this necessitates each climber pulling a sled.

The use of sleds is unique to Denali and Vinson Massif, and is a component of the expedition that we often overlook when we are preparing. On Denali, we typically use sleds to 11,000’, or for the first 3-4 days. While this is a small component of the expedition, those first few days can leave climbers feeling exhausted and depleted, with the bulk of the climb still to come. Spending some time training with a sled in the lead up to an expedition could help ease this.

On the mountain, we use plastic expedition sleds, not unlike a kid’s sled that you might find at a hardware store, but with a bit more length for added volume and stability. A typical climber has between 40 and 50 pounds in their sled at the outset, and we rig the front of the sled with a trace that clips to a single loop of webbing tied around the climbers backpack, preferably threading through the slot that houses the hip belt, so that the load pulls from low on the pack, about even with the hip belt. This transmits the climber’s pull most efficiently, and keeps the climber in a more efficient alignment, pulling from the center of mass.

To prepare for sleds, try pulling a mock sled during a handful of your endurance workouts (over an hour or so) in the few months leading up to the expedition. Climbing with the sled behind you not only recruits different muscles and requires strength in different areas than climbing without, but requires that we alter some of our movement patterns a bit to remain efficient. The biggest pattern to change is the bread and butter of the mountaineer: the rest step. Efficient movement with a sled involves keeping the sled moving forward steadily. Each time it stops, we have to overcome inertia to get it moving forward again. Therefore, we want to keep our hips moving forward steadily (which is a change from the rest step). We can still get some rest in our legs with each step, by locking out the back leg as we step forward, moving that leg under our hips. Using the resistance of the sled for balance, we can allow our hips to slowly travel over our back leg toward the front, while still maintaining the moment of rest on the back leg. As the hips arrive over the front leg, step up and repeat.

Climbers have found a number of sled type devices to train with; the two most common are a car tire and a plastic sled loaded with some sort of weight (even the kids!). Plastic sleds slide on grass pretty well, while the car tire doesn’t slide as well and tends to add more resistance. Using the mock sled during some of your endurance workouts is most similar to what we’ll experience while climbing, but pulling a sled during an interval workout is also a creative way to add resistance and effort. Happy hauling!

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