How to Train for Everest

Mountaineers have dreamt about Mount Everest ever since Sir George Everest recorded its elevation in 1841. Known as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Chomolungma in Tibet, climbing Mount Everest will always be one of the last great challenges left on the face of the earth. Facilitated climbs and mountaineering companies can enable your trek to scale the world's tallest mountain.

Things You'll Need

• Double plastic climbing boots
• Down pants and parka to fit over insulation layers, with good hood on parka
• Gore-Tex shell pants and jacket, bib recommended, with full zip-on jacket and pants
• Sleeping bag, expedition weight rated to -300 degrees Fahrenheit
• 2 sleeping pads
• Backpack expandable to 6,000 cubic inches and a large duffel bag to ship your backpack
• 2 pairs of synthetic gloves
• 2 pairs of pile mitts or Gore-Tex over-mitts
• Sunhat
• Wool or pile ski hat that covers the ears
• 2 balaclavas, one lightweight and one heavyweight
• 2 pairs of glacier glasses with full UV protection and side covers and 1 pair of ski goggles
• Ice axe with leash, sized to fit your body
• Crampons with step-in bindings
• Polar guard booties, optional
• 4 pairs of wool or pile socks, heavyweight
• 4 pairs of liner socks to be worn under wool
• 1 pair expedition weight underwear, wool or Capilene
• 2 to 3 pairs lightweight underwear, Capilene recommended, no cotton
• Pile pants and jacket, heavyweight Polartec 300, with full zip-on both jacket and pants

Instructions

Commit to Physical Training

1. Begin your training regimen at least a year in advance. Ensure that your strength training starts early enough in the year to gradually build muscle.

2. Engage in aerobic (biking, running, stair climbing, swimming), anaerobic (tennis, sprinting, weight training) and strength training exercises (sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, rowing).

3. Increase the duration of your aerobic workout throughout the course of the year. Start with 30 minutes of aerobic exercise everyday, and increase this time length at regular intervals until you are doing aerobic exercise for an hour or more daily by year's end.

4. Climb steep hills or small mountains with a pack carrying water for added weight. A good goal is to ascend for 2 to 3 hours carrying 55 to 60 pounds. Water weight can be dumped out for the descent for less stress on the knees.

5. Perform any aerobic exercise on hilly terrain. Renowned mountaineer Ed Viesturs recommends running an hour on hills everyday for four days, then taking a break for one day.

6. Gain weight. The physical demands of Everest as well as simply existing at higher altitudes will cause you to lose up to 20 percent of your body weight.

7. Plan and execute a preparatory climb on another large mountain (i.e., Mount Kilimanjaro or Mont Blanc) where the altitude is extremely high.

Prepare for Non-Physical Demands

1. Enroll in a mountaineering course to learn snow and ice techniques. Ice climbing and hiking on snow and ice require specialized knowledge.

2. Travel to Tibet or Nepal prior to your Everest climb. You can acclimate in either region, but Tibet is higher in altitude and has a number of other climbs that you can do in the Lhasa area before proceeding to Everest.

3. Ready yourself mentally. Peruse accounts of Everest expeditions and become as knowledgeable as you can about what conditions are like. On the mountain, you will experience a lot of down time acclimatizing, and should become used to feeling mentally unaware from low oxygen.

4. Organize your schedule and finances. Climbing Everest is a massive undertaking and a huge expense. Your physical training period will also be demanding of your time and resources.

5. Know what you are expected to bring. If you are going with Sherpas, they may bring some equipment, so determine well in advance what equipment you need or don't need for the climb.

Tips & Warnings

• Get your gear ahead of time so that you can train in some of the same equipment you'll take with you to Everest, especially your boots.

• Take one day off per week from all physical training to let your body recuperate.

• Always stretch after working out. When you are on a strict training regimen, you can't afford to not feel like working out the next day.

• Make sure you have good health and accident insurance well ahead of time. Not only might you injure yourself on Everest, but your increased activity levels during training might also increase the chance of injury, so be prepared.

• Talk to someone who has already scaled Everest to hear the reality of another climber's experience.

• The first summit of Everest was in 1953, an achievement preceded by the deaths of 13 climbers during 31 years of attempts. While more than one hundred people summit Everest annually, there are still deaths every year.

• If you feel extremely challenged or unnerved by any of your smaller preparatory climbs, seriously consider backing out of your plans to climb Everest.

• Inept climbing or lack of the skills needed for snowy and icy conditions is a serious, even fatal hazard on Everest.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Health hazards and necessary gear for an Everest climb hazards
• Mountaineering training tips here