Altitude Happens

I’m often asked how we are training for the altitude we’ll experience on the Snowman Trek. The answer is, we aren’t! It’s not that we wouldn’t LIKE to train for altitude. After all, it’s likely to be the greatest challenge we’ll face in Bhutan. It’s that the way to handle a transition to the rarified air we'll experience “at altitude” is through acclimatization. Something that’s not going to happen at our home base, situated at about 500 feet above sea level. And before you say it, we don’t have access to an altitude chamber – and even if we did the travel time to the other side of the world would erase any acclimatization gains before we hit the trailhead.

So here are the facts: Within the first four days of the Snowman we’ll trek from our start point at about 8,500 feet to a point on the other side of the 16,400 foot Nylie La pass. Our max altitude on the Snowman will be the Rinchen Zoe La pass at 17,389 feet, about three weeks into the trek. And along the way there are another eight passes over 15,000 feet. The way we’ll get through them all is quite simple. We’ll put one foot in front of the other, in front of the other; in front of the other . . . You get the idea.

So while we can’t necessarily train for altitude, we can be aware of and to some extent prepare for it. We have experienced trekking in thin air before (Asia, Africa and South America) – and we know the symptoms that may signal some sort of altitude ailment.

We’ll tap into the conditioning effects of our 16-week training program for muscular strength and endurance – steady goes the course. We’ll take acetazolamide prophylactically to help our lungs adapt. We’ll follow the mountaineer’s rule of trek high, sleep low. We’ll drink copious amounts of water. We’ll employ intentional breathing techniques. Maybe we’ll do some meditation. We’ll recall that “it is what it is” from past treks, and we’ll remain aware and realistic in our expectations and our experiences.

The fact is, for most (if not all) goals, there are some circumstances, events and realities for which one cannot train – and some others will occur for which one has not planned. That, dear “doers of stuff” is simply life. Expecting the unexpected and accepting the immutable can take the edge off of that panic response that can precede a doer’s undoing.

So here’s the deal: Altitude (sometimes referred to as sh#!) happens. Kids get sick. Dogs run away. Cars break down. Muscles pull and complain. Work schedules turn on their heads. These things are part of life. No amount of worrying about the “what if” or ruing the “if only” will give you more energy than being fully aware, intentional and present in the moment.

In the pursuit of any goal, it’s truly one foot in front of the other and so on and so forth. That is doing.

Snowman Training Notes: It was a sprint/lactate tolerance interval day and I literally reached new heights on the versa climber. I looped in 16 intervals -- 15-second full intensity bursts -- into my 50-minute climb and logged 4,675 vertical feet. Got off the machine soaked in sweat . . . and happy.

Thought for the day: “You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” ~Paulo Coelho