Photo: An uncomfortable belay stance at the top of the first pitch, Ames Ice Hose, Telluride, CO
Deliberate Training: Building a Base, Week Two
There is nothing comfortable about ice climbing. To climb the Ames Ice hose, we left our warm beds at four in the morning, hiked the snow packed approach in the dark, and started climbing the first difficult pitch in the frigid, first light of dawn. I was stiff, cold and scared. At the first belay, I was constantly bombarded by falling ice from my partner climbing above. The final pitch was a rope stretching 200 foot lead up unrelenting steep ice.
Photo: The 500 foot Ames Ice Hose in “fat” conditions.
There was nothing comfortable about last week’s training. The weights were heavier, the pace faster, and the duration longer. If you want to accomplish big athletic goals you need to prepare yourself mentally and physically by stressing your body and mind. By Thursday, I was tired. I did not want to spend two hours on my bike riding in 30 degree temperatures. I did not want to go to the climbing gym and climb for two hours, 1400 vertical feet. But I did it. I want to be safe this winter ice climbing at age 64. I don’t want to get left behind by thirty year-olds when I go backcountry skiing in Wyoming.
See the attached workout for Deliberate Training: Building a Base, Week Two
Week 2_Building a Base 11_12_18
