203 more days...

An Addition To The Group:

Rick informed me that Abby Gulick, a senior at UNI and the daugher of trip member Kathy Gulick, will also be condo climbing with us next summer. Welcome, Abby!

Last fall an expedition went to Chinese Tibet to climb and ski Shishapangma, the world’s 14^th tallest peak at 8,013 meters (26,291 feet). Members of the expedition included Alex Lowe and Conrad Anker. You may remember that Conrad was the member of the Mallory and Irvine Expedition that found George Mallory on Everest. Alex Lowe was the star member of The North Face climbing team and quite possibly the world’s best climber. Tragedy struck the expedition when a giant avalanche claimed the lives of Alex Lowe and cameraman David Bridges. Conrad Anker was also caught in the avalanche but managed to survive with cuts, bruises, broken ribs, and torn shoulder muscles. The loss of Alex Lowe has had a huge impact to the climbing community.

The documentary that was filmed for NBC by The North Face will air this Sunday at 4:00 pm. I encourage you to watch simply because Alex Lowe is one of the most inspiring personalities in American sport. His talent was only exceeded by his charisma and positive attitude. There is a great deal of information about Alex Lowe on the web, but this broadcast on NBC should be an excellent place to learn about the man and the challenges of Himalayan mountaineering. I have also heard that there will be a segment on Alex Lowe tonight at 8:00 on Dateline NBC. If it is the same segment that was aired on CNBC for Natural Explorer it should be very good to watch.

Fitness:

Hopefully watching climbers like Alex Lowe will give you an idea of the strength and endurance needed to be a good climber. Lowe’s nicknames included "The Mutant" and "Lungs with Legs". On Russia’s 23,000 foot Khan Tengri, he climbed up AND down a 10,000 foot route in a little more than 10 hours. In Wyoming’s Tetons he completed the Grand Traverse (which includes climbing seven peaks) in less than nine hours. He did this in running shoes and beat the previous record by more than five hours. He also was well known for doing 400 pull-ups a day. Not bad for a 40-year old.

Nobody expects any of us to have the strength and conditioning of Alex Lowe. However, even though people may have called him "The Mutant", he didn’t achieve that level of fitness without working for it. Climbing a fourteener is strenuous work. Some of our routes will be shorter than others, but some will be long, like the 17-mile round trip and 4,400 feet of elevation gain on Mt. Elbert, Colorado’s highest peak. You may choose not to climb everyday, but even doing climbs every other day will require proper conditioning. It’s not too early to start! If you don’t like running in the snow, those of us in the UNI area can make use of the UNI-Dome. Five trips around the perimeter of the floor is approximately a mile. Speed is less important than endurance. The stairs are great for building strength in your legs, although a little tougher on the joints. If you ascend and descend every column of stadium steps on both sides of the field you’re in for a decent workout. Try climbing two stairs at a time and finishing in less than 40 minutes.

Remember, if you have any questions feel free to contact me. I’ll be working on a web site this weekend to aid in our communication. In the meantime, get fit!