Alpinism is essentially climbing to the highest point of a mountain in the shortest possible time frame. It is definitely what I would deem an extreme sport, due not only to the physiological aspects and risk involved traversing a surface, but also the emotional and mental strength required to succeed. Rock, snow and ice surfaces impede fast, fluid movement, as a result extensive training involving body weight exercise and plyometrics are essential with additional attention to climbing, skiing and distance running (hills, uneven and unstable surfaces) attains the most beneficial results for the Alpinist. The work exhibited by an Alpinist echoes the efforts of a rock climber discussed in the last blog, with a few exceptions, speed and cardiovascular endurance required is of higher demand (due to higher summits and time minimalism), extreme weather conditions and limited oxygen available lessen the efforts of the climber and increase the associated risks.
 |
| The Swiss Machine |
 |
| Training and Preparation |
 |
| Training for Everest |
Ueli Steck is one of the more pronounced athletes within this field, some recent achievements include: Mount Everest (8848 meter summit, no oxygen, 18.05.12), Cho Oyu (8201 meter summit, 05.05.11), Shisha Pangma/south face (8027 meter summit, solo, 10 hours 30 minutes, 17.04.11) and Sol/Droite north face (2 hours 8 minutes, previous record held by Christophe Profit in 2 hours 30 minutes). The videos above detail Alpinism and Steck's preparation and training, for a detailed description of his routine click here (note the extended stretching/recovery, large focus on cardiovascular endurance and time spent with mental rehearsal). If you missed last weeks blog on climbing, click here, for more information on Ueli Steck click here.
Thanks for reading,
Mitch
No comments:
Post a Comment