Prepping for Denali: The final episode

Part five of my monthly countdown on prepping for Denali. And the final episode on this series. While writing this, there is less than a month before departure. So this is the grand finale. What did I do last month? Or maybe more important, what will I do this last month?

Physical preparation

Last month my training schedule did not change a lot anymore. I focus a bit more on endurance workouts. The 2 hour hikes with backpack are a pretty good exercise. First couple of times 30kg backpack trainingwere pretty hard, especially for my hips. But I did improve and the hikes are okay now!

Cycling is getting more fun, because of better temperatures and longer daylight. I enjoy these sessions a lot and am really surprised by the improvement I made in overall strength the last months.

Equipment

Complete! Well, almost. Just some little last things are underway as we speak.

Mountain Equipment Iceline Mountain Equipment Iceline. Yess! I managed to get the 2017 version of the Mountain Equipment Iceline. Unfortunately it’s too warm to test it at home, but I fully trust this sleeping bag will perform excellent in the glacier!

The expedition

Still need to book a hotel in Anchorage. Will do this pretty soon!

So what’s up for the last month?

Well, first and foremost: not getting injured, and be sure I’m fully rested when I get on that plane!

If I wouldn’t be in a great shape now, this would be big problem. There is simply not enough time left to change that. But, luckily that’s not the case as you can probably tell after all these episodes on Prepping for Denali. I will just continue to train like I’ve been doing for months now. Sure there will be this voice in the back of my head telling me to take it easy. But I don’t think I will listen.

The 2nd week of May I need to go to Lisbon for a business trip. This will take 4 days. 4 days where I need to find a way to do some training. Probably the gym in the hotel and maybe some good hikes on the beach (or anybody who want’s do to some rock climbing, let me know!).

And of course, the big get-all-your-gear-and-start-packing fest will start! I have checked the Alpine Ascents Denali gear list a million times by now, and I am pretty sure I have everything. There are just some small decisions left to make on what clothes to bring or not. I will definitely post some packaging pics as the fest started!

And last of all, there is still this half planned hike in Iceland. Nothing new here yet. It’s still to far to says anything useful about the Laugavegur-trek. I think I’ll send an e-mail to safetravel.is just before I leave for Anchorage. This way I can get a last minute update.

So, to wrap it all up; I feel I am ready and can’t wait to finally leave. Right now, it’s just some small details that need to be done. There is not much that can stop me now!

The price I pay are not the euro’s I spend

Climbing is definitely not the cheapest thing to do. For those who wonder, climbing Denali will cost you over 10.000 euro including the trip, flights, gear and everything. Most of the 7 summits are a little less expensive. Notable exceptions are Everest and Vinsion. Both are much more expensive; over 40.000 euro each. But that’s only money.. and in the end not the biggest price I pay.

The real price cannot be written down in any amount of cash.

Training

I demand myself to be in an excellent physical condition for all summits. My training sessions are pretty intense, hard and long. I train about about twice as hard as Alpine Ascents recommends for Denali. Why? Because this is one thing I can control to increase my chance of summitting.

The price, lost of trainingThe price, lost of training

The real price

Like most men of about 40 years old, I have a family and a full time job.  And there is the real price. Time is limited and, like most people, I cannot buy any extra. This forces me to prioritize. Working less is not an option, since there is a mortgage to pay and there are mouths to feed.

The price, lost of trainingThe price, lost of training

Family life

This is where I have to prioritize and choose. I have a wife and two young kids. I often choose between either bringing my kids to bed or go out for my daily suffer-session. Choose between spending a Saturday with my wife and kids in the park and have fun with them. Or choose to spend an evening with my wife in some fancy restaurant.

And guess what I choose most of the time? Indeed, training!

Intrinsic motivation

Some time ago, I spoke to a colleague of mine who was surprised by the strength of my intrinsic motivation. I strongly believe this is the only true working motivation for someone to be successful. Almost every day I choose between my wife and kids, whom of course I love very much, and the training I need to be in a good shape. It’s never easy to say no to my son who’s asking me to play a game with me.

But there’s always this voice  in my head, this focus demanding me to be successful on Denali. And the only one who is pushing me to do this is … me.

So is this price too high?

No, definitely not! While it’s definitely not always easy. I am very aware of the choices I make and the things I miss because of them. But to me, the are rewards that are huge. Of course summiting Denali, or any other challenging mountain, is one of those rewards. But maybe even better are the lessons I learn about myself; my mind, my body and how I react to the things I do. And hopefully I can share some of that knowledge with my family and the world.

Prepping for Denali: 4 months to go

Part three of my monthly countdown for Denali. Read about what I did last month to get ready for my Denali expedition. Part three of the series: Prepping for Denali: 4 months to go.

Physical preparation

I’m definitely in a good program again! While last month I experienced training as hard, dark and wet, I currently enjoy my workouts a lot. I now have so many training options I can choose everyday what I want to do. This mostly results in the weekly program below:

Monday  Workout in the gym with run to the gym
Tuesday  Workout in the gym
Wednesday  Boot camp – Be Your Best
Thursday  Indoor climbing
Friday  Workout in the gym
Saturday Part 1: Boot camp – Be Your Best

Part 2: 3-hour – endurance bike ride

Sunday Rest day/short run, depending on how  I feel

The workouts in the gym are intense, but very good. In combination with the Be Your Best-program, my core stability has dramatically increased last month.

Overall, I feel my training is a lot more structured. I have been reading extensively in Training for the New Alpinism. The book is really helpful and confirms my current schedule isn’t that bad. At the same time, the book has plenty of tips and tricks to improve my program.

Another improvement is that I got a Polar M400 heart rate monitor. This device gives a lot of insight into my training intensity. Funny enough, I mostly learned my training sessions where to intense.Camping after a 30km hike on the Twentepad

Last for now; I’m starting to hike more. After all, this is the real work. I hiked two days of the Twentepad  (50km-walk in total) and am planning to do a part of the Eifelsteig next week.

Equipment

New items arrived!

Little Hotties hand and feet warmers Little Hotties hand and feet warmers. Apparently the huge boots and mitts may not always be warm enough. In that case, these little hotties have to make sure warmth is where it should be!
Ayacucho Army Cap Ayacucho Army Cap, to protect my head from the sun, and make sure the sun won’t burn my face too much.
Mountain Equipment Wet & Dry Bag Mountain Equipment Wet & Dry Bag 140L. To be honest, I got two of these now ;). Because I still have the option for a stopover in Iceland, I will bring some extra stuff (Tent, hiking shoes, etc). I can take up to 50kg in the plane. These bags should make this possible.
Osprey Drysacks Osprey Drysacks. Remember you needed something from your rucksack and you couldn’t find it until you took everything out? This is where these drysacks come in. They allow you to put some organisation into you rucksack. As a bonus, they will keep your stuff dry.. even after days of rain.
Oakley Custom StraightLink. On Elbrus, I broke my sunglasses. I still believe there’s only one brand that makes really good sunglasses, so here are the new ones. They are custom-made, so do not match the image exactly!

One big item is still missing; the sleeping bag. I’m waiting for the new Mountain Equipment bag to become available.

The expedition

(Almost) everything is set and done! Flight tickets are booked, reservation for the Fireweed Station is done, snowshoes are hired. What’s left? Just my initial night in Anchorage. I still need to book a hotel for that night.

Iceland

I have been looking into making a stopover at Iceland for a while now. I believe Iceland is a very beautiful country, definitely worth a visit. But Iceland is (very!) expensive, and I do arrive a bit early in the hiking season for Iceland. This makes it unsure if all routes are open yet.

So I decided… not to make a decision yet! My flight tickets are flexible, allowing me to stay a week in Iceland on my return from Anchorage. If weather is good, and I still feel strong enough, I will make a stopover at Iceland and do the Laugavegur in 4 days.

That’s all for this episode of Prepping for Denali: 4 months to go. Keep coming back for updates on my preparation and stuff related to climbing Denali.