In my last newsletter I had asked you to join me in "wrestling the why", and you responded with a quality and quantity of thought provoking insight well beyond my expectations. So today I share your thoughts with. After all, this conversation belongs to us all. Noel Gerritse wrote: Training helps me feel better: I’ve felt like my best self when I’ve been in the best shape of my life. But besides those shorter moments, what’s consistently true is that when I train I feel like a better version of myself. Happier, stronger, more balanced – both physically as well…
Author: Steve House
Veteran Denali guide and Uphill Athlete coach Mark P. walks you through the clothing and personal gear he uses on Denali. Filled with details and tips, this video is a must-watch for anyone considering gearing up for North America’s highest mountain. Uphill Athlete’s Recommended Denali Clothing and Gear List Things we don’t bring
Whether you are training for Everest, Rainier, Mont Blanc, or a Colorado 14er, the physiology of endurance is universal.
Boost your uphill endurance with this gym-based Mountain Endurance workout.
Many training zone systems, especially those automatically generated by the Garmins and Suuntos of the world are based on estimates of your anaerobic threshold as estimated by those devices. A much better way to go is to self-test both your aerobic and anaerobic threshold so that your training zones are based on actual measurements that accurately reflect your current fitness level. This video teaches you how to use the aerobic and anaerobic threshold tests to anchor a simple four-zone training system. For our full guide to conducting self-assessments of aerobic and anaerobic threshold tests read this article.
INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO ALASKA Do your research: https://publications.americanalpineclub.org Worth buying if focused on the Ruth Gorge for Joe Puryear’s article: https://www.amazon.com/American-Alpine-Journal-John-Harlin/dp/1933056010 New Alaska Ice book (because someone asked): https://www.climbak.com Joe’s book: http://www.supertopo.com/packs/alaska.html WEATHER NWS: https://www.weather.gov NWS Anchorage: https://www.weather.gov/afc/ Point click for the Ruth Gorge: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-150.69473&lat=62.93748 University of Washington Weather: https://atmos.uw.edu/current-weather/ No American climber is more known for the Smash-and-Grab style of alpinism than our very own coach John Frieh. Smash-and-Grab climbing means that he would build his fitness, track the weather, and buy last-minute tickets to Alaska. Once there, he’d fly into the mountain, climb, and fly out asap. He climbed the…
Free speed is the idea that there is a lot to be gained by improvements in attitude and technique. People often gloss over those areas because they’re not as gratifying as getting destroyed in a workout. Coach Scott Semple and Uphill Athlete co-founder Scott Johnston will dive into what works, and what doesn’t. This was originally recorded on May 21, 2020. Here are some examples of Free Speed: Attitude toward training: Don’t waste time chasing magic bullets and lottery-ticket temptations. Attempted shortcuts are just wasted detours. Cutting a skimo race time from 3h00m to 2h40m demands an 11% increase…
With over 40 Denali summits between them, Uphill Athlete coaches Steve House and Mark Postle know what it takes to climb Denali. In this discussion the pair will focus on climbing Denali via the West Buttress (standard) route, what it is like, sprinkled with plenty of tips on how to do it. We’ll touch on the physical training for Denali, but will address that topic in-depth in a future talk. This illustrated Zoom Talk features 120 images of climbing the West Buttress. We discuss strategy, camps, food, cooking, summit strategies, and more. Originally broadcast live, May 7, 2020 You may…
Uphill Athlete coaches, led by Carolyn Parker, put together 24 free body-weight only strength workouts that are designed to be done at tempo. So your heart rate should be in your zone 1 or 2 throughout. Even for those sheltered-in-place in an urban apartment will be able to maintain most, if not all, of their aerobic conditioning by doing one of these workouts each day, or alternate with a treadmill walk or run and do one of these every second day. The workouts are highly varied to help you fend off boredom. We recommend doing one of them every second…