Preparing for an expedition

We anticipate that these climbs are going to be difficult. To give ourselves the best chance of success, we want to prepare the best we can for them.  There are so many aspects that go into alpine climbing, building on years of mountain experience, gear, fitness, nutrition, mental preperation. All related, all important. It is easy to focus on one detail and forget something that becomes your downfall.

So this post will look at the bigger picture, all the aspects that come together for a sucessfull alpine climb.
Before we go, we plan to write a few posts describing some of the preparations we are making, and trips we go on to get ourselves ready.

The Goal
So what exactly are we preparing for? We anticipate that a single route will take between 2-5 days of sustained hard effort, technical ice, rock and mixed climbing, at altitude, and in difficult, cold conditions.

Mt Hunter Alaska. We climbed the buttress on the left, coming down the RH ridge in 60 hours of effort.

The best preparation for climbing big mountains is climbing big mountains. So I try and do this as often as possible. But when you don't live near them, its not always practical or even possible. So you do what you can. These are the things I feel are important to build up over the years.

• Mountaineering experience. No shortcuts here. You need time in the mountains, not necesarily on technical terrain, but the ability to survive and move quickly in mountain terrain.
• Techical climbing skills. The ability to get up steep, difficult terrain. Rock climbing, ice climbing, mixed climbing. It's hard to push these skills in big mountain settings, so getting out on local crags is really important.
• Fitness. Alpine climbs are very physically demanding. You need the ability to climb for a long time, and get up sustained, powerfull pitches. I prepare with long days in the hills, interspersed with short intense training sessions.
• Toughness. A big one. Also comes under mental preparation. It aint going to be easy. Can you hang in there when the going gets tough? How can you prepare for that? More to come on this subject.
• Gear/logistical planning/tactics. How much gear do you take? Single push, or bivvy? Your tactics can make a big difference between success and failure.

I will try and expand my thoughts on these, but let us know if you have any questions.