One Man's Climb by Adrian Hayes & Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Author:Adrian Hayes & Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SPORTS & RECREATION / Mountaineering
ISBN: 9781526745385
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2019-11-04T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

IN THE ZONE

SUCCESS IN LIFE IS THE

RESULT OF GOOD JUDGEMENT.

GOOD JUDGEMENT IS USUALLY

THE RESULT OF EXPERIENCE.

EXPERIENCE IS USUALLY THE

RESULT OF BAD JUDGEMENT.

– TONY ROBBINS

AS 2014 TURNED THE CORNER, I started to get my head around preparing for my second attempt on K2. 2014 was the sixtieth anniversary of the first ascent and there were indications of many teams assembling to attempt the mountain, in particular a Pakistani team of HAPs, with some Italian attachments, commemorating the cooperation of the two countries displayed in 1954. Aside from Al Hancock and myself, there were also some highly-experienced climbers coming together under the SST umbrella, one or two of whom Al had been with on previous peaks.

With my own ‘debrief’ of fitness and preparation completed months earlier, I turned my attention to the plan ahead. On the fitness side, with just over five months to go, it was time to get into focused training. The two physical components which would determine my performance for K2, above all, were my legs and my lungs. Although there was plenty of serious and technical ice and rock climbing, it was severe climbing at between 5,300 to 8,611 metres elevation with a heavy pack, ice axe and crampons I needed, not an overhanging ultra-extreme rock climb at sea level wearing shorts and a bare top. I therefore put pure rock climbing training on hold in favour of specific training that would propel my legs and lungs to their highest possible level of fitness.

Legs, of course, contain numerous muscle groups but it was critical to focus on those which would be used primarily, namely the quadriceps and the calf muscles. I often get asked by beginners attempting a large mountain for the first time, such as Kilimanjaro, for advice on training. Some tell me with pride of how much they are walking with ski poles, running, cycling, using an elliptical trainer or StairMaster in the gym. When I ask how much mountain hiking they’ve done, however, sometimes I receive a blank look. As written before, fitness is largely sports specific – you don’t train for a marathon by running 100-metre sprints; you won’t complete a triathlon by doing CrossFit; and you won’t climb a mountain by training on an elliptical trainer. All these other exercises are great for supporting work, but the key activity must be to do what you are going to be doing.

Mountaineering also involves two very different sets of muscle movement. Hiking uphill (or upstairs) involves the use of concentric movement, or muscle shortening exercises – flexing a bicep is the most obvious visual example. The quadriceps in your thighs uses concentric movement to propel, push or accelerate you from point A to point B. Hiking downhill, meanwhile, uses eccentric or muscle lengthening movement. This action results in your muscles working against the pull of gravity – muscles which are helping you slow down or stop. This deceleration is why hiking downhill can be so strenuous for our muscles and why we tend to feel pains never felt before, i.

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