[Matias Francis]

Hello all,

I, unfortunately, took a mixed fall in early January, leading to some torn cartilage in my left knee. I recently had arthroscopic surgery, and am supposed to be cleared around the beginning of March. Bottom line is that tickets have been bought, and permits purchased for a trip to Denali. Specifically the Cassin Ridge. Leaving May 15th. That leaves me with roughly 2 and a half months of training I will be allowed. Of that time, the 2 weeks leading up to the trip will be spent working on Rainier, walking up and down the Ingraham Direct. Including on my off days (if desired, and hopefully an LR lap). I historically have a strong base cardio from summer work, and climbing and skiing the rest of the year. And had been training in the fall. But I feel though I may have lost it. I have been able to keep my upper body and core strong and active, as well as spending time on a stationary bike only using my right leg. I guess my question is, how can I get into the best shape (for the Cassin Ridge, where technical climbing isn’t an issue) with the shorter time frame I am stuck with. Or how may I go about making a training program fit for such a fleeting time. I live in Bozeman, so access is not an issue. I have access to a full gym as well.

Thanks

Matias

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on February 22, 2019 at 9:35 pm #16947

Matias:

Sorry to hear about your accident. It sounds like you were quite fit with a good base before the accident and surgery. It is way easier to regain some lost fitness that it was to develop that fitness in the first place. Logging as much vert as you can manage before your trip will be the key thing since the technical challenges of the route are not too daunting for you. Regaining single legged strength should factor strongly into your plan as you have no doubt been favoring the injured leg. This will have to be compatible with any PT program you are on and I caution you to not rush the heavy weights if you PT says you are not ready.

I suspect your base will come back if you are able to get in a bunch of time on your legs at low intensity in March and April. If your leg can handle it I high recommend a few weeks of weighted hill climbs on the steepest terrain you have access to.

It’s not ideal but I think with your background you still will have a good shot at pulling this off. Maybe not in the style or speed you are capable of with a solid winter of training but still satisfactorily.

Good luck and keep us posted.
Scott