Part of my training for Everest is not just increasing endurance, cardio and strength. There is also gear prep and making sure the systems all work together the way they should. With that in mind, I have been marching around in my new high altitude boots to break them in. Further to that goal, I have left the outer boots in my garage overnight (they are a double boot system) to simulate putting on a frozen boot in the morning on the mountain. Trust me, it can be quite challenging – there have been times at altitude in which putting on my boots took 15 minutes alone!

All that said, when a weather watch was announced on the radio that outside temperatures would be plummeting below -40, I got excited! Perfect! I can try out my high altitude system to see how it all works! Now to be fair, I have several down suits and have been to altitude many times so I have good understanding of what to expect. But for this climb I have basically all new gear, so I wanted to see how it all worked together in the cold. (Trying everything on in your basement is a test but not a very good test.)

I geared up and threw a 50 pound sandbag in my backpack for good measure. With the wind howling I headed outside and marched around my neighborhood for 90 minutes. Nothing too taxing; I went slow trying to conserve energy and not break a sweat like I will in the mountains. It was an excellent trial. I certainly was not cold – in fact I was quite soaked in sweat upon my return. I did learn a few things about the venting systems in the suit, while being mindful that exposed skin will freeze in seconds (it was -44° with a wind chill after all). My high altitude gloves did not cut the mustard at those temperatures and I had to switch to my mittens. Overall, I was really happy I was too warm. I will do another trial with a change in the base layer systems, however on Everest it will be colder and I will be hypoxic and have less capacity to generate warmth. Being too hot at -44° on low altitude flatlands was not a bad thing.

At 5:00 am while driving out to Field, BC from Calgary, I mentioned to my climbing partner Jeff Dmytrowich: “One of the these weekend climbing trips I want to roll into it with lots of sleep instead of none from travelling the week prior." So that was the start of a long day - I was already tired with ambitions to climb 5 pitches of vertical ice (Grade 4 and Grade 4 +) with a bit of a grinding slog between pitch 3 and 4.

We parked at the trailhead, read the route description and began slogging our way up through trees on steep terrain until we found a trail. The route description indicated a 15 -20 minute approach, so at 35 minutes we knew something was wrong, but felt we must be going towards the climb or at least the upper pitches. The path through the woods had turned into a gully that was icy and steep, so we had put on our crampons. We finally reached the climb after a 1000 foot of front pointing up the gully. Our calves were burning, and we had reached the top of the third pitch over half way up! Yep, we had gone the wrong way, we had hiked up the descent path.

We rappelled down the route and climbed the third pitch as our warm up. It was the longest pitch, 195' of ice, and it stretched out my 70 meter ropes to their max. I lead the first pitch. I wanted to lead this pitch when we had picked this climb. I felt this long pitch would test me. My plan was simple: stay focused, find and use rest spots, move efficiently. The pitch went well, I belayed Jeff to the top of the pitch (where we had started) and we had a bit of lunch and talked about what we wanted to do next.

We wanted to climb the harder pitches but were not excited about 45 minutes of front pointing up steep terrain to get to them. As it turned out the guide book was gracious with the time duration to reach the climb, as we marched to the base in a mere twenty minutes.

We looked at the climb. It looked mean but we could see several likely routes and we picked our line of attack. We soloed (climbed without rope protection) over the first lower grade pitch and then roped up. I lead again with the plan to establish an anchor from which Jeff would finish off the last hardest pitch. Leading the next pitch reached a step (we had been unaware of) and got into the harder 4+ ice. The plan was to create a belay station on what we thought was ledge further up. Getting up another 30' from the step I realized what we thought was a good location to belay from was no good. I also realized I was getting tired on this pitch. I placed some protection and got Jeff to lower me back to the step. I set up an anchor there and belayed Jeff up. This last pitch was his to lead. And lead it he did in style!

Jeff worked his way up quickly, found the one rest spot on the route, tested a couple of tool placements and fought his way up. For added fun, near the top there was some frightening onion skin ice he had to bash through to get to solid ice. Jeff belayed me up and we then rappelled the routes. In winter the days are short and it was starting to get dark. We pulled out our head lamps and headed down. The gully was a lot easier on the way down than on the way up! From a training perspective this was a great day. I was fatigued but able to perform physically and mentally as required over the span of many hours without much difficulty.

The next day we were tired and picked an easier multi-pitch climb. On the approach we hiked up the wrong way again but at least did not arrive at the top of the climb, we actually started at the bottom this time. It was another great day in the mountains but with a long eight hour drive home afterwards to Saskatoon. I guess that is why the back of the Alpine Club Saskatchewan Section's t-shirts show a long straight highway with mountains in the distance and the slogan beneath the image is “the drive to climb."

The week of training after a week on the road and a climbing weekend was not fun. On Monday morning the yoga hurt and the noon hour cardio was terrible. Fast forward to Tuesday – the morning and noon workouts were exercises in mental will more than body and the Tuesday night climbing session was a lack luster showing at best. By Wednesday things turned around and life goes on.

A week later, just when I thought I was getting back into the swing of things, old friends started popping up.

My tendons in my arms ached a couple of nights. Over a year ago from mixed climbing (climbing on rock to get to ice) I started to get tendonitis. Was the tendonitis coming back?

I also noticed my right hamstring was tight and beginning to throb a bit, just a bit during some of my longer cardio sessions. What is going on there? In 2008 training for Aconguaga, I over trained and as a result rolled into that climb hurt and too heavy...it has been my most physically taxing climb to date just due to the poor shape I was in. Is this injury coming back? I thought I put it behind me two years ago.

Just two days ago I started limping around a bit because my left foot was tender. I put 20 km on my elliptical Wednesday as a light long distance cardio session. Did I put too much pressure on my foot? This August after summiting Mt Resplendent as a consolidation prize for a foiled Mt Robson attempt, my partner and I marched out 28 km with heavy packs and mountaineering boots on. The ball of my left foot swelled to a point in which I could barely walk on it for the next few days. It took a week and half until I could run again, and the return to full training did not occur until mid October. Now it hurts in the same spot. What's going on?

The trials of training is what's going on. I have been here before, I just need to listen to my body and adjust and react to what is occurring, otherwise I will injure myself. With each new (well old) pain I adjust my training: more yoga and time on the vibration trainer, change the cardio to the bike for a few days, and leave the climbing wall and ice tools alone for week. I am happy to report I seem to have worked past the first two pains and the last one seems to be going away.

Saturday my wife and I climbed at the local gym for two hours. It was a great session for both of us working on projects we have. My foot hurt in the climbing shoes but not bad. Today I have a hybrid training workout I am looking forward to working through. It includes: Bosu ball, skipping rope, Ripp 60 suspension trainer, stationary bike and my bouldering workout on my boulder wall. Should be fun! I have another crazy week of work coming up with time on the road. But the road trip is headed west so I will end up back in the mountains for another training weekend of climbing and that is never a bad thing.

Without a doubt, all of us have read at least one blog or article or watched one program about setting New Years Goals. I am not about to weigh in on the advice from the various pundits. But I will tell you what I have done and am in the process of doing.

1) I gained weight during the holidays, I always do. I eat more (and not “good for you" more) and I train less; not an unexpected result.
2) I feel sluggish after the holidays as a result of #1.
3) I start back into the training at an easy pace.
4) I pick a date to get back to a healthy diet, and usually I allow myself to keep cheating until January 1st (let's be serious, with treats everywhere at home and at work it is hard to resist).
5) I read a lot of workouts and climbing technique articles over the break and get excited to implement them into my training.
6) I implement the new workouts.
7) When I ramp things back up, I suffer for the first few workouts.

And this is where I am at...Ramping things back up and suffering a fair bit today. I am very sore from an enhanced bouldering/ice climbing workout I did yesterday and today I really looked forward to yoga in the morning but not to the cardio and weights at noon. This was my noon hour work out. I used a Freemotion 770 treadmill, a Progression vibration trainer, adjustable bench, Bowflex adjustable weight dumbbells and a barbell and easy curl bar.


Warm up on vibration trainer

Cardio
5 min warm up walking on treadmill

Then three rotations of...

2 min 4 mph at 11% incline
2 min 6 mph at 9% incline
2 min 8 mph at 3% incline

2 minute cool down walking

Weights – max lift, 8 reps each, three rotations

1) Flat bench flys
2) Bent over barbell rows
3) Incline dumbbell bench
4) Single arm dumbbell row
5) Easy bar bicep curl
6) Single arm over head Triceps press (each arm)
7) Hammer curls
8) Triceps skull crushers
9) Upright rows
10) Bench over flys

Cool down on vibration trainer

To be honest it did not feel too bad, although I will admit the third rotation on cardio and weights were a bit of a chore. Part of me wanted to quit with the rationalization, “ah I will start the full workouts in the new year." Another part of me shouted, “you can't quit on a mountain so what makes you think you can quit during your training!" That side obviously won.

Happy New Year!

The best way to train for climbing is to climb: a common comment in the climbing world. Pick up any book by any of the world's great climbers on training from Mark Twight to Will Gadd and you will find some form of that comment. So with that in mind, I went climbing.

After a long week on the road for work (Saskatoon, Regina, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Calgary), I picked up my climbing partner late Friday night at the Calgary airport and the next morning at 4:45 am we headed out of Calgary up the ice fields highway to find some ice.

For Jeff and I, who are both Saskatoon climbers (is that an oxymoron?), this would be our first time on ice this season and we were not interested in hitting anything epic. (We also felt that this being the first ice climb of the season, our rusty limbs would make anything epic for us.)

From a training perspective, I wanted to just get a long day in the mountains. I wanted to be tired and be forced to deal with the fatigue (physical and mental) that will happen when climbing. Everest will have long days, so I need to get used to dealing with fatigue and still be able to make sound decisions.

After a short 4 ½ hr drive up unplowed highways, we arrived at the trailhead of Shades of Beauty, a 120 M three pitch WI4 climb. Because it was one of the few climbing areas in shape this early in the season, the unplowed pull out was packed (two vehicles, one being a guiding companies van). We debated about hiking in for 1 ½ hrs and having to wait to get on the climb and maybe not even getting on it, but that debate ended quickly with us throwing on our packs and hiking in.

We arrived in the climbing area to find out there were three parties ahead of us but lots of climbs in. Only one party was on the climb we wanted and they were on the last pitch - timing worked out perfect. By the time we got set up and headed up the first pitch, they were in the final stages of getting off the climb. So we had the climb to ourselves. As predicated nothing epic happened: I lead the first easy pitch (two short steps of falls), Jeff lead the hardest, steepest second pitch and then I lead the longest third pitch that did get a little thin at the top..but nothing too terrible. We took our time but were efficient and got up the climb in good time.

The temperature was mild but at the top you could feel the wind. After quickly rappelling down we packed up and headed out. The snow plows had gotten to the roads so the drive back was decidedly less stressful than the drive in. My wife Katie was in Banff for a conference so we headed there to enjoy a post climb food fueling of burgers and beers (I am allowed cheat days!) with her. On Sunday the three of us went ice climbing at Kings Creek early to avoid the crowds and then enjoyed the long drive back to Saskatoon after two great climbing/training days.

I had a feeling driving back that after long hours in the mountains on the weekend and a week on the road, the next week of training would be taxing....

I remember now. I remember the pain of training hard, except this time I am two years older and I have cranked the speed and incline level. In 2010, I was the expedition leader on a private trip to Mount McKinley in Alaska. We had a strong team and tapped the top. I trained hard for that mountain with similar goals as I have for Everest. The training was a less intense version of this sample workout below. Everest is higher, and I am older, so I must try harder. Or at least that is what I tell myself. The mountain doesn't care if I have not trained hard enough, it is not going to get easier.

So here goes:

Warm up on a vibration trainer, then move to a treadmill.

Min. 1 – Speed 3.5 –Incline 3.0 - WALKING
Min. 2 – Speed 3.6 –Incline 3.5- WALKING
Min. 3 – Speed 3.7 –Incline 4.5- WALKING
Min. 4 – Speed 3.8 –Incline 6.5- WALKING
Min. 5 – Speed 3.9 –Incline 7.5- WALKING
Min. 6 – Speed 5.0–Incline 8.5- JOGGING
Min. 7 – Speed 5.1 –Incline 9.5- JOGGING
Min. 8 – Speed 5.2 –Incline 10.5- JOGGING
Min. 9 – Speed 5.3 –Incline 11.5- JOGGING
Min. 10 , 11 & 12 – Speed between 6.0-7.0, Incline at 12.0
Min. 13, 14 & 15 Cool down, easy walk, no incline - Speed 3.0

After the treadmill, move as fast as you can (but controlled) through the following sequence THREE times:

I snivelled through this on my lunch break in 45 minutes, breaking rarely, with my hands on my knees bent over, head down, sucking in precious air. This was just one of my work outs that day, as I also rode the bike for 20 minutes and did an ab routine in the morning. Depending on the day, I will either climb for two hours or hit heavy weights in the evening (four times a week). I was so happy that this night was not one of them. But this is the type of training you must endure if you're going to reach a challenging goal like Everest.

My experience at high altitude has taught me that in order to be successful, I need to focus on being healthy and taking care of my body while up there. It may seem obvious to do this, but my hardest climbs have been when I did not pay attention to my body properly. This is harder than you may think, as a long expedition grinds you down and you lose focus and discipline.

To give myself the best chance at staying healthy, I am focusing my training and diet for three results:

1) Increase Endurance
2) Increase my V02 max or maximal oxygen uptake (this is the body's ability to transport and use oxygen when exercising, an important thing when you're in thin air)
3) Put on muscle so my body has fuel to cannibalize at altitude

You may be thinking, “Huh? Put on muscle to cannibalize? What is that all about?" Well, my body is lean right now from a hard season of technical alpine climbing so I could use a pound or two. But more importantly, you lose your appetite at altitude and your body needs fuel while you are up there. Muscle is the best source.

The plan is in place and has already started. My goal is to train around 14 hours a week leading up to my departure in March There will be long distance cardio/endurance training, high intensity cardio for VO2 max and power training for building muscle. Plus, the whole time I am going to incorporate skills training for technical rock and ice. This will be a challenge as I have a full time job, which is a demanding commitment itself and I travel a fair bit for work. “Nobody said it was going to be easy...and nobody was right." –George Bush Senior

In less than a month I will be 39. I started climbing later in life, at 29, and it seems as I get older I keep climbing harder lines and bigger mountains. I will admit, part of me wishes I started climbing when I was younger. The training is hard. I do not remember training being this hard when I was in my twenties...maybe I am just training harder because now the training has meaning. I am training for something, as opposed to training for training's sake. Or maybe age and mileage on my body is catching up....

Because of my passion, training programs and dedication, my friends and climbing partners call me a beast. Despite living in the middle of the prairies and having a full rewarding career, my passion for climbing finds me spending a minimum of 30 days a year in the mountains, with around 20 of those days living in a tent on the side of these mountains. I have climbed four of the seven summits, and have been expedition leader on many climbs including a recent first ascent attempt on a mountain in the Yukon. I am a trip section leader for the Alpine Club of Canada, and I climb everything: ice, rock, mixed, scrambles and quick alpine accents. On March 22nd, 2013, I will be leaving for Everest with my long time climbing partner who I met on Aconguaga in Argentina.

This blog is about the ramp up for the Big E, my last three months of training before I go. I plan on sharing the workouts, the aches, the pains and mental game that is training for what may be the hardest physical and mental endeavor of my life. I hope you read along, enjoy and perhaps gain some insights for your own training.