In Training for the New Alpinism, Steve House, world-class climber and Patagonia ambassador, and Scott Johnston, coach of U.S. National Champions and World Cup Nordic Skiers, translate training theory into practice to allow you to coach yourself to any mountaineering goal. Applying training practices from other endurance sports, House and Johnston demonstrate that following a carefully designed regimen is as effective for alpinism as it is for any other endurance sport and leads to better performance. They deliver detailed instruction on how to plan and execute training tailored to your individual circumstances. Whether you work as a banker or a mountain guide, live in the city or the country, are an ice climber, a mountaineer heading to Denali, or a veteran of 8,000-meter peaks, your understanding of how to achieve your goals grows exponentially as you work with this book. Chapters cover endurance and strength training theory and methodology, application and planning, nutrition, altitude, mental fitness, and assessing your goals and your strengths. Chapters are augmented with inspiring essays by world-renowned climbers, including Ueli Steck, Mark Twight, Peter Habeler, Voytek Kurtyka, and Will Gadd. Filled with photos, graphs, and illustrations.

Steve House is a world renowned climber, mountain guide, and Patagonia Ambassador, widely regarded for his light-and-fast style. He has published articles in a number of periodicals, and he is the author of Beyond the Mountains (Patagonia Books, 2009). He lives in Ridgway, CO.
Scott Johnston, who grew up in Boulder, CO, has ski raced on a national and international level and is an avid climber. He currently coaches several of the nation’s top cross country skiers, and climbs, establishing local climbing routes in and around his home town of Mazama, WA, in the North Cascades, where he lives.

Contents

Foreword: The Edge of the Map, by Mark Tight

Introduction: The Old Becomes New Again

Chapter 1: Training for the New Alpinism
“First Steps, Missteps, by Steve House
Don’t Epic—Keep it Under Control, by Ueli Steck

Section 1: The Physiology and Methods of Training

Chapter 2: The Methodology of Endurance Training
The Alpinist as Athlete
Getting Results, by Steve House
The Two Types of Training
Transitions, by Zoe Hart
A Brief Discussion of Physiology Basics
The Adaptation to a Training Stimulus
The Training Effect
The Guiding Principles: Continuity, Gradualness, and Modulation
Specificity
Preparation for Success
The Individuality of Training
Understanding the Language of Intensity
Training Cycles
Periodization
Fatigue and Recovery: How They are Related
Forty Years of Climbing, by Christophe Moulin
Monitoring Your Training
Returning to Training after a Break
Overtraining
Deep Fatigue on Kunyang Chish East, by Steve House
Overtraining Can Lead to Overuse Injury
What Should You Feel?
TINSTAAFL: There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch,
by Mark Twight

Chapter 3: The Physiology of Endurance Training
The Evolution of Endurance
The Aerobic Base
The North Face of the North Twin, by Steve House
Fuels for Energy
Fitness, Fat, and Fuel, by Scott Johnston
The Physiology of Endurance
Boosting Your Aerobic Power
More Pieces of the Aerobic Fitness Puzzle
Ultra-Training, by Krissy Moehl
Putting All the Pieces Together
The Base is Crucial
Training for Alpine Climbing in the Former USSR,
by Alexander Odintsov

Chapter 4: The Theory of Strength Training
Strength: Even for Endurance Athletes?
The Difference Between Power and Work, by Tony Yaniro
Strength on Mount Alberta, by Steve House

Chapter 5: The Methodology of Strength Training
What is Strength?
What is Strength Training?
Why Should Climbers Train Strength?
How Strength Training Works
After Injury: The Long, Long Road Back, by Tony Yaniro
Women and Strength
Lifting Weights
Strength Training Terms and Concepts
Core Strength
Periodization for Strength Training
The Value of Specific Strength Training, by Tony Yaniro

Section 2: Planning Your Training

Chapter 6: Assessing Your Fitness
Maximizing Your Fitness
Judging Your Current Strengths
Twelve Hundred Feet, by Caroline George
Setting Goals
The Quest to Climb Everest in a Day, by Chad Kellogg

Chapter 7: Transitioning into Training
Listen to Your Body
The Training Log
Training Plans: Steve’s Transition Period before Makalu 2009
Planning Your Transition Period
Strength Training During the Transition Period
Core Strength in the Transition Period
Bowls of Jell–O, Links of a Chain, by Scott Johnston
General Strength Training in the Transition Period

Chapter 8: Planning Your Base Period Training
The Importance of the Base
Training is Teamwork, by Roger Schaeli
Fitting Strength Training into Your Base Period Plan
Max Strength Period
Conversion to Muscular Endurance Period p
Building Your Own Base Period Endurance Plan
Marathon Pace, by Kelly Cordes

Chapter 9: Climb, Climb, Climb
Planning the Climbing-Specific Period
Training to Perform, by Will Gadd
Building Your Specific Period Plan

Chapter 10: Tapering
Taper Timing

Section 3: Tools for Training

Chapter 11: Nutrition: Eating with Purpose
Eating for Climbing Performance
The Components of Food
Learning to Fuel, by Steve House
Key Nutritional Knowledge
Eating While Training for Alpine Climbing
Three Sisters in a Day on Only M&M’s, by Scott Johnston
Post-Training Nutrition
Eating While Alpine Climbing
Hitting the Wall, by Vince Anderson
A Few Case Studies in Eating While Alpine Climbing,
by Steve House
Hydration
Eat with Purpose
A Conversation with Peter Habeler, by Steve House

Chapter 12: Altitude: Climbing Higher, Faster
Altitude Physiology Basics
How to Acclimate: Two Strategies
My First 8,000er, by Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner
High Altitude: Your First Time
Acclimatizing: Tips and Tricks
Climb and Acclimatize, by Marko Prezelj
Can You Pre-Acclimate at Your Low-Elevation Home?
Preparing Your Body to Go High
The Khumbu Cough, by Steve House
Expedition Eating, by Steve Swenson
Hydration at High Altitude
Sleeping at Altitude
How Fast Do You De-Acclimate?
Altitude Illnesses and Their Causes
Alone with HAPE, by Steve House
Be Tough and Smart
The Art of Suffering, by Voytek Kurtyka

Chapter 13: Mental Fitness: The Most Difficult 80 Percent
The Mental/Physical Balance
Eighty Percent, by Steve House
Your Ideal Mental State for Climbing?
Motivation
The Unbreakable Will, by Stefan Siegrist
Emotion
Prepare Yourself to Suffer, by Jean Troillet
Fear
Practicing Failing, by Scott Johnston
On Fear, by Danika Gilbert
Fulfillment
Concentration
Flow
The Climb of the Future: 5.13c in 1978, by Tony Yaniro
Confidence
The Necessity of Cycles, by Andreas Fransson
Transcendence
Non-Laziness and Practice

Section 4: Train, Practice, Climb

Chapter 14: Training by Climbing
Going Climbing Versus Training for Climbing
Your Best Days Climbing
Planning a Year’s Climbing as Training
Cold and Hungry, by Scott Semple
Planning the Individual Periods
Mileage on the Real Thing, by Colin Haley
A Base Period of Climbing
Take a Road Trip
Les Droites, by Barry Blanchard
Climb!
Recuperate and Regenerate
Two Attempts on the Southeast Face of Jyzyl-Asker, by Inis Papert

Chapter 15: The Art of Self-Knowledge

References
Recommended Reading
Appendix: Helpful Nutrition Tables
Glossary
Index