No Pain, No Gain

People always ask how I train for high altitude mountaineering considering our home is in South Florida. I figure the best way to train for climbing is to climb. So, I climb. In Florida, that requires some creativity.

There is an old landfill near our house that has been turned into a park. It has trails that go up and down the sides of the hill, and I try to go there to run cross country for 1-2 hours a few times a week. I sometimes load up my pack with 60-70 lbs and climb up and down the hill for a few hours. I also try to climb the fire escapes in some of the taller buildings in either Fort Lauderdale or Miami once every week or so, usually targeting 500 stories up and down each session. I find that standard cardio-vascular workouts are excellent for improving the efficiency of your blood oxygen exchange. This is extremely important to high altitude mountaineers. Tom Rayhill is a professional trainer who runs a great boot camp-style workout near my home, and I try to go on average twice a week. Tom’s workout is great because he mixes in something different every day, constantly working different muscle groups in different ways. I also mix in 30-60 mile bike rides a few times a week, as well.

I think it’s important to vary your workouts to keep it interesting and to strengthen different muscle groups rather than dialing in specifically for one sport. As I get closer to a trip, however, I do tend to spend more time climbing and carrying a pack. Overall I train an average of 10 hours a week year round.