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RMI Guides Josh Geiser and Evan Sather joined many guide services last weekend in the first annual Sandy Camp clean-up project. Josh had the following to say about their weekend on Mt. Baker:
"We had a great time representing RMI for the first annual Sandy Camp cleanup on Mount Baker. After a summer of heavy use, it was great to put our Leave No Trace (LNT) principles into practice helping to clean up an area that we all share. It was also nice to see guides from so many other companies coming out to help and make new connections across guide services. In total, we cleaned up 74 used blue bags as well as a bunch of other trash scattered throughout the camp.”
Sandy Camp is an alpine camp used along the Easton glacier route of Mt. Baker, one of the most popular standard routes on Mt. Baker. All recreational activities including climbers are expected to pack out what they pack in and dispose of their waste properly (LNT Principle #3). Leave No Trace (LNT) principles are an important part of recreating, especially in the Mt. Baker National Recreation Area, operated by the USDA Forest Service. This includes all kinds of waste, especially human waste. The Sandy Camp clean-up event spent a lot of the focus on improperly disposed of human waste and toilet paper.
Proper disposal of human waste helps to avoid negative impacts on water sources, minimize the possibility of spreading disease, and maximize the rate of decomposition. As the fragile alpine settings of Mt. Baker and the surrounding trails are becoming more popular, it becomes increasingly important to practice Leave No Trace principles to ensure the long-term sustainability of these beautiful places.
Join us in practicing Leave No Trace principles while recreating! You can learn more about Leave No Trace principles at lnt.org.
Climbers heading to Rainier often ask the question, “water bottles or hydration system?” If you look around your local trail, chances are that most runners, hikers, and general recreationists are using a hydration system. Are these systems best suited to mountaineering, however?
In the past, many guides simply asked their climbers not to use hydration systems, but to carry water bottles instead. The belief was that the drawbacks of hydration systems outweighed the benefits. As hydration systems have improved to be less prone to leaking or punctures, this stance has shifted. There still are drawbacks to hydration systems, but given the right conditions, precautions, and expectations, they can be used effectively in mountaineering for a climb such as Rainier.
The main concerns we see with hydration systems are:
- The hoses freeze: During midsummer climbs with high freezing levels, this doesn’t tend to be as much of a problem. On cooler climbs, however, ice buildup in the hose can quickly block any water from getting through. The neoprene hose insulators are not particularly effective, and it doesn’t take much ice buildup to completely block the flow. Blowing the water back through the hose after every drink can help, but still isn’t 100% effective. The best practice is to bring an empty, water bottle (even if only ½ liter capacity) that you can pour the hydration bladder into should it freeze so that you still have access to water.
- Rationing water: Climbers can only carry so much water for a climb before the weight becomes cumbersome. Typically we recommend 2-3 liters of water for a Rainier summit day. This is plenty, but requires climbers to ration it; for example, 2 liters allows a climber 1/3 of a liter of water at each break. If climbers are sipping more consistently from a hydration system, often they lose track of that rationing, and find themselves partway into a climb, with no water left. Diligent attention is the only way to solve this, and this is difficult when you can’t actually see how much water you have left.
- Distractions: Trying to turn a hydration hose on and off and drink from it on the fly distracts from the climbing, the terrain, and the overall situation. When climbers are roped up and climbing, each member of the team is relying on all of the others to remain vigilant to catch a fall and to not cause a fall. A hydration hose is a distraction from this, and the solution is to either keep the hose tucked away inside the pack (where it is inaccessible) in climbing terrain, or for climbers to carefully assess the hazards of the terrain they are in at that moment, and to choose benign stretches to get their hydration.
Hard, plastic water bottles have been the standard in mountaineering for decades and still provide the simplest method of carrying water. They generally do not freeze, it’s easy to see how much you are drinking, and they are away in the pack while climbing. That being said, since they are tucked away in the pack, they are inaccessible and do not allow a climber the opportunity to get a quick sip of water on a long stretch. Hydration systems may have a place in your mountaineering kit, but practice with them, have a plan and know how to minimize the drawbacks. If in doubt, water bottles will still work fine!
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Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
Please tell me what type of bottle for mountaineers is used what you should think about a water bottle which have everything you need what type of water bottle is good what thing you think will there in water bottle. I am designing a water bottle
Posted by: Tanisha on 5/30/2023 at 9:00 am
I use a bladder in winter here in the north east and have done so for years. Just have to be mindful to mitigate freezing.
I spend up to multiple weeks solo on snowshoes and it gets pretty cold out here.
We had a week straight where temps hovered in the mid -20s °F last season.
I was on trail and had no problems.
My hydrations sleeve is lined with reflection film(did that myself) and I fill the bladder with warm water on cold slogs.
This is not the pack sleeve that is lined but the separate sleeve that came with my Camelbak.
As long as you blow the line out it works fine.
My sleeve that runs on the feed line is modified as well.
A bit is also dependent upon how the bite valve is set up.
Also, the being able to see what is in your nalgene is out of the proverbial window to a large degree if you utilize and insulated sleeve on your 1L(ie OR/Nalgene.)
Granted you can look down into the bottle but its still a crap shoot unless you take the bottle out of the sleeve and look or try to line the water lever with your finger on the outside of the bottle.
I can see the whole distraction thing while on the move but if your stagnant in a congo line you cant take a sip out of a bottle without dropping your pack to get to the bottle being you dont know how long you will be static.
With a hydration system this is a non factor.
There are pros and cons to both approaches as with anything.
Posted by: Loco Raindrops on 8/13/2019 at 9:58 am
Lost in the noise of the next great exercise fad and short cut to greatness are truths that endurance coaches and athletes have known for about a century, gained through hundreds of thousands of hours of trial and error. An important one for mountaineers to remember is that there is no substitute for aerobic base training, gained through many hours of long, slow work. The aerobic base is the key to being able to maintain activity for hour after hour, climbing stretch upon stretch to the summit and descending safely back down. When the proportion of training is off and an athlete does too much high intensity training and not enough aerobic base training, the result is a condition coined by Dr. Phil Maffetone: Aerobic Deficiency Syndrome or ADS.
How does ADS manifest itself? These athletes may feel that they are at peak fitness. During their hardest workouts, they lift more, move faster, and break their own PRs, because of the focused high intensity work that they have been doing. When they make it to the climb however, they are surprised by how quickly their heart rate rises with a relatively slow pace. A few hours into the climb, they are running out of gas, they feel the lactate building up, and they can’t keep the pace. These athletes have a well trained anaerobic system, but their aerobic system is woefully lacking.
When we don’t train the long slow miles enough, we don’t stress the slow twitch muscle fibers, the backbone of endurance. Slow twitch fibers are responsible for a cascade of physiological events that lead to endurance performance: slow twitch fibers have a remarkable ability to oxidize fat into ATP, leading to energy without the buildup of lactate, and the mitochondria they contain can metabolize the lactate that results from oxidizing glycogen (carbohydrates). Even the leanest amongst us carries hundreds of hours of fuel in our bodies in the form of fat, and have the capability to go for incredibly long distances without fuel, provided that we stay in our aerobic zone. The question, then, is how best to optimize our aerobic system.
To build aerobic base capacity, the important piece is a large distance volume, done at zone 1 and 2. These workouts may not seem exciting, they certainly aren’t sexy, but as you accumulate those miles, the aerobic system's ability to do work increases and the base expands. Elite endurance athletes can build enormous aerobic bases, such that their aerobic threshold (the intensity at which they begin to accumulate lactate and start the countdown clock to a performance decrease) is incredibly high, perhaps only 10 or 15 beats per minute below their lactate threshold. The depth of their aerobic base allows them to do more work, for much longer, at a much higher intensity. It seems to run counter, but for these athletes, their speed comes from their long, slow training, not from intervals.
Including some intensity work helps to round out the training equation and reach maximum performance. With a well established aerobic base, some intensity training helps the body to optimize the systems that remove lactate, which is an endurance athlete's performance limiter. The amount of intensity training needed is generally far less than commonly assumed, however.
Remember that there are two main physiological systems for athletic performance, defined by metabolism: aerobic and anaerobic. Both can be trained, but in peak condition, optimizing one system comes at the expense of the other. For us in the mountains, chasing long summit days and lofty goals, the aerobic system is what we rely on.
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ADS, its causes, and its remedies are described well in the book Training for the Uphill Athlete, by Steve House, Scott Johnston, and Kilian Jornet. Also check out these articles from Uphill Athlete, and from the original describer of ADS, Dr. Phil Maffetone.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
Hi Jeff,
Do not forget the downhill training. On Denali (or any sled based mountain adventure), not only do you need to drag a sled up the hill, you will need to be able to support a loaded sled dragging you DOWN the hill too. I ended up at the end (top) of the down hill line and realized that I did not train enough to support 600+ pounds of loaded sleds and rope mates. This was VERY hard on my knees; to the point where I decided, to my guide’s upset, that I would be better off descending backwards to prevent further knee injury (I had trained for, and achieved, SIGNIFICANT climbing strength and endurance).
Anyway. . . great article. From this experienced endurance athlete’s point of view, this is all great advice. I may have posted this before, but it might be prudent to consider how much oxygen is needed at altitude to process food in the gut. Bypassing the food during high altitude work and utilizing fat stores instead may help climbers realize their summit aspirations. Of course one does need to train for extended periods of internal-fat-stores only based energy supply. Perhaps an article would be beneficial?
I am definitely looking forward to more adventures with RMI now that the COVID lockdowns/restrictions era is beginning to show a light at the end of the tunnel. :-)
Posted by: Keith Loritz on 4/26/2021 at 2:46 pm
So what’s a good workout to combat this. I’m currently doing a five mile loop with a 65 pound pack and a 20 pound sled on dry ground once a week over glacial terrain. Takes about 2-2.5 hours no drink or food during. This is in conjunction with 3-6 mile daily runs and a stair day once or twice a week with the pack, 1000-1500ft so far.
-Jeff, Denali June 18
Posted by: Jeffrey Burkard on 4/25/2021 at 7:11 pm
So, if running isn’t your thing….is biking an acceptable substitute?
Posted by: Chris on 1/16/2019 at 4:15 pm
January 30, 2020
Posted by: Walter Hailes
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 14,000'
Update: January 30th at 1:30 pm PT
Hello friends and family,
We spent a few hours today climbing higher on Orizaba in partial sunshine and protected from the wind by the mountain. During the trip we refreshed our ice axe and crampon skills and may have done a little scheming about new business ideas. We are sticking to the plan of an early dinner and bed and really early rise to attempt the summit. No matter what the weather does we will be safe and have fun.
January 30th at 6:30 am PT
We made the correct decision to abandon the tents and sleep in the hut at Piedra Grande. The wind gusts gradually got stronger till early morning. Another team did attempt the summit but turned around before the summit because of the wind.
The wind is still strong but we are going to get out and do a little training/acclimation hike and enjoy the day. We'll keep looking up and see what the weather gives us for tonight.
On The Map
Hi I found this very interesting and informative! I have found muscles I never knew I had. Glad you have information like this for us beginners otherwise I would still be clueless when I do the climb. Cant wait to get started. Thank you! :)
Posted by: Stacie Wheeler on 8/19/2013 at 12:41 am
January 31, 2020
Posted by: Walter Hailes
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 17,000'
We pushed as hard as we could today but the weather just didn't let us summit Orizaba. We all climbed strong up to about 17,000ft when the combination of strong winds, wind loaded slopes, and reduced visibility made the decision to turn around and head downhill quite clear. It is always disappointing to not make the summit, but the while team is in great spirits back at the Casa pierde hut. Now we load onto the 4x4 for our final push to Mexico City and a nice hot shower and dinner. See you all very soon.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes checks in from Orizaba Summit attempt.
Damn those high winds and white out conditions!! Obviously the right call to make! Have fun in Mexico City. Looking forward to seeing pics and hearing stories. Safe travels!
Posted by: Chip on 2/1/2020 at 12:24 pm
You’re all unstoppable!!! Warm greetings from Florida and Boston!
Posted by: Team Alden on 1/31/2020 at 8:06 am
August 1, 2020
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Dustin Wittmier, Hannah Smith, Kiira Antenucci
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir teams led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Dustin Wittmier, Hannah Smith and Kiira Antenucci reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today under clear skies and moderate winds. The teams were descending from the crater rim around 7:30 am PT.
The group gathered at Rainier BaseCamp on Monday for a full day orientation to prepare for their program. On Tuesday morning the group left for Paradise where they donned packs and made the ascent to Camp Muir. The teams spent the next few days training near Camp Muir, honing their mountaineering skills and preparing to make their summit today. Today is their final day on the mountain and once they return to Camp Muir, they will repack their gear and continue their descent to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's teams on capping off a great week of training by standing on the summit of Mt. Rainier!
January 28, 2020
Posted by: Walter Hailes
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 10,000'
Good morning. We had a great day yesterday driving to La Malinche. We left Mexico City and grabbed some lunch and snacks food for our climb today. Once we arrive at the resort we settled into the cabana and Brett, Jeff and John went for a hike before dinner. Alden, Merrick and I spent time at the cabana prepping for our climb today. Dinner was delicious with queso and guacamole for all.
This morning we grabbed breakfast and hit the trail for our first acclimation hike. The forecast called for sunny and warm. We had a near perfect day today on our acclimation hike. Sunny skies, light breeze, and a great team. We moved well uphill even in the loose rock and scree of the mountain and got to relax on to for well over an hour, breathing the thin air as getting ready for the next challenge. We are all looking forward to another great dinner and a warm fire in our cabana tonight.
January 29, 2020
Posted by: Walter Hailes
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 14,000'
Our day started calm and orderly, but did not finish that way. We had another great meal at La Malinche before we started driving to Tlachachula. Then we loaded the van and hit the road. After sorting gear and eating lunch in town we loaded up the 4x4 and drove the bumpy road 2 hours to camp. Camp was a little windy when as we set up our tents. We choose to sleep in tents instead of the hut so that we could have a nice quiet night. However, just as we finished the last tent big wind gusts started hitting us. When we almost lost one tent 3 times we decided to change plans, drop the tents and retreat to the hut. The team made quick work of relocating and we settled into the hut nicely. We'll sleep sound tonight and see what the wind is like in the morning.
RMI Guide Walt Hailes & Team
Well, going to have to go through with this now. Got my airline / hotel reservations. The thought of backing out and reversing the reservations makes me retch. Easier to do the climb!
Posted by: Bart on 4/30/2023 at 12:37 pm
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