You dream of visiting the summits of iconic peaks like Mt. Rainier, the Grand Teton, Mt. Baker, Mont Blanc, Colorado 14ers, Mt. Whitney, and easier 4,000-meter and 14,000-foot peaks. This plan can help you to make that dream a reality.

This 8-week beginner mountaineering training plan is the perfect preparation for a 1-3 day mountaineering objective. This includes easier peaks such as Mt Baker or Colorado 14ers. Rainier or Mont Blanc aspirants should jump up to the 12-week or, better yet, our 16-week mountaineering training plan.

As a thoroughly modern, smartwatch-compatible, heart-rate-based training plan, each workout is defined for you in terms of your desired heart rate intensity and the exact duration. The workouts are designed to be hikes or walks but can be executed as slower runs by more trained individuals. These are complemented with proven mountaineering-specific strength workouts.

Harness the transformative power of a meticulously designed training plan infused with endurance training principles that are guaranteed to deliver results.

This plan is based on your RPE, or “Rate of Perceived Exertion,” where workout intensities are guided by how hard you are working based on your perception of effort (how hard the workout feels to you) rather than by heart rate. This plan is an adapted option for those who want to learn to calibrate their true effort levels in their workouts. For the HR-based version of this plan, click here.

Whether you use an RPE-based or heart rate-based training plan, we recommend that you use a chest-strap heart rate monitor and GPS watch to log all your training.