Freddie Wilkinson on training for alpine climbing

[John Frieh]

Make no mistake about it, alpine climbing is an endurance sport, and to excel at it, you need to be serious about training specifically for it. (The sensible, of-repeated maxim that the best way to train for rock climbing is to go rock climbing most definitely does not apply to alpine climbing.) I was particularly influenced by this blog by Steve House, as well as getting to know Ueli Steck during a recent expedition to the Himalaya. These guys are probably the two greatest two alpinists in the game today, and they spend as much time running and doing other forms of “non-technical” endurance training as they do hanging out at the crag.

 

Full article

[billcoe]

It sure seemed that was the exact case for Alex Lowe. By all accounts the guy was a training machine...never let up. He out trained and then out climbed about everyone.

 

http://www.activelifestyle.info/index.php/link/article/10284/c/3008/Alex_Lowe_His_Legend_Lives_On

 

This pic of Lowe in basecamp by Conrad Anker says the story quite well.

 

John Bachar did the same thing. Out worked and out trained everyone. He quested for the science of training as it applied to his game, invented the Bachar ladder, initiated boxing in camp, trained on rest days and climbing days, did pullups and workouts all the time and then simply outclimbed everyone. Bachars training journals: http://www.garagegymtraining.com/2011/04/john-bachar-training-journal.html Yaniro, Croft, John Gill, Wolfgang Gullich, Uli Steck: same deal for all of them. http://www.climber.co.uk/categories/articleitem.asp?item=303 Steck trained for 3 years, included a lot of climbing as training, for his record speed ascents of the 3 great N faces. I thought that it was interesting that he monitored his heart rate on his speed climbs to hit his numbers and max his performance.

 

Interviewer Q "How much did you push yourself physically when climbing?"

 

Uli answer "I "raced" with a pulse monitor and constantly checked that I was working at the optimal cardiac frequency. I always do this to make sure I don't overdo things and work up lactic acid."

 

[boadman]

Cool blog & videos. I'm surprised none of the gear junkies have posted this:

 

Steck's Clothes