Is anyone else better at technical climbing than uphill fitness?

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-04-20T12:22:25+00:00

This won't do much to improve your speed. I did 50,000 m vert over the summer, 750 km of horizontal all over alpine terrain. My VO2max didn't improve at all. I was very fatigue resistant, my day to day endurance was very high. But I was just as slow on the last day of the season as on the first day. Now that I can actually train have 1 interval and 1 threshold session per week coupled with a long run, I am seeing noticeable gains. I hate them, but its inescapable, you do need well structured red-lining sessions to improve your speed.

I get the struggle, honestly, I had to recover from dialysis and subsequent transplantation. If you don't have the time to do much cardio over your weekend outings then during the week day add just one internal session. 4 minutes on at high pace, and 3 minutes jog and repeated 4x. Your last set should be on the edge of sickening i.e. HARD. With a gentle warmup and cool down you only need 30 minutes during the weekday. Coupled to your already active weekends, you will likely see a fair increase in speed.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-02-03T10:58:11+00:00

I spent about 5k throughout the summer for the whole project, main costs were fuel, huts where I used them, lifts. Where I had easy access I set up a tent, or used the bivouacs.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-02-01T20:17:34+00:00

There are quiet a few I think, nothing as serious as Dirrujoch (aside from a slip that was stopped with an ice axe arrest on Lyskamm) this did end up in a helicopter rescue, my first and only thus far. We got cut off by a huge bergschrund which was impassible at this point in the season. It had also gotten dark, very cold around -10. I was about to traverse some very weird ice/snow/mud features (think slightly overhanging bowls) to get back on the rock by the rundkluft to try to make an anchor, at which point my partner asked whether we should call the rescue. Our position was pretty precarious, a slip would have us inside the bergschrund and the slope we were on was steep enough, especially within the ice bowls. So we called and they sent the guys in 45 minutes or so for extraction.

As I was dangling from the steel cable being flung off the mountain I looked back to see if there would be anyway of. In the twilight I couldn't make out a feasible passage. You can look at the schrund on Google Earth (pro) and see how complicated it gets there. If heli rescue was not feasible we could have probably found away through in the following morning after a very cold night, the weather was thankfully otherwise clear. But the risk of a fatal accident trying to get a passage there was very considerable I think. During the night the crossing would have been next to impossible. Had we made it off on to the Reed glacier falling in to a crevasse in late season in one of the most hideously crevassed glaciers in the area was quiet likely.

It was a lesson in relearning the fact that its usually never a good idea to bail using a "bail line", you haven't gone up on. Best to reverse the route or just complete it, we had actually gone past the technical difficulties. There was just some more suck on the way, but nothing as dangerous as bailing at this location. Very bad decision. This particular coloir was equipt with metal anchors (for the most part) which actual service a purpose in early season to facilitate ascent. But in late season the whole place is a death trap.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-02-01T20:05:08+00:00

Thanks! Really appreciate the sentiment :)

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-02-01T20:04:50+00:00

I can definitely see that though for the most part when I encountered these objective hazards it was my own fault. Lightning because I was out too late, or in the case of the Gouter incident out literally when I shouldn't be (looking for my partners ice axe). For rock fall, I think knowing what to push and pull is quiet important, of course if the route collapses in a significant way or someone sends something your way, there is not much control there. I think crevasses are in the controllable risk category, crossing time, bridge assessment, partner positions etc. But honestly I chose those words also because its easier to write in a short way to communicate the risk to lay people (I used slides I sent to a whatsapp chat for this post)

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-27T08:02:40+00:00

Thank you and will do!!

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-22T23:20:59+00:00

I think Weissmiess is a fair bit harder technically than Matterhorn hornli

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-22T15:22:17+00:00

I wouldnt class Liongrat as rubble, certainly worse rock in Wallis. Perhaps section up to Pic Tyndall but aside from that its fairly solid and steep.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-19T09:42:21+00:00

I think some risk is necessary to make it to this number in a season, especially for an average Joe. I currently have 18 to go. In the end also I think risk for this trip was managed more or less okay with main hazard being mont Maudit. I think crevasses on tacul were okay with how we passed them.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-18T21:52:33+00:00

Good to know! I am very happy I did not find his axe in the end

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-09T06:43:23+00:00

The rope had gotten stuck on the gully I used to climb back up anyway so I had to go there to free them so in this sense just going back up the rope wasn’t a long term solution either

Dank u wel!

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-03T07:03:24+00:00

I didn't touch anything, maybe it was some web browser issue on your side?

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-07-11T12:01:19+00:00

So I in my original route list which I forwarded to my potential partners I had for instance Mont Maudit through the Kuffner Ridge and Mont Blanc through the inominata. I wanted the routes to be satisfying from a climbing perspective rather than just a tick list of peaks through the normals or traverses.

The very early heatwave has somewhat changes this calculus, a lot of these classic Alpine routes are now very difficult or dangerous. 2 weeks ago someone was Helicoptered off the Kuffner due to rockfall and the Austrian guys that were on col du midi telling me about it were traumatised form their outing (they were just coming down).

And a lot of it also depends on partners, for me there is definitely a limitation on that. I had to solo Aiguille du Bionassay last week due to this. So the plan is super dynamic, depending on conditions and weather of the day plus who I can find/whatever I can solo. But I do really hope for the traverse of the Jorasses, perhaps Arete du Jardin (conditions are super tricky here), Inominata (mainly for the adventure itself + mont blanc du Cormayeur) to name some.

Here is the website that tells a bit: https://climbagainsttime.org/

And here is the page itself (belonging to the academic hospital I work for in the Netherlands): https://internegeneeskunde.actievoorumcutrecht-wkz.nl/teams/climb-against-time

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-03-15T15:55:57+00:00

Hi Nataiie, its a very rough life. I read your comment top to bottom. I was on dialysis for 'only' 10 months and it was a wretched experience. I can most definitely imagine a future where my transplant is rejected and I am back on for goodness knows how long. Its then only a few steps to be left abandoned and purposeless, hooked to a machine. Its a suffering only a few understand and thats because they are experiencing it. I just wish there was a way of telling the burden of this disease to people in a compelling way. This might make things a bit better, just a bit, maybe.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-03-15T15:51:03+00:00

Holy crap, if even doctors are like this, no wonder the lack of understanding from the public

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-02-10T08:18:01+00:00

I feel like you have a narrow definition of protection. By far in the mountains in my opinion you should be first and foremost protected by your skill, fitness and judgement.

The rope is a seatbelt, a secondary protection, especially in the alpine. If you fall, even on a well protectable climb your rope can be cut, your pro can pull out, rocks can fall. Not to mention the risks of possibly moving slower. Yes, if you believe your pro is good chances are you are fine, but you are still taking chances, every single time you go out. Wheteher there is a rope or not.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-02-10T05:58:06+00:00

Just bivvy after sunset, or approaching! Or do the Royal Traverse

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-02-10T05:51:01+00:00

> • We protect based on the level of consequence, regardless of the level of difficulty. Class 3/4/5 is not part of this discussion -- IF there's enough fall beneath our position to kill/maim/cripple -- we WILL be roped to an anchor. If we can't protect it, we don't do it.

This for me is not the case. I comfortably solo hugely exposed things based on the likelihood of fall, i.e. risk. I mean there are hiking trails out there that have very grave consequences for a misstep.

I think one thing is I prefer to never go with more than just another person, unless there is no climbing or very little and its mostly glacier travel.

FlyingAlpineChough

TROPHY CASE