OctOber 2010 Join the Five- Mile-High Club “Statistics show that climbers who have topped Zero everest Dece M ber 2009 out on an 8,000-meter (26,000-foot) peak Want to summit the world’s highest to peak? You can, three years from today, if you follow this before trying Everest have a much better chance of being successful than those who have not,” straightforward plan. by MIKE KESSLER illustrations by PETER CURY Break 19,000 Feet says Whittaker. So if time and money allow, get Get down to Ecuador and scale 19,347-foot over to the Himalayas and climb Cho-Oyu, the it used to be that serious mountaineers spent their Radically light new gear, flexible work schedules, and a glut of guid- Cotopaxi; it’s not as technical as big glacier 26,906-footer that many Everest summiters have cut their teeth on. Climbing Cho, you’ll entire careers working their way up to a Mount Everest summit bid. ing services have made Everest’s 29,035-foot summit a much more climbs, but it will get you acquainted with the notion that the higher you go, the worse you learn what it’s like to share a base camp with But in recent years, climbing Everest has seemed like a dilettante’s attainable goal than it was even 15 or 20 years ago. But no matter how feel. “You need to get accustomed to those wily climbers from multiple countries and to pursuit: Any socialite with a Himalayan-size wallet can buy their way rich you are, you’ve still got to be prepared for the ordeal. Our three- feelings in order to know the difference between climb with a supplemental oxygen device cling- up the Big One, no matter if they endanger themselves, their team- year training program explains how a rank amateur can make it to ‘normal’ and ‘fixin’ to die,’ ” says Whittaker. You’ll ing to your face. You’ll taste the homesickness, mates, or their guides. Today’s reality lies somewhere in between. the top of the world — the right way. also expose your system to such challenges depression, and physical ailments that plague of Third World travel as fever, diarrhea, and mountaineers who venture to the higher reaches crowded public transit — probably some grue- of the planet. And most important, you’ll experi- ence the death zone, which begins at 26,000 May 2008–May 2011 some combination of all three. Two-thirds of travelers to Nepal get a gastrointestinal malady feet. “It’s not some sexy term,” says Freer. “In within two weeks of arrival. “The culture shock the death zone you are literally dying. There’s Build a Base and potential bacterial challenges of traveling not enough oxygen in the brain, so everything You’ll need to create an exercise regimen that addresses three categories of fitness: cardiovascular health, strength, from Kathmandu to Everest base camp have goes slower. Sometimes you can barely put a and balance. “You want to be in the best shape of your life,” says Dr. Luanne Freer, director of Everest Base Camp Medical ended many a climber’s trip before they even sentence together.” $13,750; mountainguides.com Clinic. “And you’ll want to maintain that level of fitness throughout.” reached the mountain,” says Whittaker. $1,975; mountainmadness.com May 2011 carDiO Running, cycling, hiking, Strength training You want balance Hike off-trail, where aerobics, or spinning classes, to avoid bulking up; hauling extra loose rocks and scree move EVEREST boxing, or jumping rope — whatever weight up a mountain is no fun. beneath your feet. At the gym, By now you will have your exercise of choice, do it for a That means lighter weights at higher break out the Bosu balls (the half- chosen a good guide (see minimum of 45 minutes, three times reps. Down low, do calf raises, leg balls with the flat bottoms) and page 210), spent two weeks a week. Stay between 65 and 85 curls, leg extensions, and squats; try the Telemark Jump: Get into at base camp to adjust to the percent of your max heart rate (the up top, do pecs, biceps, triceps, and a lunge position, with one foot altitude, and learned a few zone where you can feel your heart shoulder exercises, twice a week. on each ball, then leap up and Tibetan prayers. If you’re not humming, but you aren’t gasping “You’ll also need a strong core for switch legs in midair. It’s not exactly ready now, you never will be. for breath). Cycling and trail running carrying a pack,” says Peter Whit- like picking your way over a The summit awaits. are especially good, and seek out taker, co-owner of and a guide at boulder field at 17,000 feet, but it’s april 2010 Good luck. hills whenever possible. By month Rainier Mountaineering Inc., “so it’s better than not practicing at all. six, you should be able to knock off important to find a handful of ab- June 2009 auguSt 2009 a half-marathon or century bike ride dominal and lower-back exercises.” Mount McKinley: without too much trouble. Climb Mount Rainier 2.0 the Mini-Everest “You’ll need to get more mountaineering skills,” McKinley is a big-time commitment, and it’s Rainier says Whittaker. “Taking a hero shot of yourself the closest thing to a Himalayan expedition Just because you’ve bagged a few peaks in the on Rainier to show friends and family back home you’ll find in North America. You get high altitude 12,000-14,000-foot range doesn’t mean you’re is great, but you need additional experience.” (20,320 feet at the summit), catastrophically ready to march into the death zone (26,000 feet That means learning how to kick-step with bad weather, and major tent time. “You’re looking July–OctOber 2008 and higher). “You need to practice climbing on crampons, swing your ice ax like a pro, work at three weeks of sleeping on ice, carrying a snow and ice,” says Whittaker. And 14,411-foot your way up a fixed line, drive anchors into 60-pound pack, eating crappy food, and learning Rainier has plenty of it; in fact it’s the most glaci- seemingly impenetrable ice, rappel in single-digit how to survive on the side of an inhospitable Bag a 14er ated peak in the lower 48. “It’s got everything: temperatures with numb fingers, belay a buddy mountain,” says Whittaker, who also notes that Then another. Hiking 14,000-foot peaks, or even nasty weather, snow and ice, and high altitude,” without killing him, and rescue said pal from a the fixed lines from the camp at 14,000 feet up to ones above 10,000 feet, is essential for developing says mountaineering god Ed Viesturs. On Rainier crevasse. Whittaker offers a six-day seminar on McKinley’s west buttress (16,000 feet) will give leg strength, increasing lung capacity, learning you’ll carry a 35-pound pack stuffed with a Rainier’s Kautz or Emmons glacier. “Be sure you you a taste for the miles of fixed lines on Everest. to breathe calmly and slowly while moving minus-20-degree sleeping bag, crampons, and go with someone who knows what he’s doing,” The altitude is serious, too. “Your body tries to sluggishly at elevation, and withstanding high climbing rope, to name just a few items. And adds Viesturs. “It’s about more than just learning stay warm, which of course requires oxygen winds and cold temperatures above the treeline. you’ll log some serious vertical: 18,000 feet to climb; it’s about learning to be a team member, that’s not readily available,” says Freer. “How Start with day hikes, then work up to overnights, round-trip, over 30 to 36 hours. “You may sleep traveling with more than just two people.” Your you function under these conditions is a tell-all bagging two or more high peaks in a trip — and for two or three hours at the high camp at second climb of Rainier should feel easier physi- sign of how you’ll do in the Himalayas.” Expect getting used to carrying a heavy pack. If you live 10,000 feet,” says Whittaker, “but most climbers cally, which is a good barometer of how your to be stormed in for up to a week with odiferous far from the high country, fly to Denver and try don’t.” This is your first real test piece for training is progressing. $1,600; rmiguides.com tentmates who enjoy your company about as Quandary Peak (14,265) in the Mosquito Range Everest. You’ll be dehydrated, nauseated, insuf- much as you enjoy eating MREs. But get to love and Mount Bierstadt (14,060) in the Front Range, ferably cold, irritable, terrified, and anxious. your teammates. “You don’t go anywhere without or head for Durango and the San Juans, which “Embrace suffering,” says Whittaker. “It only gets being roped to partners,” says Whittaker. “And if have 13 peaks over 14,000 feet. (New Hampshire’s worse after Rainier.” around $1,000 for a guided you summit with a smile on your face, you’re set famously nasty Mount Washington is also a trip up Rainier, offered by a number of outfits to tackle Everest.” from $4,850; mountaintrip.com good practice ground.) three round-trips to Denver from New York or L.A.: $900 TIPS FOR CHILL out SLEEP LIKE A hoBO PERFECT Your AIM put A soCK IN IT DO Your FEND off THE LOVE the WEB Train for freezing temperatures by Strange as it may seem, you’ll need One little-discussed but essential “My blisters hurt.” “I have a head- homeWORK Cough There are hundreds of great NAILING taking cold showers and swimming to “train” yourself to sleep in un- Everest skill is the ability to empty ache.” “How much longer till we “Don’t show up in Asia without You want to avoid what Freer calls mountaineering resources online.