November 3rd, 2014: Getting my gear sorted and packed for Argentina (Part 1 - the non-essentials)

In a little over a month, I take off for Argentina and I wanted to post about my gear sort.  My Rainier trip is so short that I intend to take the bare minimum so there is no need to post much about that trip preparation.  Aconcagua, however, requires a bit more gear and there are some complications in our plans so I decided I would lay out what I intend to bring.  Here goes...the non-essentials first.

1.  Communications:  I spoke with Verizon and they assured me I could bring my Samsung Galaxy S4 (4.6 oz.) to Argentina, pop in a local sim card, and have full data and cell service (3G at least) for local prices.  They also offered their international plan for a mere US$3.99/min calling where I would be fortunate enough to keep my current number.  Needless to say, I declined their generous offer.  

So, I intend to go with my cell phone and my Spot locator (4 oz.) to send off updates with locations posted directly to the blog automagically.  You'll be able to follow us up the hill so be on the lookout for posts from Aconcagua.  Total weight:  8.6 oz.

Sherpa 50

2.  Power:  My phone, spot locator, camera, tunes, headlamp and Kindle require power so I need to either bring a ton of batteries or generate power from the sun and store it to some battery.  The latter is the best option for mountaineering; thus, I intend to bring my solar panel (Goal Zero 14 W) and goal zero sherpa 50 (total weight:  34 oz).  

Solar Panel

I also bring about 12 AAA batteries (Lithium Ion: 3.3 oz. for 12) for my headlamp because a ton of night climbing drains those batteries quickly.  My headlamp requires 3 AAA so I get 4 total battery changes with 12 AAA batteries.  Total weight:  37.3 oz.



3.  Photography:  For now, I think I might just use my phone.  It takes great pictures and I can store them to the device I intend to communicate with the rest of the world.  One thing I learned from my last trip was that taking pictures with my Canon Powershot S10 and then transferring pictures to my Nexus 7 just wasted battery power.  To save power and weight, I think I might try my phone as a camera replacement.  When I go to Nepal, I am contemplating a nicer pocket camera like the Sony DSC-RX100M III Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera (10.2 oz.).  Here is that beauty:

Christmas present?  Perhaps next year.

Any thoughts from those out there that know anything (i.e., anything = substantially more than I know) about cameras?  Total weight:  0 oz.

4.  Tunes:  Music is key to sanity in the hills.  I always take two Sandisk Sansa Clip+ 4 GB players and two pairs of cheap headphones.  

The Sansa Clip weighs nothing (0.8 oz. including headphones) and by bringing two, I can always have one charging and the other ready to play.  Additionally, these players are inexpensive (US$35) and take a microSD card (32 GB) so I can fill 'em up with music that easily lasts an entire expedition.  Cheap headphones weigh next to nothing but bringing additional ones eases the pain of my headphones failing for some odd reason - a reason that always happens on the mountain.  Total weight:  1.6 oz.

5.  Reading:  I love my Kindle (2nd Edition circa 2009) but I think I might trade up to a newer, nicer one.  

Every night, I crawl into bed and read for a few hours.  Reading makes those long nights speed by and when we get trapped in the tent for days on end to wait out weather fronts, I enjoy every one of my 50 or so books that I downloaded onto my kindle.  Plus, I even get to read my usual magazines (e.g., The Atlantic, New Yorker, Science Times, etc.) because I download them before I leave the airport for the wilderness.  My 2nd generation Kindle endured many adventures.  It simply works and lasts for weeks on end without recharging.  Unfortunately, the old Kindle requires a case for a reading light or I end up using my headlamp batteries that need replacing about every 4 days.  

A newer, backlit Kindle lasts far longer on a single charge, weighs a fraction of what my current Kindle weighs (6 oz. due to the case requirements for my current Kindle), and stores more books. Additionally, the newer Kindle seems to have more features compared to my old tired pal.  Maybe I will consider getting a newer one but the cost needs to be considered with respect to the weight savings. Total weight (2nd Edition with leather case):  19.6 oz.

6.  Internet (in civilization):  I bring my Nexus 7 (10.6 oz.) with me so I can write, read, check email, and surf the web for any climbing/local information.  The Nexus 7 is great for all of these activities and can last for a few days on a single charge.  Rarely do I bring it with me on the mountain but I did have it with me on Everest last year.  I might bring it with me to Mendoza but it will remain in my bag for the few weeks I am in the mountains.  

Total weight for non-essential gear taken onto the mountain:  67.1 oz. (4.2 lbs. or 1.9 kg)  

Sheesh!  Time to start shedding some weight for these non-essentials.  A new Kindle (US$79) would help me lose almost a full pound.  Perhaps a good bang for my buck.

Next post (Part 2) covers my climbing gear (essential).

November 1st, 2014: A slight glitch in my previous post left me more optimistic than ever....

Typically, scientific discovery comes after "hmmm, that's funny" rather than "Eureka!"; my previous post left me wondering what was going wrong with my hypoxic training.  Recall that my new training routine looks as if I am NOT improving with each simulated climb.  That discovery left me wondering if I were overtraining or perhaps the new routine was working against me.   I sought answers to those possible outcomes and here is what I discovered.....

1.  My hypoxic units are working better than I expected.  I calibrated the settings on each unit when I started this round of training but apparently - much to my surprise - the calibration seems to change over time.  Here (below) is my calibration from July 2014 where I changed the setting on the unit (in .5 increments) and recorded the oxygen percent with my handy dandy oxygen sensor.  I put on the high altitude adapter and open the valve to "max out" the flow - thus giving me the full effect of the adapter.  

Each incremental change on the unit's interface should result in a decrease in oxygen percent.  The figure above shows that decrease rather clearly.  When I recalibrated the unit, I discovered the oxygen percentages change substantially - perhaps by as much as full percentage point.  What does this change mean?  Well, a full percentage point change means that when I thought I was working out at 11.2% (16,250 feet or 4950m), I was actually training at 10.2% (18,750 feet or 5715m).  That difference may not seem like much but it represents a huge difference in cardio-pulmonary functioning and efficiency.  I don't have a calibration curve yet for my latest values but I will update this post once I enter them and plot them in google docs. 

2.  I overlooked my training objective when reporting the previous results.  Something seemed odd that I would decrease my intensity and my spO2 would remain low but then I went back over my training log entries and noted that I intentionally increased my normoxia training intensity.  That increase in intensity when I was not using the hypoxic unit lead me to deliberately decrease my training intensity on my simulated climbs.  Instead of pushing hard on the simulated climb, I tried to keep my spO2 at or above 80% - perhaps an unrealistic goal for real climbs but I wanted to recover from the training rather than tire myself out for weeks on end.

3.  Higher intensity workouts before my simulated climbs appear to jump start my aerobic metabolism better than jumping right into the climb. Like a good detective, I started back to my first simulated climbs to see what I was doing before and during those climbs that helped me maintain relatively high spO2 values for each incremental gain in altitude.  The one glaring difference between my current workouts and previous workouts was the positioning of more intense activity before the simulated climbs.  I would run to swim practice at a nice, tempo pace and then swim for 1.5 hours at a high intensity (for a good portion of that time) and then run home after eating donuts with my swim mates.  Those workouts really primed my pump for the lower intensity simulated climbs.  Since late September, I was not swimming on Saturday mornings for some reason or another and opted to run more toward the beginning of the week and save my legs for the simulated climb.  Thus, I would jump into my simulated climbs right away with just a brief set of warm-up exercises.  Perhaps those warm-ups are not enough for me.  I noted that for me to swim well in my typical endurance events, I needed at least 2000 yards of warm-up and some higher intensity swims to get me going.  Warming up might be more important for me compared to others and the changes in my warm-up routine may affect my reaction to hypoxia.  I guess I need to test this question out in the upcoming weeks.

Thanks for following along with my adventure.  Hope you find my detective work interesting.  Off to my son's swim meet and then I  have a 6 hour simulated climb today while watching college football.  See you next week.... 

October 29th, 2014: My acclimatization formula and current experimentation

As promised in my blog post two weeks ago, I am posting my current acclimatization progress and current experimentation.  I also warned you that there would be some graphs but don't worry about these details, the story can easily be followed even if you pass over them.  Here goes...

Acclimatization then.....

Prior to getting my Hypoxico unit, I used to acclimatize the old fashioned way - by earning it on the mountain.  Hypoxic training also forces me to earn it but I earn the altitude at a more leisurely pace in the comfort of my own home.  I get to eat home cooking, sleep in my own bed, and recover between training sessions with all the support my house, family, and friends provide.  When I climbed Denali in 2011, I found the going pretty easy with a few exceptions.  The first exception was between 14K camp and high camp (17.2K).

The climb up the ridge was really slow going due to slow acclimatization and a fierce crosswind.  Glad I had a pretty full beard during that climb or else I would certainly have battled a little frostbite on my face.  OK, back to the acclimatization...

The 3,000 foot climb on that day really zapped me.  I was comfortable at all the previous altitudes but that day I eclipsed my highest climb to date and felt every bit of the altitude change.  Additionally, I expected to be out for no more than 5 hours but the 11 hour ascent left me with little water and even less food.  I vowed that day would be my last to struggle up a hill unprepared for the altitude.  

Denali was a brief climb - 11 total climbing days that included 2 full rest days and almost a full day waiting to fly out from the Kahiltna glacier.  

We made great time but I felt the altitude twice.  Yes, once from 14.2 to 17.2 and the second time after I summited and had to wait for my climbing partner at Denali pass (for 4 hours).  The dry air really affected my asthma and I had a rough descent on the Orient Express.  Again, these problems prompted me to learn more about acclimatization and how to prepare more efficiently for high-altitude climbs.

A chance encounter

While on Denali, I ran into Brian Oestrike who stopped by our camp while trying to summit on a what looked like a casual weekend stroll for him.  I wish I had a picture of his kit but it was almost too sparse to believe.  He had the usual sled behind him but on that sled was his clean mountain can, a small parcel of gear, and some odds and ends.  All told, he probably had 25-30 lbs of gear behind him while most of us had 80 lbs of gear on our sleds and an additional huge load on our backs.  I leave it to Brian to set the record straight on the actual weight of his kit but suffice it to say that I am hardly exaggerating when I say his gear weighed less than 25% of mine.  I had to know how the heck he did it.  So I asked.

Brian was and is an affable guy.  He took the time to describe his training (in NYC of all places) and I immediately took note that I could do the same in Fairfax, VA.  We chatted briefly and he headed on his merry way up to high camp.

Acclimatization now....

I returned home with a new-found vigor to pursue "at home" acclimatization and found his company on the web in no time.  Once I did a little research, I promptly ordered a hypoxic unit, tent, and mask to try out.

My do-it-yourself (DIY) acclimatization project began in earnest in June 28th, 2013.  Yeah, it took me a while to make up my mind but I was ready to try out this experiment with full vigor once I got the equipment.

The data from Denali and my 2014 Everest preparation

I want to start with my Denali data because that tells a simple story.  Here is what happened while I was climbing:

The blue line represents a smoothed (loess) relationship between altitude and percent oxygen (spO2 via fingertip oximeter) while the gray area represents the uncertainty around the blue line.  

My spO2 slowly dropped from KIA (7,800 feet) until 14,000 feet when I started to drink more water - almost forcing myself to drink a liter each night before falling asleep.  Note that any value below 90% usually sends ER doctors into extreme action.  For mountaineering, these values are not out of the ordinary.  Dipping below 70% at 17,000 feet, however, provides some reason to be concerned.  

Last year, before heading to Nepal, I began my acclimatization where I tried mightily to improve my spO2 with each week of training.  Here is how I fared:

The 2014 data looks hardly like an improvement over my Denali data.  I still dropped a fair bit from an ideal 80-90% but there were some remarkable differences between 2011 and 2014.  First, I learned more about my response to altitude and these revelations provided me with some comfort moving forward.  The most important thing I learned was that breathing more rapidly than I would typically breath dramatically increased my spO2 - sometimes by as much at 10%.  My discovery gets masked by the curve above.  Second, the data I presented for Denali are all from a rested state - that is, I recorded my spO2 and altitude either before bed or after waking up.  The data from my 2014 acclimatization process were all recorded during exercise.  Want to see how exercise intensity affects spO2?  Well, here it is:

The harder I trained at an altitude, the higher my spO2.  Thus, my training data (non-resting) does not match my resting Denali data well because of the difference in intensity.  A better comparison might come from my sleep data where all recordings came after I woke up from a night in the hypoxic tent:

Whoa!  Now that figure above shows a HUGE improvement.  Note that my spO2 (O2Sat in the figure above) never dips below about 83%.  My training data had spO2 values well below 75%.  Also note that I kept my spO2 above 90% up to 15,000 feet.  Not bad if you ask me.  I felt great for most of this time and certainly better than how I felt on Denali.  How am I doing this time around?  Well, here (below) are my data in the morning after sleeping in the tent:

Note all values above are above 91%.  I have yet to wake up with spO2 values below 90%.  Now there are some reasons for these high values.  I changed my acclimatization approach this year and intend to test the approach on Rainier and Aconcagua.  Instead of pushing the envelope in the tent (live high - train low), I chose to train harder and higher - climb high - and then sleep low at about 12,000 feet.  Below is a figure that shows my hypoxic training values.

I plotted each "test set" or simulated climb in its own panel so I could compare my progression by week.  The earliest date was August 9th and the data contains simulated climbs through last Saturday (October 25th, 2014).  I began with relatively easy simulated climbs where I started the climb at about 5,000 feet and then went to about 17,000 feet.  The past few climbs started much higher (12,000 feet) and went all the way up to 20,250 feet.  Obviously the degree of difficulty of these climbs changes.  What I am looking for in these climbs is a systematic shift upwards of the curves.  Last week seems like a setback from my progression from the previous two weeks.  I was making great progress but last Saturday I had much lower spO2 values for the same simulated climb.  My first guess on why is probably due to a higher intensity.  To see if my hunch is correct, I plotted the data for altitude and wattage:

Nope.  Looks like I am getting slower at the same altitudes; time to revisit this approach.  Sleeping at lower altitudes might not be as effective as I expected.  Despite the data, I intend to test out my fitness on Rainier and Aconcagua.  My intent is to sleep higher as I go but right now I wanted to remain fresh at night, recover from the increasing workload, and train harder during the day.  Obviously, something is not going right with my simulated climbs.  I expected to be doing better each week.  What the data indicate above is that my weekly simulated climbs are getting harder and harder.  The anomalous data from October 3rd came from a simulated climb where I bonked.  My comments from that day were "whoa!  got off the bike; cut it short after I bonked."  Well, that comment speaks volumes.  

So where am I now.  I remain committed to test out this climb high - sleep low approach for the next few weeks before I take off for Argentina.  I wanted to test this approach because sleeping in the tent at high altitude really affects my night's rest.  Prior to leaving for Nepal last year, I averaged about 4 hours of good sleep at 20,000 feet.  A few months of sleep deprivation (8 hours is my goal) might really affect my cognitive performance.  Thus, I wanted to try a different approach.  Sleeping low also allows me to continue sleeping in my own bed with my wife - both pluses in my book.

Hope you enjoyed this long post about my current acclimatization routine.  Stay tuned for a post about my gear for the three upcoming climbs.

  

Ignore the Elitists and enjoy your climb: Imagine....

yes, imagine you were a reader who viewed your reading like many elitist alpinists view climbing.  You might consider yourself a reader who has dared to read what others would never dream to undertake.  You tackle James Joyce as "light reading" before you delve into the likes of Hegel or Woolf (see this list for some others).  Your struggles through these tough reads empowers you to criticise others who dare crack open Joyce with the crutch of a reader guide.  Those aided excursions into Joyce are not true to the author's intent; the true reader must struggle alone to get through the books.  Your struggles must include a depth of misery and thoughtful reflection the authors intended you to endure.  You are no reader if you cannot handle these tasks.  Stop reading if you fail to live up to these standards.

Sounds silly, no?  Well, elitist alpinists think like this imaginary elitist reader.  Note, I use the term elitist rather than elite because there are many elite climbers (alpinists, mountaineers, adventurers, etc.) who do not hold this elitist perspective.  It is the elitist I am talking about here and I wanted to take a moment today to reflect on why I think elitism is bad for any activity.  Note: Earlier this year, I posted a bit on elitism in sport.   The current post is a bit of an extension of those ideas. 

Elitism

"Consciousness of being or belonging to an elite"

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

What makes a person hold an elitist view?  I have no clue.  Well, perhaps a few clues.  Perhaps these views come from some strong need to be unique and assert your uniqueness to others.  Social dominance orientation (SDO; Pratto et. al 1994) may explain why some feel the need to be different and, more importantly better than others.  Another explanation may be simply an individual's narcissism that drives them to this sense of superiority.  I also understand the need to be appreciated.  When an individual's orientation, personality, or need lead others to disengage in perfectly reasonable activities, I think it is time to call out the culprits.  Today, I call them out for the sake of all those who enjoy climbing at any level.  Do not let elitists ruin your time in the hills.  Climb and enjoy the experience.  Find others who enjoy climbing and share your experiences - ignore the elitists.  

Why say something today?

A recent set of articles published by Forbes (start reading this link if you feel the need) really struck a nerve or several in me.  Perhaps today's post represents a strong reaction to an individual and maybe my generalizations go beyond the vast majority but I witnessed sufficient evidence over the last year to warrant this post.  The great Reinhold Messner compared Everest expeditions to Kindergarten.  Perhaps the analogy is warranted given his extreme alpine expeditions but we all rely on some form of support in areas of our lives.  

I arrived at this point after reading many books written by (perhaps for?) and interviews of elitist climbers.  Not all climbers espouse these views but there are some parade examples from recent publications.  I find these elitist perspectives troubling.  Why should we all hold ourselves to the same standards they set?  

Elitism in other sports

Running, cycling, and triathlons all experienced and continue to experience elitists and their continued criticism of those who choose to endure rather than race.  Why bother doing these events if you cannot win?  Well, there is a great benefit.  Training for these events helps you improve your fitness, health, and well-being.  Sure, some take it a bit too far but most people get more positives out of the preparation than those who remain firmly affixed to their couches and remote controls.  Training develops discipline and good time-management skills.  Again, there are some who get obsessive about workouts and often let personal obligations slide in favor of a workout.  Don't let these exceptions cloud your view of the positive benefits.  We all benefit from participation.

Enjoy your time in the mountains

My primary point of this post is to emphasize that we all derive some benefit from being outdoors and being in the mountains.  Would the elitists prefer none go outdoors to claim some benefit?  Some people require more assistance than others but their experience is no less rewarding or challenging - to that person or even those who cheer them on - than any other's experience.  We all make do with what we have and the extent that an expedition challenges us probably has more to do with what we were born with and where we grew up.  In short, luck played a huge role in how hard these challenges are and there is no need to crow about luck.  Forget celebrating luck, genes, and good fortune.  Celebrate and support those who try to the best of their abilities.  

So climb and do not apologize for any assistance you seek out or rely upon.  Know full well that many others admire your drive to get off the couch.

October 15th, 2014: Everest 2015 updates and future climb information

Greetings,

Today was a landmark day for my preparation towards Everest 2015.  I am resting today and consuming a ton of calories in preparation for more training before two 2014 climbs.  Here are the updates from this week:

1.  Everest 2015.  I heard some great news from Dan Mazur today.  His group - Summit Climb - is honoring our oxygen and (unused) Sherpa fees from last year while the Nepali government continues to promise that our $11,000 climbing permits are safe for this year (2015).  In short, I am going back and now I have a better idea about the costs and timing.  There are still a few fuzzy details but Dan's email to the climbers from 2014 seemed rather clear.  He intends next year to be an inexpensive return for us all.  I want to thank Dan and his group for coming to this concession.  Last year was an odd one and I am sure it hit everyone pretty hard; I was just not willing to be among those who shouldered the huge economic burden.  If I were independently wealthy and had tons of discretionary time, I might consider taking one for the cause but my finances/time are limited and I am I just so thankful that we did not need a protracted discussion with Dan to get a reasonable settlement.  Thanks Dan.  For those interested in climbing big peaks, remember the expedition teams like Summit Climb who treated their climbers well after last year.  

2.  Rainier push in late November.  The details about climbing Rainier in late November remain pretty sparse on all the internet sites.  Most summits occur during the summer.  Here is Steph Abegg's figure produced from the available 2006-2010 NPS data:

If you get a chance, please visit Steph's page.  She was kind enough to let me link to her figure rather than forcing me to recreate the figure from the raw data.  Thanks Steph.

I chose to show the Disappointment Cleaver route in the figure above because I suspect that might be the one route available if there is a chance to summit.  Here are a select number of routes and the success rates by month throughout the year (again, from Steph's website):

The blue curve that creeps most to the right is for the Disappointment Cleaver route.  I will see how the route shapes up over the next few weeks.  Suffice it to say, there will not be a ton of traffic on the hill when I get there in late November.

My aim is to get up as high as possible without an overnight stay - one hard, fast/light push up the hill until I turn around and head for civilization.  I just want to see how my legs and lungs handle the fast push up the hill.  It should be a fun outing.  Expect more details later as I figure out my route and gear list.

3.  Argentina climbing in Dec. 2014 - Jan. 2015.  Our flights are booked and the dates are settled now for our trip to Argentina.  I land on December 6th and plan to get out to several ranges before I meet up with my family and Brendan Madden on December 20th.  Here are some ideas I came up with while trying to figure out how to use my time alone constructively.

Option 1:  Climb in the Cordon del Plata (CdP) range for 10 days.  According to summitpost.org, the CdP is a "little sub range to Los Andes. It's conveniently located along the highway which also takes you to Aconcagua, the giant of the South American peaks. The area has gained a lot of popularity in the last couple of years and many climbers use it as an acclimatization ground for the higher peaks. The easy access, the short distances in between the peaks and beautiful views has also contributed to CdP's positive reputation. There are lots of peaks within a few day's walk and even if most of them are easy scrambles along the normal routes, also more experienced climbers go here for some challenges."

What I like about Option 1 is the opportunity to see other parts of Argentina while I acclimatize to higher altitudes.  The central valley of CdP offers easy access to 9 peaks ranging from 4080m (Stepanek; 13,386 feet) to 5930m (Plata; 19,455 feet) that would consume at least a week if not more of my two week head start.  Also, I could acclimatize to the high altitudes with little time pressure for the eventual 6962m (22,841 feet) climb on Aconcagua.  The time alone could also prove worthwhile for me to test out speed and recovery.  Here is Pico Plata from the south:

Option 2:  Climb a more technical route on Aconcagua and summit before the rest arrive.  I thought about this but the timing might not be great.  My responsibility for the climb is to establish our mule transportation and food for the entire group before they arrive.  I take that responsibility seriously but if I could take care of most of those details before I arrive then I could climb on the hill until they arrive.  One route that piques my interest is the Polish Glacier Direct route (thanks summit post):

That route would require about 10-12 days and give me plenty of time on the glacier and high up on the hill.  

There are a few drawbacks to this second option and one major advantage.  Drawback 1 (cost):  One downside is that the Aconcagua climbing permits are good for 20 days and an early climb followed by my family climb would require two permits (roughly $1300 in total).  The fees and logistics for the two climbs might make the two-climb push really hard on me both financially and logistically.  Drawback 2 (limited adventure):  Another drawback is that a more technical climb only allows me to see one mountain for the first four weeks of my trip.  Granted, I could easily retreat from Aconcagua afterwards and explore the CdP alone when my family takes off in early January but I might prefer to rest and relax in sunny Mendoza after climbing with my family.  Major Advantage (lower stress with family and friends):  A big climb before the others arrive cuts the stress on me during their climb.  I want to see the summit and they may not be as enthralled with the summit push as I am on summit day.  

Option 2 seems more appealing at this point but I need to figure out the logistics for mules, food, and transportation before I jump into another route - especially a more technical route that I would solo.  Additionally, the mountain may dictate the options more than my preference.  If unstable snow or poor ice conditions exist then a solo ascent up the Polish Glacier Direct would be foolish choice.  I expect a return trip no matter what the conditions so prudence trumps preference.

4.  Training going well.  Yep, not much to report.  I remain fit, fat (relatively speaking), and happy with no injuries to report and an overall good attitude that dominates my current situation.  I am so excited about the upcoming climbs that I can barely focus on much of anything else....but I do continue to chip away at the piles (megabytes perhaps?) of papers to write and grants to finish.  

Upcoming posts.....

• I plan to detail my acclimatization formula based upon a ton of data from myself and others.  Expect some graphs and formulas to appear in the blog shortly.  
• Gear check for the climbs to be laid out and explained in some detail.  Each climb requires slightly different gear.  Rainier requires a fast and light kit - not much to bring for a one-day push; Aconcagua requires a much more extensive kit for the potential two-climb expedition; finally, Everest requires a ton of gear but this year will be trimmed down substantially from last year.  
• Lightening my load for all climbs will be my focus for the next few months.  I examined each piece of gear and started fixing, replacing, or retiring anything that does not serve multiple purposes.

More on these later.  Thanks for reading and feel free to post any opinions on my options or provide other options for Argentina.  I'm open to other ideas.  See you next week.

October 8th, 2014: I'm going climbing...soon.

Greetings,

The past week went by without much to note other than one major change - I get to climb soon.  Yeah!  We made plans to go to Portland, OR for Thanksgiving.  While there, I intend to take a day or so and climb Rainier.  The climb should give me some immediate feedback about my training preparation for Argentina.  I want to do a one-day push to the summit and see if I can sustain the effort.  The climb will be light and fast - alpine style.  If I can swing it, I want to bring my son but not if he prefers to spend more time with his cousins.  Kathy said she plans to spend her limited time with her family; thus, I might be on my own.  Here are a few other updates...

1.  Sleeping with my new mask.  Kathy continues to battle some bug while she prepares for her last triathlon of the 2014 season.  Her continued battle means that my acclimatization routine shifts from the tent to the mask.  My new mask is actually quite comfortable.  I wouldn't call it true comfort but it is not as bad as sleeping with the exercise mask.  Here is the mask in action:

Yep, I look a little weird but hey, I'm sleeping.  Who is gonna notice my strange looks other than my wife (who knows all my quirks already).

2.  Working on acclimatization index.  Many of you know that my work focuses on measurement.  I'm sure you all got the hints from my previous blog posts with countless figures showing my progress.  I wanted to figure out how well I was progressing with my training - particularly my acclimatization to different oxygen levels.  The progression needed to be expressed in terms of oxygen level (the predictor) with spO2, HR, and power (in Watts) as the outcome.  Some combination of the three outcome measures ought to communicate the extent to which I can accommodate the hypoxic stress.  Here is what I have come up with so far.  Feel free to comment on the blog if you have any other ideas.

As oxygen levels decrease from 20.9% (normoxia at sea-level), I should see a decrease in spO2 and power along with an increase in HR.  Thus, oxygen level is directly proportional to the two former and inversely proportional to HR:

O2% : spO2 + power + 1/HR

The additivity of these three components, however, is not clear to me and certainly not clear in the literature.  If I simply add them then the more variable components will be far more influential than the others.  Consider the simple problem of figuring out BMI (wt in kg / height in (squared)).  If your height does not change then all changes in BMI are attributable to only your changes in weight.   Thus, I need to weigh these three components in a logical way that does not favor one over the others - unless, of course, I wish to weight them unevenly.

Expect a full post on this topic shortly.

3.  Training...training...and more training.  I keep on training with the hope of being stronger this year than last year.  Last year's preparation was not terrible but I think I could gain a bit in fitness and, in particular, fitness at altitude.  Why not? Push harder and stay healthy seems like a good plan.  Preparation for a climb is one thing I can control.  Each day of the week offers me a different amount of freedom to train.  Here is what my cumulative weeks look like since I began training again in June 2014:

Each week during this second phase, I started increasing my training altitude (staring at 10,000 ft or 3050 m and slowly moving up to 20,250 feet or 6170 m)  So far, I logged 341 hours and expect to have almost 1000 hours before I push off for Nepal in early May.  Here is where I am in the process:

4.  Fat is where its at.  Despite all the training, I successfully maintained my weight at 175 lbs (79.4 kg) and intend to stay at that weight for the duration of my training.  Last year I struggled to get my weight back up after I lost a ton during my intense training.  I learned from my mistakes and decided to back off the intensity a bit and focus more on hypoxic training earlier to reduce the intensity of my workouts.  The net result of this change is that I am equally fit but now I maintain a little expendable weight that I am sure to shed during the first week at high altitude.  Beer and chips are now a staple in my daily diet.

That is about it.  More news to come shortly as I prepare for my climb on Rainier and then onto Aconcagua.  See you soon and thanks for following.

September 23rd, 2014: Where am I now and what is going on? Update post rest week.

Greetings,

Last week was very busy despite the "off week" from training.  I regained almost 30 hours from the previous week but I filled those hours quickly with the following activities (in reverse order for some reason I cannot explain this morning):

1.  Traveling to Hypoxico (NYC).  On Friday, I left Fairfax at 4:10am and arrived at Hypoxico a little after 8am.  Not bad time for I-95 at rush hour.  Brian Oestrike was out of town at Ironman Tahoe so he put me and my hypoxic unit in good hands with his namesake Brian (Bilius).  We met each other down by the curb and Brian took my unit upstairs while I did what every good NYC driver does....I backed up my car about 200 feet to enter into the parking lot.  Why go all the way around the block to get just 200 feet behind where I was sitting?  Silly question.  I parked and then went up to find out how to troubleshoot the strange noises coming from my Hypoxico unit.  By the time I got up to the 5th floor, Brian had the unit apart and was already checking into the problem.  I knew I was in good hands.  He walked me through how to take it apart and identify all the critical pieces.  It was a DIY'er (DIY = do it yourself) dream.  After this trip, I intend to troubleshoot the problems myself and then send back the faulty piece rather than the entire 60 lb. monstrosity.  Brian and I worked diligently until about 10am when he had to push off for a doctor's appointment.  He was extremely thorough and took the time to describe each step.  During my break, I walked around the city (downtown area around 21st and lower Manhattan), grabbed a hot dog from one of the many Sabret stands, and enjoyed the wonderful weather.  It has been a while since I walked the streets of my home town.  Here is one picture I snapped on my phone:

I realize this picture has little to do with climbing but it was an important vantage point - one I had never seen before.  Yes, I have been to Washington Square Park many times but the new World Trade Center or 1 WTC (formerly known as the "Freedom Tower") is a novelty for me.  I enjoyed the walk - especially after my 4-hour drive earlier that morning.  Next, get back to meet Brian to wrap things up....

I returned at the same time Brian got back from his appointment.  We made quick work of the remaining tasks.  All was fixed on my unit and I learned a ton about the simple device.  After I picked up a few extra things - sleeping mask and a few internal filters - I was ready to push off and head home.  My trip up lasted 4 hours; the trip back was about 4.5 hours.   Again, not bad for an east coast trip up I-95.  I arrived home in time for dinner with my family.  Needless to say, I was dead tired.  Bedtime could not come soon enough.

2.  Giving a Presentation on Wednesday night.  Two days  before my trip to Hypoxico, I gave a brief presentation to a client gathering hosted by my friend's company.  Here are the slides for those interested.  The event was a ton of fun.  I met some very interesting people and had a chance to tell part of my preparation story for Everest 2014.  Even though my climb was not successful, I still believe I prepared well and controlled what I could control.  Thanks to Glenn Mickelson for inviting me.  

3.  Organizing my training schedule on Monday.  My huge spreadsheet needed some updating.  Previously, I scheduled summit days to fall on Sundays but as previously mentioned, I found it far easier to have a long, hard day on Saturday.  That change required a ton of updates on the Google doc.  I spent a few hours updating that sheet on Monday before my meetings and Google Hangouts with students.  

4.  Digging a ditch (queue the Dave Matthews song).  

Yep, I dug a drainage ditch in the front of my house to divert water from the front to the side.  We had some water damage in our basement from years ago.  Now that we have our basement renovation almost done, I wanted to ensure that water had a better place to go rather than gather in my new bedroom.  Here is a picture of the ditch (post refill) so you can get an idea of how my 6-hour restful dig looked after the fact:

5.  Sorting out details with my climbs.  We still have a ton of things to do for both Aconcagua and Everest.  I need to book my travel to/from KTM and sort out the details of flying into basecamp.  It might be a little early to jump onto those plans but it is never too early to start planning the checklist of tasks.  I am almost done with the Aconcagua planning.  There are a few details about food for the expedition, timing of the climbs, and gear for my family.  I ordered a few new BD Express ice screws (3 x 16 cm and 2 x 22 cm) to replace my aging and dull BD ice screws.  Here is a picture of the Express:

Very purdy, ain't it?  These are essential for my planned climb up the Polish glacier on Aconcagua.

5.  Working.  Oh yeah, I work too.  My students rock!  We meet each week for an hour (Thursdays from noon to 1pm - called the MRES (pronounced mysteries) meetings) and I also meet each of my students for an hour either in person or via Google hangout.   I believe we have 7 papers ready for submission in the next few weeks.  It should be a productive semester.  My lab also has a grant currently funded and several in preparation.  Our support from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) enables us to delve into many different topics.  Right now, we focus our attention on simulated training - go figure.  The grant funding allowed me to "buy out" of one course so this semester is a relatively light teaching load.  For the first time in a while, I am teaching an undergraduate class.  I find it quite refreshing from my usual routine.  The undergrads are really enthusiastic and keep me energized from class to class.  It is early in the semester when we are all fairly excited.  Expect routine updates on how my training and teaching affect my disposition; I expect smooth sailing.

See you next week when I preview my 12 week run before departing for Argentina.  Week 1 (this week) is only 18 hours and I progress to 27 hours in 12 weeks.  Should be a fun ride; hope you enjoy the trip with me.

September 17th, 2014: Things are starting to take shape in my plans

Greetings,

I am in the middle of my full week off after 15 weeks of training.  Since starting, I only slipped off schedule three times in those first three weeks.  It was tough to get started back again and I think I needed a few more weeks of beer drinking and weight gain.  Now I am a healthy 175 lbs. and aim to keep all that weight throughout the next few months.  Here is where I stand today....

1.  Rest.  The one huge advantage of having a clear, proven plan for training is that I have several times I really look forward to during the process.  I increase my workload in 3-week increments.  Each week progresses by 10% from the previous week but stops every 3 weeks to drop down by 10% back to the middle week level.  Thus, the load progression looks like a sawtooth shape that increases over 15 weeks.  The past 15 weeks had 5, 3-week cycles where the plan was to progress from 10 hours up to 30 hours using this method.  I really look forward to week 16 when I completely shut down, rest, sleep at normoxia, and eat to my heart's (perhaps more my brain's) delight.  Even after each 3-week cycle, I look forward to dropping back to a lower workload.  Increasing the workload in this systematic fashion keeps me fresh and excited about more training.  Gotta keep it fun but sprinkle in plenty of rest.

2.  Permit situation settled.  Sam and Alex forwarded Dan Mazur's post about the Nepali government honoring our permits for 2015.  I am extremely excited that we have some clue about the permits.  Here is the letter (in Nepali) just in case you want to see how we learn about these things:

Translation....

Subject: Climbing Mountaineering forwarding.

To: SummitClimb Pvt. Ltd.
Kathmandu

As per your agency requested letter, This is to inform you on dated 2071 – 03 - 05 that SummitClimb Everest Expedition 2014, permit no 60/Spring, led by Mr. Mazur Daniel Lee (P.P. No 710848024), including 10 climbing members permit is extended to next spring season 2015 as per law 2059 – sub law – 5. 

Depender Paudel

Department Head

3.  Aconcagua plans shaping up.  We have four confirmed climbers for our trip to Argentina in December.  I leave on December 6th, my family leaves on the 17th, and Brendan Madden joins us on the 20th.  I hope to have three climbs on Aconcagua or other peaks in the area before I depart on January 12th.  Should be a great time.  Flights booked, equipment checked, and details sorted out; next step, plan for food and domestic travel.  I'm practically jumping out of my chair with excitement.  

4.  Hypoxico Tour.  Speaking of jumping out of my seat, I'm heading up the New York City - my home town - to get one of my units checked out.  It was making some strange noises so Brian Oestrike suggested I get it checked out.  No better time than the present (Friday actually) where my week-off gives me the ultimate luxury to make the 4-hour drive from Fairfax to NYC without missing a workout or any meetings.  I intend to take in a few conference calls during the drive up (from 4am-8:30am) and then a few on the way back (from 7pm-11pm).  The folks at Hypoxico were extremely inviting and even offered me the use of one of their machines/setups to workout.  I told them that this week was devoted to rest (#1 above) and I planned to just walk around the city and get some good food.  Remember, this week I focus on eating too - no better place to eat than NYC.  Pizza joints...here I come!  With any luck, I roll out of the city after a few hearty meals and about 10 lbs of additional heft.  Wish me luck on Friday.

Speaking of Hypoxico, Sam & Alex as well as Brendan both ordered units.  Should be fun comparing notes as we all prepare for some big climbs ahead.

5.  Early to bed and early to rise makes me tired.  Apologies to Ben Franklin but healthy, wealthy and wise do not match my experience.  My son returned to his morning schedule.  He has swim practice from 4:30am to 6:30am on the weekdays so Kathy and I take turns shuttling him the 20 minutes to/from practice.  I think I found my groove where getting up at 4am is far better than stirring at 4 and then waking at 6am.  Often, I return from dropping him off and drift back to sleep - no matter what I am doing.  Even if I go to sleep at 8pm I still wake up exhausted when I change the routine.  My current sleep/wake cycle might take a while to absorb into my system but I assure you it will work.  Soon, I plan to get in a few extra workouts from 4:45am (when I return) to 9am when I typically head to campus.  Nothing like a good 4-hour workout to start the day.  Good thing I have a couch in my office for that inevitable mid-day nap.

6.  Summit Saturdays.  I changed my training routine a bit to accommodate the rest of my week's schedule.  Sundays worked for me last time when I was training for Everest 2014; those days do not work any longer for Everest 2015.  I found that Sundays really needed to be easier or else I risked getting sick and not recovering sufficiently for the next week.  Wednesdays came too soon after Sunday and I often found Fridays to be less useful training days.  So, after careful consideration and several trials, I found that Saturday was the perfect day to simulate my climbs.  The past 7 weeks had some intense simulated climbs where I would try to mimic a climb - approach, summit, and descent.  These days started out rather easy and slowly progressed to two peak summits and almost 10 hours of hypoxic training.  I felt and feel great during and afterwards.  It might be a little early to get too acclimatized to high altitude but I figured this time was an excellent opportunity for me to test out different routines.  Success!  I tested out a new routine and now my week is much more manageable.  

Thanks for following along.  

September 8th, 2014 - a 2 month hiatus from posting but back and better than ever!

Greetings,

I hope this update finds you all well.  My summer was extremely busy with training, parenting, building, resting, relaxing, sailing, and other non-G-rated gerunds.  The funny thing about blogging is that when I got behind, it became harder and harder for me to post - something akin to returning a borrowed item.  Starting back up seemed hard but it really isn't.  So, here I go with my first blog post of the fall and I expect more to follow.  These posts document my training/preparation for my climbs this 2014-2015 season.

There are a few people I need to acknowledge before I post any updates.

1. Dad's inspiration.  I had a great conversation with my dad the other day.  He told me to get back to posting updates so that the posts drive me to be better.  I get it.  Sitting here working my life away and mulling things over in my head from last year provide nothing but reasons to continue a reclusive lifestyle.  I have a great life and a great family.  Many of you do not know but my dad battles pancreatic cancer.  He may cringe by this note but I want to draw out the positive.  My dad inspires me.  He pushes through awful treatments delivered by the best in the world.  I gather my strength from his endurance.  When he told me to press forward with a simple task of posting updates, I did so without hesitation.  We all encounter obstacles in life but few are as daunting as what my dad endures.  Life is great and we all ought to make the most of what we have today.  BE HERE TODAY.  Thanks dad for reminding me of what matters.  I'm back.
2. Brotherly support.  My brother worries and often calls to check in.  He worries about his younger brother and I appreciate his concern; I love him like no other.  There are few people in life who can provide the support only a brother can provide.  I am fortunate that I have three brothers - Sean, Ed, and Kevin - the latter two cousins or brothers of another mother (and father).  My cousins also serve in that role.  They never waver in their support.  Thanks guys.  I climb for you and all those who cannot climb due to limitations.  Someday we will jump out of a helicopter with our sons and ski untracked powder until we drop.  Expect it and plan for it.
3. Kathy - a wife like no other.  Some of you may recall that Kathy sleeps in the tent with me.  Her support never stops.  She trains for triathlons and she toils with her own goals.  We rejoice about successes and mourn (briefly) our defeats.  The past year was a huge test for both of us.  We both had successes and failures.  Without her unwavering support, I would never realize any of my goals.  Just ask my students; they all know my adoration.  She makes me better and pushes me to strive to be better still.  I love you so and have no reservations to express it publicly.
4. The best son a dad could imagine.  I promise I won't embarrass him.  A 14-year old is easily embarrassed by his dad - especially publicly.  My son makes parenting easy.  He is a devoted athlete, good person, and easy-going lad.  I can't wait to climb in Argentina with him...and Kathy.  Life is good!

Thank you all.  I hope to share all the fun from the next few years with you.

Aconcagua

The other night, Kathy and I finalized our plans to Argentina.  I fly out in early December and Kathy and Patrick follow in mid-December.  My blood is flowing again and I can't wait to get back on a hill.  My friend Brendan Madden - who lives in Japan - booked his trip so he plans to join us.  Next, we need to convince Sam to come out from the UK (or Africa where he is now).  I intend to post my climbing plans shortly once I have all the itineraries solidified.  My current thinking is to get down there early, climb a technical route (perhaps the Polish direct) and then come down to retrieve my family and Brendan.  Together, we will climb the normal route up and summit.  It should be a fun time with plenty of climbing, steak eating and Malbec drinking.

Everest

As I indicated upon my return from Nepal, I plan to return in 2015.  Some signs indicate that the Nepali government will honor our permits.  I remain somewhat skeptical but guardedly optimistic that they will spare me the $10,000 expense.  Now, about the oxygen....more on that later.

Training

I have one week left before I get a full week off.  The past 15 weeks were a slow, base-building progression where I accrued over 265 hours of training - mostly at normoxia.  I completed 5 simulated climbs up to the equivalent of 19,000 feet.  In sum, I've been busy training, getting my lab back in order, and finishing some tasks on the house.  Not much sailing to speak of this year but I hope to get out every now and then with my friend Bob and our crew of swimmers.  I intend to post a bit more about some of my new training ideas.  Like my Everest plans....more on training later.

So there you have it.  Fifteen weeks down in preparation for two climbs.  I have tons more to post about the climbs and our revised plans for Everest - that is, once I figure out what we are doing and what expenses I can expect.  Stay tuned for more.