Hi Scott,
Just wanted to make clear that even though I compete in powerlifting, I mostly just do it for fun, and being stronger can’t really hurt. I also am getting strong for my bodyweight with more climbing relevant strength exercises due to all the accessory work I do (which compromises about 70-90% of my lifting, the same way that you and Steve put most of the work in Training for the New Alpinism in the zone 1 category). Like pull-ups and lunges. My performance in the mountains this year actually improved because I started doing more high-rep work with my accessories.
However, I know that eventually when I go to do a big trip (first one will be Chamonix probably) and not just the odd day trip here in Norway, I’ll have to sacrifice lifting for a more specific program for alpinism to peak properly.
My thinking was that I can keep training for both sports while I build an endurance base in the “off-season” by running/hiking uphill for 5-10 hours each week at the various intensities outlined in the book, combined with climbing (and bouldering for muscle endurance work) that I am now. Then about 6 months before a big trip, like an expedition or similar where I go on a longer trip where climbing is the main goal, I switch over to something like one of your programs and only focus on that.
It doesn’t matter much to me that my strength will suffer, it’s just something I enjoy working on when I have nothing else to do.
