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To the top we go! Thirteen days into our trip, we can all feel the wear and tear from the previous mountains. Chimborazo is our final objective, the tallest of the three peaks standing tall at 20,500'. 

There is quietness to the team as we get ready for our climb. As per usual, the alarm clock goes off far too early. There is no need to go wake folks since we are all sleeping in a dome tent. An hour goes by quickly and we are all roped up ready for our journey. The first portion of the route has a disappointment clever feel as we traverse under el castillo. Crampons and rocks is never a fan favorite but the team cruises through it. A short section of ice brings us to our first break. No matter how tired the team may be, everyone looked motivated to keep going. From that moment to the summit we climbed sustained steep switchbacks. The climb is unrelenting, never easing up. After a few false summits and a confusing bright star we reached the lower summit Pico Veintimilla. Once at the false summit we make the extra 30 minute walk to the true tippy top. A very faint glow of the sunrise greets us at the top. 

The team finishes their trip three for three on the volcanos. The hardwork and preparation they all put in for these climbs shows with the great success on all the volcanos. Its a bitter sweet moment on top as we celebrate our victory but also acknowledge that this trip is coming to an end. After snapping summit photos and the beauty of the sun rising, we safely reverse our steps and head back down to camp. We pack up our things, enjoy some pizza and coffee and then make our way back to the van. The van has never looked so good. We free our feet from the confines of our mountaineering boots and load up. After a hard days climb we all look forward to hot showers, comfy beds, and celebratory drinks.

 Moods are high as we reminisce on our climbs. With heavy eyes from an early start, its early to bed for all. Its been a great day and an excellent trip. We can all go to sleep feeling good about all that we have accomplished. Tomorrow we make our way back to Quito and then back to the states. 

Goodnight all,

RMI Guides Adam Knoff, Hannah Smith, and team

Adjusting to the low oxygen of high altitude environments is a natural process that we will all experience if we travel or live at high altitudes. Like all things in life, some people are better at adjusting to high altitude than others. Fortunately, there are ways that each of us can prepare at home and in the early stages of mountain travel before going to the big peaks.

We all experience the low oxygen of high altitude a little differently, but the most prominent symptoms of going to high altitude are categorized as the condition Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). AMS is composed of a group of symptoms that can present themselves after spending some time at high altitude. Symptoms of AMS include headache, fatigue, anorexia, nausea and insomnia. While the severity of these symptoms can vary, AMS does not have to end your climb but should be used as an indication that your body is struggling to acclimatize.

The most important aspect of performing well and staying healthy in the mountains under the stress of low oxygen is by being physically fit. If you have been following a rigorous training program then you are well on your way to being physically fit for your climb. Fitness cannot prevent the symptoms of AMS but if the daily physical tasks of climbing are easier due to your high fitness level, then you have more energy reserves to battle the stress of the low oxygen environment.

Proper nutrition and hydration are also important variables leading up to and during your climb. While you may avoid simple carbohydrates during daily life, at altitude simple carbohydrates are the most efficient and most preferred form of energy for your acclimatizing body. Don’t be afraid to eat those high glycemic foods while working hard at altitude!

Dehydration can certainly be detrimental to your performance and health at high altitude, but you do not need to constantly consume water. Listen to your body, specifically your thirst, it has been finely tuned over many generations to keep you hydrated.

The prescription medication acetazolamide (Diamox) can help with acclimatization to high altitude, but it is not a magic pill that will solve all your high altitude problems. Diamox has repeatedly reduced AMS symptoms and hastened acclimatization during multi-day clinical and laboratory studies. It can work and is a great tool to use if you are not acclimatizing during an expedition even though you are using a standard acclimatization schedule, but its efficacy is less known for a quick overnight summit attempt such as Mt. Rainier. Remember: all medications have side effects that you need to understand before using and Diamox will not make up for a lack of fitness when headed into the mountains.

The bottom line is make sure that your body is fit enough to handle the stress of a high altitude mountain trip, and listen to your body while you are at altitude. If you pay attention, your body will tell you what fuel you need to keep going and how well you are adjusting to the high altitude environment. Have fun and climb safe!

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Walter Hailes is a senior guide at RMI and has guided extensively in North and South America. He also works as an exercise physiologist at the University of Montana, primarily studying the human capacity to endure/excel in difficult environments including high altitude, extreme heat and cold.

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The vast majority of climbers that come climb Mt. Rainier with us live in decidedly unmountainous places. As a former fellow flatlander, I can sympathize. There is actually a surprising amount of training literature out there targeted at folks living in mountain towns (think gaining 3,000 feet twice a week), and recently, folks training for high end alpinism (think Steve House). But when it comes to “Joe Climber” living in Kansas hoping to be strong on Denali or Mt. Rainier, in my experience there is a real gap in available resources. I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject, but I certainly have strong opinions as to how best to go about this type of training, based on my own personal experience. And so, without further ado, I present to you the 4 principles of the flatlander’s guide to mountaineering training:

Diversify your training. Face it. You live in the Midwest. The terrain that directly simulates your mountaineering objective does not exist in your backyard. Therefore no single exercise or activity can adequately prepare you for that objective, which means that you must pursue a wide variety of training activities. If all “Joe Climber” does to train for his Rainier climb is run, he will be in great shape for running. But he will not be in great shape for Rainier. Which leads me to the second principle...

Emphasize strength training. When we say you need to be strong for the mountains, we mean that quite literally. Carrying big loads uphill and downhill day after day requires a significant amount of muscle recruitment, and you can’t recruit it if it’s not there. The majority of my time training in the flatlands is actually spent in the gym, performing exercises that emphasize muscular and core strength. I’ll save my personal lifting program for another article, but I’m a big believer in free weights and olympic lifting, rather than machines. Performing a squat using perfect technique not only builds strength in your butt, quads, and calves, but also strengthens your core/low back and improves your balance. No single machine can do all this, and machines can even lead to injury by over-strengthening certain muscle groups at the expense of others.

When it comes to cardio, think long duration/low intensity. As a mountaineer, we work best in our aerobic zone. This is why we pressure breathe, rest step, and do everything we can to conserve energy in the mountains. So when we train, it makes sense to maximize our output in what Steve House and Scott Johnston refer to as “Zone 1.” To quote their book, Training for the New Alpinism, “Improving [Zone 1 fitness] will pay bigger dividends in alpine climbing than time spent improving any other quality because it allows you to sustain higher submaximal climbing speeds for longer times” (58). And to reiterate my first principle, mix it up! I’ll run, I’ll swim, I’ll bike, I’ll run up stadium stairs if available. But when I do, I’ll shoot to be moving for at least 90 minutes.

The best defense against altitude is hyper-attentive self care before and during the trip. Altitude weighs heavily on most climbers’ minds pre-trip (particularly those climbers living in the flatlands), and for good reason: more than any other aspect of a mountaineering trip, how your body responds to altitude is the one factor you can’t fully control. But you can stack the odds heavily in your favor. Before the trip leaves, be sure you are on a consistent and complete sleep schedule. Be sure you are eating well. I’ve talked to guides who swear by airborne, or probiotics. Everyone’s a little different, but if you find a supplement that consistently keeps you healthy, go with it. On the trip itself, dealing with altitude becomes even more straightforward. Never let yourself get too cold. Force yourself to eat. Force yourself to drink. Force yourself to breathe. The climbers that take these four concepts to heart, nine times out of ten, are the climbers who summit.

So what do you do with these principles? Well, you construct a training schedule. My schedule, as a college student in Massachusetts training for Denali, looked something like this:

Monday: AM-swim PM-lift

Tuesday: PM-water jug hill repeats

Wednesday: PM-circuit training/lift

Thursday: PM-long run (90 min+)

Friday: AM-swim PM-lift

Saturday: PM-bike

Sunday: Rest

There are a lot of ways to construct a solid training schedule. I was limited that year by classes, other obligations, and going rock and ice climbing whenever I got the chance. But keeping in mind the four principles, I was able to train my way into comfort on Denali, all while living in a flat location. Now, train hard, rest hard, and I’ll see you in the mountains!

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Pepper Dee grew up in Missouri, but found his love for the mountains at an early age. Based out of Bozeman, he guides trips on Mt. Rainier, Denali, and abroad to Aconcagua. A long time flatlander, Pepper knows what it takes to prepare for a big climb without the luxury of mountains in his backyard.

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