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It is of utmost importance when choosing your itinerary to bear in mind your own physical capacity and of course personal preferences. Don’t forget being in altitude; camping in tent, extreme weather conditions; and group life, etc… Knowing ones own limits can make or break the adventures both for yourself and for others involved. So get ready and get fit. Should you have any further questions on any of the above please don’t hesitate to get in touch… We are here to help.
Depending on which itinerary you choose the level of comfort varies in each case.
For trekking, mountaineering, ski mountaineering two or more days the sleeping quarters are either tents or refuges, the ability to readily adapt is often required.
Depending on your choice of programme, you could face uncommon situations. Please take into consideration the following points.
Culture-Read up on local culture and traditions in the Country to have chosen to visit. Make your visit more enjoyable. Both for yourselves and for the locals you come into contact with.
Depending on which programme you choose you may be expected to join in with day to day activities – is putting up a tent, helping in daily chores etc….In other words, adopting a team spirit, consideration for others is expected from each and every one of us. Pulling together and treating others as you would like to be treated can make or break the adventure.
It goes without saying that arriving fit and well is important if you want to get the most out of your holiday – and is essential for succeeding on many of our objectives.
The 5 fitness levels and the the 6 technicals levels we use are designed to give you an idea of how active you need to be during the 2-3 months prior to your trip in order to be well prepared. You don’t need to be an athlete, but you do need to be active and healthy (for our harder trips, so me regular training will be neccesary).
To check out how mountain fit you are, we suggest you get away for a weekend early in this period and do a couple of long mountain days to see how you get on. A part from being the ideal excuse to go and have some fun, it should help with your preparation and give you a good idea how much work you may still need to do . Please note that we are talking about cardiovascular exercise here – that gets your heart and lungs working hard for extended periods, in order to help you keep going for several hours at a time. This is very different from strength or power training such as weights/rowing etc, which do little to impro ve yo ur mo untain stamina.
The best preparation for mountain sports always involves good amounts of cardiovascular exercise ( hillwalking, running, cycling, mountain biking etc) and getting out for long days in the hills whenever possible. We’ve noticed that people who always train indoors are never as mountain fit as those who regularly get their boots or trainers muddy – so unfortunately it seems that running on a treadmill just isn’t as good for you as doing the real thing – ie to get hill fit, get outdoors as much as yo u can. Cardiovascular team sports (eg football, rugby, hockey etc) and racket sports (eg squash) are also good forms of training if you enjoy playing hard. These have the advantage that you usually have a regular slot for doing them, so it tends to actually happen! Don’t forget to read the trip descriptions carefully to find out what else is involved too , so you can tailor your preparation accordingly – eg if you are off on an expedition or a week of alpine climbing, then a few days spent walking or climbing in the mountains with your rucsac on wouldn’t go amiss, whereas for a rock or ice trip then some regular visits to the local crag or climbing wall are advised. For technical climbing courses, we recommend regular visits to the wall or crag as the best way to develop your specific climbing fitness.
Ok – so you’ve decided you need to get fit for the trip. The first thing to do is take a look at the required fitness levels for your chosen holiday – this will give you a guideline as to the amount o f weekly cardiovascular exercise you should be doing during the 2-3 months leading up to your trip. Once you’ve got this, take a look at your weekly routine and look for places where you may be able to find the time to train. Running or cycling to work a couple of times a week, training on a lunchtime etc are all places where you may be able to fit a good exercise session in without affecting other commitments. The best way to keep it up is to organise a regular group of friends to do sport with each week, or join a club in order to train with other people. That way you’ll have a commitment to turn out each week, as well as enjoying the social aspects of sport as well.