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AlexD
Boulder climber
Vancouver
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 25, 2016 - 07:43am PT
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Hello guys :)
My name is Alex and I am new on that forum. In few months, I am gonna climb the Aconcagua in Argentina with a friend. I am following right now an intense physical training to get ready for that, I would like to work more the mental aspect of this hike, however I don't know in which direction I am supposed to go for that.
Would you have any book, video, podcast suggestion to get more knowledge on the mental preparation please?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Feb 25, 2016 - 07:50am PT
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IMHO a 72 hour marathon of Trailer Park Boys should get you in the right frame of mind.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Feb 25, 2016 - 08:02am PT
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You gotta want it bad enough to suffer. If you want it you will do it. The rest of your preparation should be doing things that are more difficult than aconcagua (ie pretty much anything) so nothing on it will scare you very much.
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AlexD
Boulder climber
Vancouver
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 25, 2016 - 12:57pm PT
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Reilly > Dingus Milktoast > Burch > Thank you very much, a lot to read now haha :)
climbski2 > Good to know, thank you for that advice :)
Cosmiccragsman > Haha no i am not gonna top rop it, just walking and suffering ^^
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Feb 25, 2016 - 12:59pm PT
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In short: preparatory microdosing.
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Alexey
climber
San Jose, CA
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Feb 25, 2016 - 04:09pm PT
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ST is fakking witty .
looks like a man just seriously asked for suggestions
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Adventurer
Mountain climber
Virginia
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Feb 25, 2016 - 04:10pm PT
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"In a few months", the prime climbing season on Aconcagua will have ended for this year. The best window is December thru March, and March is not ideal.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado & Nepal
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Feb 25, 2016 - 04:15pm PT
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Nut again is on the right track.
No matter how fit you are, your main problem is likely to be altitude sickness. Get a book on it and learn the symptoms and how to avoid it, also what to do if you have it. Your biggest problem above all, is that it tends to impair judgement.
How to train for it? Don't just work out in a gym. Climb some 14,000 peaks before you go. People who have previously been at altitude do much better the second time around.
Above all, don't be mislead by your level of fitness. The general rule of thumb is only 1,000 feet of ascent a day after the first 12,000 feet. Go slow and do not be surprised if some of the people who race by you are seen being drug back down the next day or two. I've been deathly ill at 17,000 feet and also climbed to 20,200 without even a headache. The only difference was the speed with which I went up.
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kunlun_shan
Mountain climber
SF, CA
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Feb 25, 2016 - 04:17pm PT
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looks like a man just seriously asked for suggestions
Or the ST serial troublemaker Suprema/Hellanor, who keeps getting booted and coming back again and again using random avatars.....
You gotta wonder about these 1st ever posts, asking the same kind of noob troll questions...
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Alexey
climber
San Jose, CA
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Feb 25, 2016 - 08:53pm PT
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Cosmic, are you saying that all those new posters like " Gym coaching Squesk" "Bemo" and other is just entertainment for one troll?
True- I do not know anything about Suprema ( missed it)
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Stewart Johnson
Mountain climber
lake forest
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Feb 25, 2016 - 09:38pm PT
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If your climbing the south face of
Aconcagua bring your lucky charms.
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Stewart Johnson
Mountain climber
lake forest
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Feb 25, 2016 - 09:55pm PT
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Do you feel lucky punk?
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nah000
climber
no/w/here
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Feb 25, 2016 - 11:05pm PT
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sh#t... when i first read the thread title i thought to myself:
you've come to the wrong watering hole hombre...
and then i read through the thread...
and was pleasantly surprised to find so many highly informative responses: Reilly, DMT, NutAgain!, Stewart Johnson and Vitaliy M to name a few...
st: the forum that never ceases to amaze and delight. :)
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Feb 25, 2016 - 11:28pm PT
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Setting aside the troll issue for a moment, it is actually an interesting issue.
I agree with Jan that altitude is really the challenge. From what I've seen, most climbers create an unrealistic climbing schedule (by which I mean too aggressive). Weather often brings them back to reality.
But mental prep?
Thinking about it, I'd start by making sure I'm controlling for as many things as possible. Know altitude and how to manage it. Food management. know how you are going to climb the Canaleta, Are you going to stop and rest every hour of your climb (smart for acclimatization), or push thru (not so).
Can you keep a schedule, or will you just keep going?
If I think about a marathon, and "the wall" that you hit at 18 miles, it may be best to work on exhaustion training---pushing yourself to your exhaustion limit, then learning how to dial it back 10-20%, and keep going.
Having done it a bunch of time, you will be far more mentally prepared when you actually have to do it.
The original NASA astronauts were put through a process in which everything they might experience was replicated, but worse than anyone thought it would be. When they actually got shot into space, it was actually not particularly thrilling or scary, because they'd done worse already. I think that is a good training concept.
Scree slogs would be good, I'd think.
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John Duffield
Mountain climber
New York
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Feb 26, 2016 - 07:07am PT
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From my Aco Log....
//I can’t sleep. My lungs are starving for air. Even turning over in my down sleeping bag has me gasping. I’m slightly above 6,000 meters above sea level. I’m cold. I have my Capilene base layer with my Poly Propylene second layer and my bib and down parka on inside a sleeping bag rated to minus 40 degrees. My core temperature has been chilled by the call of nature earlier. I can’t stop shivering. I’d gone outside in the night. The wind was about 50 knots. The temperature was 30 below. The sky was so close, it was like I was in outer space. It was deathly beautiful. I couldn’t stay and I didn’t want to go back in the tent. The night light cast shadows from the eerie rock formations at Camp Three. The air, what there was of it, was the perfect clarity of air with zero moisture. The stars, I normally see faint and distant are luminous and close.
The four am wake up passes. We’re told we’ll wait another hour hoping the weather improves. We have our blood pressure tested. I can’t eat. My oxygen starved body feels like I’m strangling when my mouth is occupied with food. I must drink but each sip is followed by a ragged gasping inhale. I try to get my double plastic ice boots on. In the dark confines of the tent, I can’t tell which liner fits which shell. I waste an enormous amount of energy and time getting them on. My guides in China, had told me to only use a foam pad. So it wouldn’t get punctured by crampons. At the time, I’d thought the concept of sleeping in crampons ridiculous. It no longer seems ridiculous. I wish I’d put my ice boots on the night before.//
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brotherbbock
Trad climber
Alta Loma, CA
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Feb 26, 2016 - 08:17am PT
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If youre preparing mentally you just got to remember one thing....
YER
GONNA
DIE!!!!!!!
p.s.....
NOOB!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Feb 26, 2016 - 08:27am PT
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^^^^^That's why I suggested 72 hours of Trailer Park Boys - ya gotta dumb it down for a slog.
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SuperTopo on the Web
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Submerge your body in ice water for as long as you can to increase your pain endurance.
Let us know!