FEBRUARY 2005--How exactly would one train for Everest? The major problems lie in the extreme altitude. If I take a road trip up to Tahoe, I am still not going to replicate the conditions high on Everest. My thoughts are that the best training for Everest is to spend some time in the snow and stay as generally fit as possible.

As the countdown to leaving continues, the demands of arranging logistics for the expedition increase. Add to that the natural desire to get ahead in work and household chores and the time available for training gets squeezed. Thankfully, my regular training routine has been drummed into me over the years and almost on autopilot I can get some decent miles in. I have added some strength work and as much hill work as I can and that will have to do! Everest, here I come—ready or not.

Trying to simultate Everest conditions
In similar fashion, how does one test equipment for Everest? The summer in California would obviously not provide much of a test but even in winter the situation is not ideal. Although the conditions on the 14,000-foot high peaks of the Sierra would provide a good laboratory, the problem is accessing those high peaks.

From Modesto, one can drive to the 6,000-foot trailhead of the winter road closure, but it is a multi day hike to reach the summits of the mountains where cold and winds comparable to Everest might be found. The most direct access to the high peaks is on Mount Shasta, the 14,000-foot peak near Redding, where one can rapidly ascend above the treeline and find some severe conditions. Unfortunately it is a five-hour drive to Shasta.

Shasta is as close as it comes in California
Nevertheless, I arranged to meet Nelson, one of my climbing team from Portland, in the town of Shasta. We were able to spend a morning comparing equipment on the living room floor of a mutual friend. Later in the day, we packed our Everest boots and down suits in our backpacks and headed up the “hill” in search of somewhere cold enough to give them a workout.

Fresh snow was heavy on the ground which curtailed what we could do. Because of avalanche danger we would have to stay out of the valleys and stick to the high ridges. We snowshoed and then cramponed through the trees until we climbed out into the open snow of the alpine landscape.

Nelson demonstrated his nifty self contained gas stove. He just paused in the climb, pulled out the stove, hit the auto start and filled the little pot with snow. In three minutes we had boiling water. The ease with which it produced a hot drink could be very valuable. After a welcome cup of soup, we continued up a ridge route to 10,000 feet.

This put us 8,000 feet above the snowline, a quite respectable alpine situation. By the time we reached that elevation, it was 5 p.m., and Nelson descended as he wanted to be back in Portland the next day. I went on up a ridge, Casaval ridge, but soon I got on steep snowslopes beneath tall pinnacles.

The snow was knee or thigh deep and every step slid me down slope so it was exhausting and slow going. As it got dark, I turned around. Once back on solid ground, I tried an alternative of going lower in the basin. But with long snow slopes above me and the deep snow I got nervous about avalanches. I climbed back up onto the ridge by which time it was dark. Starting to get chilly, I stripped off my Gortex outer layer and put on the down suit and the big boots.

Testing the ‘suit’
Boy--it warmed up quick! Once I was warm, I could enjoy the scenery and see how very pretty it was up there in the breeze with the stars. After a little while of wandering about I got in a bivvy sac, a high tech plastic bag, and dozed happily in the snow. It was nice and warm but every gust of wind would deposit a handful of spindrift (blowing snow) in my face and I would wake up again! After about an hour of this I got up, stowed the bivvy sac and descended about 1000' to where I found a little better shelter and lay in a trough in the snow and got back in the bivvy sac. Here I slept cozily for another four hours until the rising moon came over the mountain and woke me.

By now I was getting a bit thirsty and without a stove or any more water I gently started the return trip. The darned down suit and boots were so warm I couldn’t even go downhill at a decent speed. Even with the zippers pulled down, I would go about a 100 yards and have to pause to let the heat dissipate. The snow was squeaky beneath my feet, so I know it was cold but the wind had lessened by now.

Eventually I took the suit off and hiked back through the snowy forest to the trailhead which I reached about 3 a.m. I made some soup and hot chocolate and had another four hours sleep in the snowy parking lot in a sleeping bag and bivvy sac.

So I was able to try goggles, boots, down suit and bivvy sac all of which passed with flying colors. Nelsons stove and my new digital camera also got a workout and proved satisfactory.

Now, back in Modesto I can tick a few items off my list and start working on the next batch.

To contact Crane, e-mail him at info@teamkarma.com.

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