Alternative Training

As the Alaska Program Coordinator, I get calls from people all the time who are wondering what is the best way they can train for an upcoming expedition.  It may sound cliche, but the best advice I can give is this:

The best way to train for climbing, is to go climbing.

I know, I know - it is a ridiculous statement.  But it's true.  The challenge is, many of our climbers don't have the kind of access to climbing that we do, and they need to come up with alternative ways to train.  One of the hardest but most important thing to simulate before joining us on an expedition, is the experience of pulling a sled.  I've had a lot of people describe their method, but a picture says a thousand words.

This is a picture of a climber who is joining us on Denali this season.  He nicknamed his tire "Tiger," and has to train at night because the only thing available to him is a golf course.  I'm sure the groundskeeper doesn't look too fondly upon snowshoe crampon marks on their greens.  Regardless, we love his dedication, and thank him for sending this photo in!

Do you have any good photos of you training for an expedition or climbing?  We would love to see all you dedicated climbers out there!  Please email them to andrew@alpineinstitute.com, and I'll post them on a future blog to share with our community.

Looking forward to seeing them!

--Andrew Yasso
Program Coordinator & Guide