Climbing Everest

I am getting monthly sometimes weekly questions through our website about climbing Everest. It is very hard to explain every emotion, part of the mountain, training, funding, preparation, team work and experience you go through when climbing Mt. Everest. That is one reason I was so keen to film as much as possible. Filming before, during and after to get a real feel for my and our unique experience of Climbing Mt. Everest. 

That is the main point here, your experience is everything when you want to climb on big mountains like Everest, you need as much experience of climbing, equipment and most importantly Altitude, how you perform on other mountains, like Island peak, Denali, Aconcagua, Cho Oyu, Elbrus, Mt. Blanc. Only then will you know how you perform and learn and grow in knowledge and experience to get you to Everest or other Big Mountains over 8,000m. Our Everest experience is recorded in our Everest DVD  'A summit calling' it is available if you would like a copy please e-mail me. 

I will also be posting a written transcript of an interview I did with RingJohn.com in 2012 on our website. I will also post it here once I have the full transcript. 

Instead of me babbling on about Everest, I will post the interview and comments and questions are always welcome. 

The picture above is me coming down the Hillary Step on Everest May 23rd 2008. 

Today's training / Clare Fm

It's be raining all morning, and can not exercise. I could sit in continue to work on my Trekking business or I can get up go to the gym 2 minutes from here. Or I can just go out in the rain. No excuses get out and get it done. I will just get out and brave the bad weather.

I had the privilege to speak on Clare Fm this morning They were interested in my speaking career and the trek we run around the world. They also wanted to know a little but more about Ian Mc Keever and it was great to speak about Ian, his achievements and who he was to me.

I am heading back to Kilimanjaro in a few weeks with a group of Americans and it will be a sad occasion to pass where Ian lost his life. He has left a legacy and he will be remembered by everyone for his enthusiastic and positive approach to everything he did.

Get out and exercise and be the best you can be.  

Outdoor store

I am off to 53 Degrees North in Dublin this morning, before that I will be looking at a new business idea hygiene kit for Hiking. I have been working with 53 Degrees North, trying to expand the range of clothing we can offer clients. They support our Treks around the world, let me give presentations on Everest and trekking trips and flyers presented in their stores.

As we are running some climbing trips above 6,000m in the Himalaya's and winter skills in Scotland clothing and equipment can become a life line. They are always looking to improve and develop their clothing for hikers, climbers and mountain climbers.

I was sampling some Berghaus gear out in Vietnam, Borneo and Indonesia and used some of the new Gortex jackets, Hybrid and Fleece gear which was great. I have been using Berghaus gear since 2004, almost a decade. 53 Degrees North stock a wide range of excellent outdoor gear needed for mountain and trekking adventures.

My hope is as always, that when I walk into 53 Degrees North today I am handed a big box of gear to sample. It hasn't happened to date, but we will see............

Back from a day of meetings, we met Ros Drake from Drake chiropractic in Dublin. A great person and a great advocate for what experiencing mountains can do for your life. She also has a hygiene for Hiking kit available to buy. For anyone looking starting off and not sure what to bring on the mountains you should check this or feel free to give us a call or drop me a mail and we can put you in touch.

CONTACT US

Training for Kilimanjaro

It's hard work, I have to drag myself out of bed now and go for a 10km jog. It has to be done. Not every day and not the same training everyday. If you have hills or mountains and time of course. Mountain or hill walking for 3 - 6 hours three times a week will have you mountain fit in no time. The real key to success is this:

The strength in the muscle is gained in the hold (slower movement) and forcing the leg to deal with the extra load,  So if you are carrying a backpack with 6kg - 15kg (depending on what mountain you are training for) and walking uphill and around the hills for 3 hours plus, you will be putting the muscle under simple pressure as high altitude. So continued higher heart rates with a heavier load will result in better strength, conditioning and endurance when your body has less oxygen to play with.

You have coached your body and muscles and handle more pressure walking uphill with extra weight in your backpack and once you take the weight off when you get to Kilimanjaro your body will know how to perform under pressure.

Everyone is individual so specific training as per your condition would need to be assessed to maximize ones progress and potential. For more information get in contact.

My Jog this morning will help and is great training,  but walking uphill with weight on my back would be a better option, but no time to get to the hills today Im afraid. 

Going to the summit of Mt. Everest

Check out some video footage used in our Everest 'A Summit Calling' DVD documentary about Graham and my journey to climb four mountains on four continents with Everest being the last mountain. 

The view of Everest from Cho Oyu

This is a great picture of Mt. Everest in the background. It was taken in September 2011 on the Ireland to Everest journey. It is taken on the summit of Cho Oyu, the worlds 6th highest mountain. From Summit to Summit is 26 miles.

You can see the North Face, North East ridge route on Everest. Pumori, Nuptse, Lhotse and all the way to Kanchenjunga 130 miles away to the East.

I think this is the best View of Mt. Everest you can get. 

Preparing to Trek to Altitude

http://iantaylortrekking.com/Our-Services/How-to-acclimatize-to-low-oxygen-environments-.htm

I have been getting a lot of comments and questions on our website about acclimatizing and preparing for altitude, these are some of the key concerns. Always remember that acclimatizing is an individual experience so the go a slowly as possible to altitude and be the last person into camp in the afternoon.

Don't tire the body early on in your trek. If your on a 6 - 14 trek your body and muscles need to in good shape at the end of the trek. You need to be able to move from point A to Point B with minimal exertion and this is where fitness comes in.

Your Body uses energy sources to burn fuel while exercising in the gym or on the mountains, sugar, fat, muscle are used to fuel the exertion needed. Your body will respond depending on the heart rate level, fat burning zones are lower levels. To last longer in the hills the heart rate needs to be lower, so you need to move slower and save your body from cramp, lactic acid in the muscles.

This is an individual experience depending on a wide range of issues. Get assessed, improve your lactic threshold improve your endurance in the hills and speak to someone who knows what they are talking about is the way forward.

If you would like more information get in touch. We have trained people for mountain expeditions around the world including getting to the summit of Mt. Everest. Contact us today and we can chat about your chosen Trek to altitude and how you need to proceed.

ian@iantaylortrekking.com