Training for Cho-Oyu Climb

Training information provided by www.BodyResults.com
Preparation for an Alpine Ascents’ Cho-Oyu Climb
During this 6-week adventure to the summit of Cho-Oyu, one of the 8,000m peaks and the 6th tallest mountain  on earth at 26,906ft’/8,201m, you must be comfortable carrying at least 30 pounds for weeks on end. You will  be facing very cold temperatures as well as extreme altitude, and you will need to have solid cramponing skills, be able to rappel with a pack on, and be comfortable using ascenders on a fixed line. In addition to solid alpine  living,  snow, and  ice  climbing skills, you need  significant  strength endurance, high-altitude tolerance, and strong cardiovascular conditioning.
Keep in mind that just because you exercise regularly (4-6 times per week) at lower elevation does not mean you  have  suitable conditioning needed to  reach the high altitude summit of Cho-Oyu. Plenty of people who have the endurance to run a marathon fail to summit high-altitude peaks. Pure cardiovascular fitness is simply not enough. You  should focus on  building physical conditioning at lower altitudes  necessary to ascend 4,000feet of elevation on successive days carrying 50-60 pounds. Although you will not be carrying such weight on Cho-Oyu, by training your body to that high tolerance you will have built extra reserves that will serve you very well on the mountain as you inevitably start to lose musculature and body fat from being at extreme altitude for 6 weeks.
Prioritize your training efforts in the following way, assuming that you are in good health and injury-free:
1. Climbing conditioning – pack-loaded uphill hiking, walking, and stair climbing
2. Strength training for the lower body and core
3. Cardiovascular training, including both aerobic and anaerobic workouts with and without pack weight
4. Flexibility training
Most people will need to train specifically for their climb of Cho-Oyu for at least 6-9 months, building up from a solid baseline of fitness. During your training, you will need to progressively ramp up your hike time, distance and elevation gain (at roughly 10% per week)  to safely and effectively build your  climbing-specific 
conditioning. Trying to rush this will increase the risk of experiencing some sort of training injury and not being ready for  your trip. Below are more details of how to incorporate these four priorities into your  training program.
Climbing conditioning - Hike  along  outdoor trails, gradually increasing your pack weight until you  feel
comfortable carrying a 50-60 pound pack. If you live where it is relatively flat, go up and down stairs or train on an inclined treadmill or  stairmaster. Use  whatever  varied surface  terrain  (i.e. gravel beds, sand dunes, river banks)  you have access to.  A reasonable goal would be to ascend 3,500 feet carrying an average pack of 50 pounds in a 2-3 hour period, or roughly 1,500 vertical feet per hour. A good training option for pack weight is to carry water in gallon containers or collapsible jugs, so you can dump water at the top as needed, to lighten the load for the descent.  
In early season,  you should be comfortable gaining  2000’ elevation over  5-7 miles round trip, with  a  30-40 pound pack; each hike try adding  3-5 pounds until you are comfortable with a 55-pound pack, then begin increasing the total elevation gain and mileage. When you can gain 4,000 feet while carrying a 60-pound pack, start decreasing rest breaks and increasing speed on each conditioning workout.  A month from your climb, you should be comfortable hiking on successive days with at least 60 pounds on one of those outings.
Two training techniques that will be useful for extreme altitude climbing are 1) interval training and 2) back to 
back training (discussed in more detail in “Putting it all together” below.) To include interval training, find a 
steep hill or sets of stairs that will allow you to climb steadily for 1-3 minutes. Push as hard as you can going 
up, then recover coming down, and repeat for anywhere from 20-60 minutes depending on how close to your climb you are.  Gradually add weight to your pack (no more than 10% per week) until you can carry 60 pounds the entire time. If possible, participate in as many hikes at altitude – and in winter conditions -- as you possibly can to learn how your body reacts in extreme cold and above 13,000 feet elevation.
Strength conditioning - Training with free weights, bands, a backpack, bodyweight exercises, or gym 
machines will help you build overall strength, particularly in the core (lower back and abdominals), upper back and shoulders, and legs. Developing strength in your upper back and shoulders will help you with such tasks as carrying your pack and using trekking poles effectively.  The calves, hips, quads, hamstrings and glutes are all involved in ascending and descending steep, hard-packed snow and ice slopes (up to 30 degrees), and a great degree of strength endurance is required in all areas of the legs and hips, especially during those segments when you will be carrying a pack and pulling a sled. 
Training primarily with free weights will give you the functional, climbing-specific strength that will help you 
most in the mountains. Free weight-training requires that you balance the weights as you would your own body, weighted with a pack, in three-dimensional space. When starting any strength conditioning program, complete two full-body strength workouts a week for  45-60 minutes each, focusing on compound exercises such as squats, lunges, step-ups, dips, pull-ups, rows, dead lifts, bench presses, pushups, and overhead presses.  
In the beginning phase of strength conditioning, focus on building a foundation for harder workouts; to that end, keep the weight light enough to concentrate on good form and complete 2 sets of each exercise for 8-10 repetitions. As you continue to train, you will shift focus to building strength (generally lower reps 5-8 with heavier weight). 4-6 weeks before your climb, shift your training to focus on strength endurance (higher reps 10-15 with light weight) to turn the newly gained strength into greater strength endurance. Each training phase should vary the weight used, repetitions completed, number of sets, and rest intervals. Regardless of training phase, always be sure you maintain proper form in order to prevent injury or strain.
Cardiovascular conditioning – When embarking on a cardiovascular training program for a climb as strenuous as an 8000m peak, you should already be at the point starting out where you are regularly including 4-6 weekly aerobic sessions of sustained effort for at least an hour each. Include spinal-loading aerobic training such as trail running,  walking on an inclined treadmill, doing stair stepping or  step mill training, jogging,  working on an elliptical machine, walking  up and down  hills, or participating in step aerobic classes. Reserve 1-2 days per week for pack endurance training (2-6 hours), 1-2 day per week for high intensity intervals (30-60 minutes) and the other 1-2 per week for general cardiovascular fitness (60-90 minutes). Get as much experience on all sorts of varied terrain as you can, including (as strange as it sounds) walking in crampons on rocks. Be sure to 
include a 5-10 minute warm-up at reduced intensity before working at your target heart rate for the day, and 
cool down with 5-10 minutes of appropriate stretching.
Flexibility conditioning  – Be sure to include at least 5-10 minutes of targeted stretching following every 
workout, specifically for the hamstrings, glutes, hips, calves, forearms, lower back and quadriceps. If you have any areas of concern early season, add emphasis to making sure you have normal range of motion about all your joints. This will become even more important as you add weight and distance to your conditioners. 

Putting it all together  --
Roughly a month before 
your climb, you should be 
at the conditioning level 
where you are 
comfortable hiking on 
consecutive weekend 
days, what is referred to 
as  Back-to-Back training. 
This involves  hiking with 
your target  climb pack 
weight (60 pounds) on the 
first day for at least 3,000’ 
gain, and a  somewhat 
lighter pack  (45-50
pounds)  for greater 
mileage, elevation gain, or 
both on the second day to 
simulate the back-to-back 
requirements of long days 
on your trip. This will not 
only be helpful physically 
but also prepare you 
psychologically for the 
challenge of repeat higheffort days without 
significant recovery days in between. A sample week of training a month prior to your climb might look like the 
chart above, in an effort to help you build as much stamina as possible.
Be sure to include at least one recovery day per week and listen closely to your body. Take the final week to 
taper or gradually reduce intensity and volume of training so that by the time you leave for your trip  you are 
well rested and physically and psychologically up to the challenge.
You can find additional training resources at www.BodyResults.com for the following:
• Training Articles
• Training Books and DVDs
• Customized Online Mountaineering Specific Training
Special discounts are available for Alpine Ascents Customers at the page www.BodyResults.com/aai
This training information was provided by Wilderness Sports Conditioning experts Courtenay and Doug 
Schurman of BodyResults.com.  They are the exclusive conditioning resource for Alpine Ascents.  They 
oversee all client training, are co-authors of the book, The Outdoor Athlete (2009) and are creators of the 
Train To Climb Mt Rainier DVD.