#Alpineprinciples This video could save your life. Why? Because most mountain accidents happen on the descent. In "Fail Well," the third installment of the Alpine Principles video series, we discuss why failure is important and detail how to descend well. Topics covered include how to err on the right side of survival; what kills descending climbers; and how to think in terms of islands of safety. Success as an alpinist is dying of old age, in bed, surrounded by loved ones. Success on a climb is going up, making good decisions, and coming back down safely. -by Steve House
Author: Steve House
Climbing mountains is incredibly dangerous. I believe long-term success as an alpinist should be defined as survival to old age. Alpinism and all its component sports—rock, ice, and mixed climbing; ski touring; and ski mountaineering—are a continuous series of life-and-death decisions that begin with planning and end when you finally step off the mountain. Technical skills (rope work, belaying, etc.) and movement (climbing or skiing) skills are easily focused on. But when you look at what kills people, it’s usually not a bad belay or an inability to climb well. This is especially true when you look at accidents among…
The spring ski-touring season is close at hand. And as we’ve seen a surge of interest from our athletes, both coached and those following plans, in prepping for long ski tours across the globe, many have asked me for my hut-to-hut ski touring gear list. I developed this list over the past decade spent guiding hut-to-hut ski trips in Europe, such as the incredible HochTirol (High-Tyrol) Traverse through Austria’s wildest mountains and the much more famous (and much more crowded) Chamonix-to-Zermatt Haute Route. This gear list, like any such list, can be modified for your needs. I suggest fine-tuning it…
Before we talk about 2018 and what a new year means to each of us personally and athletically, I want to be clear about one thing: Anything I accomplished, any success I achieved as a climber, and indeed my very survival, was enabled by the training I did. I have no special athletic talent. In all likelihood, neither do you. And that’s okay. We’ve just completed our first year pursuing our mission to provide proven training knowledge to mountain athletes: coaching plans, training plans, phone consultations, numerous articles—144 and counting—and a rich intellectual framework based on 100-plus years of training…
In this video, Uphill Athlete co-founder Steve House demonstrates how to get off an ice climb with a naked A-thread rappel anchor. By "A-thread," he means the rappel will be oriented vertically, not horizontally. And by "naked," he means he will not leave any sling material behind. The advantage of the horizontal orientation is that if it’s snowing, the snow will slough out the bottom hole. He and Vince Anderson hit upon this solution after descending a lot of routes in storms with their V-threads filling up with snow. Steve begins by creating the bottom hole. After finding a flat…
The Figure 4 is a core-intensive ice climbing move you can practice in the gym and then apply to mixed routes outside. These exercises will get you started.
Steve House shares a workout for training lock-off strength for ice climbing. The lock-off is a critical skill, and this routine will help you improve it.
The dreaded pump. Every climber has been there. When it comes to training for ice climbing, here is a tried-and-true way to improve your grip strength.
Steve House shares his packing methodology for a one-night overnight alpine climbing objective. Beginning with nutrition and hydration, he runs through energy food (waffles, gels, and chews); water and tips for keeping it from freezing; recovery snacks and drinks; and suggestions for dinner and breakfast. Gear-wise he covers his preferred stove; essentials like sun protection, headlamp, and navigation; and his reasoning behind opting for a down sleeping bag and his strategy for packing it. When it comes to clothing, he brings three to four pairs of gloves and mittens; a hardshell; a warm insulated parka; and an extra pair of…
Mixing power and endurance training in the same workout can be a mistake if it not done correctly. Why? A workout which places the strength and/or power training after what is already an exhaustive endurance session, is not going to give the best gains in strength or power. If all you want to do is get tired, then sure mixing training modalities will drive you deep into neurologic and metabolic fatigue. At certain times in your training cycle, and for certain climbers, this can be appropriate. But doing this on a regular basis is probably unwise for 90 percent of…