Expedition Training
Bob high on the fixed ropes on the South West Ridge of Ama Dablam, Nepal
If you are heading off to the Alps or Greater Ranges consider enhancing your enjoyment, efficiency and summit chances on that trip with some mountaineering and fitness training before you go. High Mountain Guides are able to offer tailor made alpine and expedition preparation programmes according to your own trip requirements. Alongside our comprehensive package of skills training we are able to present you with a series of tough mountain challenges. Together these two elements should see you heading off on your trip better prepared both from a mountaineering point of view and being physically and mentally stronger.
We can’t re-create the effects of altitude (unless you want to have a particularly big night out beforehand!) but we can provide you with physically demanding mountain experiences similar to, or in some cases in excess of, what you will encounter on your trip.
So whether you are off to try Mont Blanc, Mera Peak or Everest the confidence and experience gained from this extra preparation can go along way to help getting you there. We can offer year round courses by using venues in the Scottish Highlands, Snowdonia or the Alps.
Scotland or The Alps are a far better place to improve your winter mountaineering skills than on an expedition in the Himalaya. One look at the UK’s star alpinists over the last 5 decades will confirm the significance of a Scottish element in their mountaineering apprenticeships. Bonnington, Haston, Brown, Patey, Boardman, Rouse, MacIntyre, Fowler, Cave have all excelled in the big mountains after cutting their teeth in Scotland’s small, but tough, hills. Most big mountains throughout the world have a lot of steep snow slopes on them – often about Scottish grade 1. The best place to get plenty of mileage and thus efficiency and confidence on this type of ground is in winter in the Scottish Highlands or spring-autumn in the European Alps.
Expedition Training
Perhaps you are off to climb Mount Elbrus or Mera Peak and want to improve your ropework for glacier travel and crevasse rescue. Acconcagua and Everest clients may wish to improve their overall fitness and ‘enjoy’ some tough days mountaineering in the UK hills before going. If you are off to Ama Dablam or Khan Tengrhi consider improving your technical ability and confidence on steep ground. We have also worked with experienced mountaineers bound for K2 who just wanted to improve their harder technical climbing skills.
Here are some suggestions as to subjects that will be worth covering in preparing a course syllabus suitable for your particular expedition:
- Crampon and ice axe use – from introductory walking to advanced use on more technical ground
- Ropework – from introductory through to moving together, glacier travel and crevasse rescue
- Climbing skills – summer or winter
- Use of a Jumar for ascending fixed ropes. Different techniques for easy angled and steep ground. Descending fixed ropes
- Snowholing, winter camping and self-sufficient backpacking
- GPS use (personally I would not be without a GPS on most of the big, snowy peaks I work on)
- Fitness and stamina training. Help prepare for your trip with some long days on the hill – see our mountain challenge page
- Hazard awareness and avoidance
Frequently some of these important skills are overlooked in the fascination about altitude related illness and acclimatisation schedules. These are undoubtedly important too and will be discussed during any expedition training. However it doesn’t matter how well you acclimatise if you are tiringly inefficient in crampons, using a jumar, looking after yourself in camp or just aren’t very fit. These things however can all be tackled in the UK or Alps prior to departure.
I have just returned from an awesome four days climbing in the French and Italian Alps with Rob. We were doing expedition training for some Himalayan trips I am going on next year. Rob planned an extremely enjoyable and adequately challenging itinerary for the four days encompassing many areas of mountaineering and taught me heaps of useful things for my upcoming expeditions! I would highly recommend Rob as a knowledgeable, experienced, safety conscious guide for any type of Alpine mountaineering...and hes a good laugh as well!
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