Flatland Training (younger people)

[Sambvaughan]

My friends and I have planned a trip to hike Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive towards the end of July (hopefully snow will be gone ). We are all nearing the end of high school, and we all participate in a rather high level of physical activity. I myself swim every day and play tennis nearly every day as well, and both of these, I feel, help keep me in somewhat decent shape. I myself also have two summits completed already, while the others have 1, 0, and 0.

Being a flatlander, I do not have the opportunity to train with mountains, or really steep hills. Rather, we go out to a park nearby and we are doing roughly 7-10 mile hikes with a weighted pack (last time I think I had 25 lbs total on my back) about every other day. I suppose my question is, will I be able to summit both within a couple days of each other? Of course everyone is different, and I am aware that altitude will be a huge factor, but I am wondering if there is anything else that I should be doing to prepare. I am aware that going to the gym or doing stairs, or even running up hills will help, but I just am not much of a runner and I do not have a gym easily accessible to me.

What do you, the community, think? Will we be fine on our trip with both hikes? (Barring weather problems)

[Monte Meals]

Unfortunately, you just do not know how your body will react
to altitude until you get there.

For me, it took a year, sleeping above 10,000 feet whenever I could, to become
"comfortable" at 14K - and I was a marathon runner !

Over the years, I have attempted several peaks with physically active friends from Boulder and Denver
who had never climbed a 14er, and had to retreat because of their sever headaches, projectile vomiting,
or disorientation.

Watch for the signs of altitude problems and be prepared to turn around before it gets bad.

[Hjelmstadlt]

As long as you spend time working on your aerobic fitness just as much, if not more than, your muscular endurance you should be fine. When you’re out on your long hikes try hiking faster/harder for short intervals to get the lungs working harder and then hike a normal pace between. Acclimatization is the important part when coming up to elevation, so just make sure to take some time when you get into Colorado to hike/walk around before heading straight up to elevation.

[peter303]

I hate to give a circular answer, but the best training for hiking a 14er is to have done one before. (Ditto for running a marathon) Then you will know how your body reacts. Some find it easy to hike one within a day or two. Others find they need several days of acclimatization.

One thing that was helpful with endurance in thin air was being able to jog for at least an hour. The easier 14ers take about two hours of strenuous hiking uphill. The harder ones may take triple that effort.

[nunns]

IF you don't struggle unduly with altitude, then I would imagine you will be OK if you follow the usual guidelines: start early, lots of water & food, go slow at the beginning, etc.
I would echo the idea of running to prepare for 14ers. While hiking is good, running at or near sea level probably does a better job of simulating the aerobic effort of hiking uphill at altitude. I applaud you hiking with a heavy pack; sometimes my biggest issue on 14ers is shoulder fatigue from carrying the pack. Can't speak for your friends but encourage them to train seriously to prepare.

Also, if you have the time, take a day or 2 to acclimate to the altitude before climbing. And a day to rest between mountains if possible. Massive is tougher than Elbert.

Sean Nunn
Raytown, MO

[mtree]

All y'all should be fine with what you're doing. Sounds like everyone's in good shape. Both standard routes are long so endurance is your primary concern...unless you take Massive's southwest slopes route (much shorter, but much steeper). You'll find out if anyone has altitude issues when you're out here. Don't be overly concerned, but certainly be aware of the symptoms. No extra acclimation necessary. You'll get used to breathing deeply quickly enough. You don't have time anyway. Have fun and be smart!

[cedica]

I suppose my question is, will I be able to summit both within a couple days of each other?

Yes. If you summit first one without major issues, take that afternoon and the next day of rest and recovery and you should be able to summit another the following morning.
You could plan for couple more days and summit Yale or Huron too, so you get to know more of Sawatch range.

[Sambvaughan]

Thank you all for your input. As I mentioned before, I’ve done two different summits before, so I more or less know what to expect. I just wasn’t sure about doing two so close to each other (our schedule packed 4 days that worked so we are trying to use them all). As for altitude, I myself have never had a major problem, but I am still wary. On our little training hikes I will often drink a full gallon of water - the others say I’m crazy but water is the best thing for any of this stuff! I’m just hoping the two who haven’t done any will recognize the threat the altitude change poses. If we drink plenty of water, give it time, and know when we need to walk away, I think we should be fine.

[rob runkle]

Day 2 is almost always easier than day 1. And so on...

[madbuck]

Good luck and have fun!

Sounds like your training and some experience (or at least thinking about it) is good. Only things to add would be to find an easy, sustainable pace and don't 'compete' with each other or other people on the mountain. Find a pace that works for your whole group. Younger folks are often most prone to starting out too fast, while undoubtedly some old dudes/ladies will solidly be going up and down the mountains that day at a steady pace.

Start early so you minimize your risk of storms on an average day, or even worry about them, and then have more time to recover for the next hike.
Be gentle and fluid on the downhill (shorter steps without overextending your legs) so that your legs are as fresh as possible for the next hike.

Have a great summer and memorable time!

[Hungry Jack]

The biggest challenge for flat/low landers is dealing the oxygen deprivation. You have to discover a slower steadier pace that allows you to maintain a sustained effort without redlining. The better your overall endurance, the better off you will be (sounds like your fitness is good). I might suggest adding interval training to regime, such as sets of wind sprints, bicycle (stationary best) sprints, hill sprints, pool sprints, etc to engage or legs and core.

[Wigniter]

Our group from Oklahoma just completed two 14ers in a four-day span. We all did ok even though as a whole, we're in way worse shape than your group!
Our trip looked like this.
Day 1 - acclimatization hike up to 11,500 ft
Day 2 - Mt. Elbert Northwest route
Day 3 - rest/explore the area
Day 4 - Mt. Bierstadt

If you could swing it, I'd try a relatively "easy" 14er with less gain than Elbert for your first, then do a larger gain one second. I felt like Bierstadt was much easier on my lungs having already gone up high two days prior. I also feel like we benefited greatly from sleeping low (7,500 ft) and recovering.