This is Zeb Blais and team checking in from 16,200ft at Camp 1 Aconcagua. Today our team left Basecamp and all the creature comforts there in and moved up on the mountain. Now we have all our supplies with us and will only move up hill from here. Our team is strong and psyched to do a carry to Camp 2 tomorrow. We will check in as soon as we are back to Camp 1.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
Today was a day of feasting and resting. After yesterday's carry, Mike King, the master chef, started us off with a great breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. Then we went for a a brief walk down the Relinchos Valley to stretch our legs a bit. Upon our return to camp, we relaxed reading books and hanging out. To be followed by a delicious lunch of quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches. We're making our preparations for tomorrow's move to Camp 1 and we're looking forward to our last dinner at Basecamp for a while. Signing out for now.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais and team
RMI Guide Zeb Blais calls in from Aconcagua Basecamp.
This is Zeb Blais checking in from Plaza Argentina. Today, our team made our first carry to Camp One. Our team did great under some big loads, carrying supplies and gear for the upper mountain... [transmission lost]
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
Greetings from a well rested team.
Today was our first rest day at Plaza Argentina on the Aconcagua 3 Trip. The team is doing great. We went for a brief walk to assist in acclimatization and have spent the rest of the day sorting gear and preparing for our carry tomorrow. We will check back in after our carry to Camp 1.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
RMI Guide Zeb Blais checks in from Plaza Argentina.
This is Zeb checking in from Plaza Argentina, Aconcagua Basecamp. We arrived today after trekking up from Casa de Piedra. We had a great New Year's last night where we celebrated with an asado and some nice bubbly. Today's hike went really well and everyone is in camp resting and feeling good. We have a full day of rest tomorrow and then we plan on carrying to Camp 1. We'll check in again soon. Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
RMI Guide Zeb Blais calls in from Plaza Argentina.
We had a windy day getting into our second camp of the 3 day trek to Base Camp. The colors and terrain of the upper Vacas Valley really stood out. The team put up tents in 30+ mph winds, which will prepare them for higher camps. We're fixing to have a big meal to celebrate the new year tonight and are thinking of family and friends. We will get an early start in the morning so we arrive at Plaza Argentina and can relax after three hot and windy days.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais and Team
Happy New Year!! Julian & Stephen from the party here at our house Karen, Mark, Kim, Sona, Vijay, Stephan ++ We had fireworks and champagne on the patio with kiddies too. We miss you both lots.
xoxo
Hey, this is Zeb, Mike and Alex checking in with our Aconcagua trip. We are at Pampas de Las Lenas. We have had a great day. Our team is looking really strong. Everybody's in good spirits. We set up our tents and we're about to enjoy a steak asado with the herreros. We're doing well and we are headed up the valley. We'll check back in soon.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
RMI Guide Zeb Blais calls in from Pampas de Las Lenas.
Our first day went off without a hitch. Our logistics and prep was capped off by dinner at the always impressive La Marchigiana.
The team is doing well and we're set to head off to Penitentes soon. We'll check in when we can!
RMI Guides Zeb Blais, Mike King and Alex Barber
For the last 2 years, my focus in my personal climbing has been climbing 8000m Himalayan peaks solo, without the aid of supplemental oxygen. My training program has to reflect the increased mental and physical strains that climbing in this style demands.
My training must change significantly depending on the season of my next expedition - spring versus autumn. The difference lies in what I have been doing already leading up to a climb. My summertime climbs working as a guide on Mt. Rainier are a fantastic aerobic base to train from since the terrain, techniques, and exertion mimic much of the climbing on 8000m peaks. Nothing beats the real thing for training. Since I have not been climbing Mt. Rainier weekly leading up to a Spring climb, I have to dedicate more training time to endurance workouts around my winter-time home in the Sierras. I find that my perceived fitness changes a lot between seasons; in the spring I am able to move faster but with less endurance, while in the autumn I feel a deep reservoir of endurance but a lack of speed.
I break my training into blocks of 10 days, rather than weeks, with each 10 day block building on the last in terms of intensity, distance, and strength. A sample 10 day block would look something like this (descriptions of each workout are below):
Spring Training
• 1 climb with a gain of 5,000’ or more (moving as fast as I can maintain for 2 hour stretches)
• 3 trail runs with a gains of 2,500’ +
• Multi-muscle lifting 2x
• Enduro lifting 1x
• Anaerobic Intervals: 8 intervals, 1x
• Rest day 2x
During the course of my total training program, I also include 2 single push 20+ hour ascents.
Autumn Training
• 2x Mt. Rainier summit climbs (18,000 – 27,000ft vertical gain total) (4 days total)
• Trail run 2x with 2500ft+ gain
• Multi-muscle lifting 1x
• Enduro lifting 1x
• Anaerobic intervals: 8 intervals, 1x
• Rest Day 1x
Similar to my Spring training program, during the summer months leading up to an Autumn climb, I include 4-5 Muir Snowfield “sprints” (goal of sub 2hrs). If I am not working on Mt. Rainier, I substitute another snow climb of a constant grade with gains of 4000 – 5000’.
Specific descriptions of each workout:Multi-muscle lifting: Clean and Jerk, Deadlifts, Power snatch (Olympic style lifting). I frequently add a Bosu ball (a squishy rubber half circle) into some of my lifting exercises for a balance component.
Enduro lifting: I think of this as anything I can do 15 to 20 reps of, whether push-ups, sit ups, pull-ups, excercises on a weight machine, barbell lifting or Olympic style lifting, and core exercises. My goal for lifting is not to bulk up, but to ensure I have a solid strength base.
Anaerobic Intervals: The goal is to get into my max heart rate zone for as long as I can handle (no more than 2 min, or the anaerobic component is lost). Techniques I “enjoy” are wind sprints, spinning machines, rowing machines or deadlifts. I find that I perform best coming off a solid 2 day rest.
Single Push Ascents: Within my training window I’ll try for a few 20+ hour, single push ascents. These provide a great training benchmark for my physical fitness, and help me build the mental fortitude that long 8000m summit days require
“Snowfield sprints”: I try to find easy to moderate snow climbs, so that the focus is on aerobic fitness and not technical proficiency. My goal is to either single push through the entire ascent or take quick 5 minute maintenance breaks every 2 hrs. I keep the stress high, near my aerobic threshold for the duration of the climb. My go-to choices have been Mt. Baldy outside of Los Angeles and the Muir Snowfield.
Maximizing my training gains:
First off, I have days that I don’t stick to the plan. It’s totally ok! There are days that I just curl up with a box of Cheez-its and watch Netflix. My mind and body need time to recover and its important that I listen to those signals. With a good day of rest, I head into my next workout ready to push until exhaustion!
My plan also has to incorporate the terrain that I have at my disposal. This requires shifting my exercises from the plan somewhat, still with the intention to accomplish the given task: trail runs and body weight exercises to replace lifting can still accomplish my goals of strength and balance training, and give my body new stresses. I try not to sweat missing a particular workout if the terrain simply is not conducive, and focus instead on what I can accomplish.
I change things up, and try to avoid too much of a routine. I know the ways I want to stress my body within this 10 day block but how I go about it changes regularly. For example, I keep a list of strength exercises I use on the wall as an easy way to - at a glance - select a new routine for the day.
Good training partners are essential: their routine will likely take my body out of any established routine I have created, and the extra motivation is invaluable. I add exercises I find fun and effective so that I have a broader program to pull from.
I pay special attention to my diet and nutrition during these intense training periods as well: what I eat can have a huge effect on my recovery and the gains I take away from training.
My plan is a constant work in progress, and is always shifting with the new demands that each new climb might bring. I try to take time after each climb to assess what worked and what didn’t so that my training is even more effective the next time around.
_____
Alex Barber is an associate guide at RMI Expeditions and splits his time between the beaches of Southern California and mountains around the world. Last Autumn, Alex made the summit of Cho Oyu, solo and without bottled oxygen. This past Spring, he made it to 7600m on Shishpangma's Inaki Route. He summited 8156m Manaslu on October 1st, for his third Himalayan climb.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
Thank you Alex for sharing insight on your training plan. This is a Top-5 training advice article for mountaineering. I have received the RMI training blog in the three years and in many regards this was the most helpful. I have saved this one to refer to often. Thanks again.
Alex called from the summit of Manaslu on October 1st 10:50 a.m. Nepali time (September 30th 10:32 pm PT)
"It was a really chilly morning. Keeping moving on the summit to keep my fingers and toes warm. There are some clouds starting to come in and it's starting to snow. Hoping to go all the way down to Basecamp today. Looking forward to some good food and a decent mattress. The pace was pretty grueling: Base to Camp 2 in 8 hours, Camp 3 to Camp 4 in 3 hours and 45 minutes, and Camp 4 to summit in just over 4 hours. I have the summit almost entirely to himself. Just one other climber up here. Pretty cool. Going to start making my way down. I'll check in when I hit base. Ciao."
Email from Alex received October 1st 8:25 pm Nepali time (7:40 a.m. PT)
I stood on the peak of Manaslu at 11am on October 1st! Funny thing is that exactly one year ago to the day I was at the summit of Cho Oyu.
Tired and cold, I just arrived back at Camp 3. I'm going to have something warm to drink and bundle up here for the night. I'll post something more descriptive tomorrow from Basecamp.
To those who have been following my trek, thanks for all your thoughts (and words) of encouragement.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
Alex B - CONGRATS!!!! My son Eric and I climbed Rainier with you in July, 2012. We’ve been excited and inspired to follow (and root you on, telepathically?) on your Himalayan adventure. Eric (without father) will climb Denali in May ‘15 with RMI. Hoping our mountain paths cross again. Best - Alex A
Posted by: Alex Alimanestianu on 10/2/2014 at 9:44 am
Alex. Congratulations getting to the summit. Particularly after having to retreat at first. And then to get it all together to try again. Lots of determination.
Yay Cheryl! In in Indiana, don’t be jealous! :)
Posted by: Erin Alexander on 1/3/2015 at 3:56 pm
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