Hello awesome UA crew!

My closest climbing event, planned for end of June, consists of over 7,000 ft in a little under 6 miles on non-technical terrain (then back down). Taking a conservative approach, I hope to do it within 3 total days, 2 being most aggressive depending on weather/energy. While I do have years of mountain-terrain experience in the bank, the past few months have been the first I’ve sought to be consistent in training towards a slightly larger (for me) mountaineering objective.

After 9 weeks of transition, I’m early in the base period primarily focusing on aerobic conditioning, adding 2 max strength sessions a week. Volume is around 8-9 hours per week at the moment. My AeT was measured 131; while I need to test AnT, I’m quite confident (based on past heart-rate experience in the mountains) the AeT/AnT gap will be much more than 10%, probably closer to 20%, indicating I should spend more attention on aerobic building. But I’m a bit nervous relative to my ME capabilities hauling a decently heavy pack up about 4,000 of that 7,000ft. Not super wild but straining.

For the sake of the event needs, does it make sense to move into Z3 weighted ME efforts for a couple weeks approaching the event (minus the 7 days prior to the event), or at this point might my focus on aerobic conditioning serve my training-deficient body well enough to have fun on the mountain?

My goal is for the mountain experience to just suck less than it has in the past so I can make decisions with a clearer mind and less stressed body. Thank you!