The Road to Everest

All my life I have been obsessed with high places. From treetops to hills in outback Australia, I am yet to find a mound of dirt I wouldn’t climb. However, living in Perth Western Australia my options were limited. So, in 2016 at the age of 20, I decided to have a crack at Everest base camp. Little did I know, this trek would spur a flame inside of me that could not be put out. Base Camp was no longer enough, I had to reach the summit of Mt Everest.

The first thing I did when I got home from Base Camp was buy the 9th Edition copy of “Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills” and started reading Freedom Of The Hills . This book covers everything a mountaineer would ever need to know: practical skills such as knot tying, advice on how to brave the differing weather conditions in the mountains and most importantly, how to prepare for a trek.

One passage in particular has stuck with me for the last 8 years:

“Cardiovascular endurance is the key to success at altitude”.

Being a triathlete at the time, I knew what was required to achieve the physical fitness required to concur Everest…hard work and long days of training.

Working as a project manager on a mine site came with a problem, how could I train sufficiently when working twelve hour days 4-5 days of the week?

Luckily, the site I worked at was around 15km away from the township accommodation and had a dirt track that spanned between them. The trail brought with it snakes, bulls, dingos, excessive flies and spiders, all of which would look at me like I had a screw loose. Despite this, during the course of a year, I worked up to 90km of trail running per week, hiking the 15km trail with a 20L water jug at least twice per week.

 I also think there is something to be said about lung capacity in training for high altitudes. On my recovery days in Perth I am passionate about freediving and spearfishing so regularly train my lung capacity to shoot for more bottom time. To train for depths requires both High CO2 tolerance training and Low O2 tolerance training, which inadvertently helps lung capacity and haemoglobin counts. I was doing this without realising how much it could help my altitude limits. There have been several supportive studies on the impacts of Low-Altitude.

Using the knowledge from my mountaineering book, an aerobic base developed in the bush and lungs the water, I would go on to successfully climb Mera peak, Island peak and Lobuche in Nepal before heading over to Pakistan to be the first in the 2023 season to successfully summit Spantik. These mountains brought a range of experience that was vital to my success on Everest.

The most valuable lesson is survival heavily depends, not only on technical experience, but knowing the limits of your body. A gradual increase in altitude, mountain by mountain, can also help determine these limits.

Here are some tips for preparing for changes in altitude that I picked up from my experience:

Acclimatisation cannot be rushed

The longer you are at altitude, the better acclimatised to higher altitudes you will become. The trick is to keep moving slow, even on rest days, to keep blood flowing while maintaining a low heart rate.

The top of a mountain is only half- way.

Some accidents happen on the way down from a mountain peak due to physical and mental exertion which can alter better judgement. There will be a threshold where it is unsafe to continue and you must confide in yourself to make the hard decision, to continue or go back.

Watch for altitude sickness symptoms

Look out for yourself and your climbing companions; excessive coughing, severe headaches, vomiting and acting drunk are signs that you need to get your team member to an oxygen tank/lower position.

Respiratory sickness ruins most peoples’ chances at success

Altitude makes for a weak immune system - you may become more susceptible to colds, respiratory infections, gastro and worst of all, pneumonia. I have never been on an expedition where someone didn’t get critically sick. General hygiene is very important for a successful summit.

Gearing up for a Trek

Before embarking on any trek, whether it be a hike at your local national park or an expedition up one of the seven summits, it is important to be prepared and have the right gear. Prior to attempting to summit Mount Everest, I journeyed on multiple treks to help condition my mind and body for what was to come. Whilst hiking the smaller mountains, I found out the hard way what gear works and what doesn’t, this made gearing up for my expedition a breeze

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced mountaineer, here are some tips for preparing the best gear:

Camelback straws freeze easily

When climbing my first ever mountain I took a camelback and the tube froze within minutes. This left me without water for 9hrs. A thermos bottle or keeping light bottles close to your chest will fix this.

Vibram® soles are the best

In the thousands of kilometres I ran/walked, my shoe life would double when using Vibram® soles on hiking or running shoes. Even my 8000m mountain boots had Vibram® soles.

Snow can be hot

Despite coming from Australia, the hottest I have ever been was 6,800m up on Spantik (Pakistan) where the sun radiated off of the snow and cooked my skin from every direction. This being said, 50+ SPF sunscreen is a must in snowy conditions.

Layering is king

Despite being exposed to -50 degrees at times, I have never needed more than a set of thermals, a fleece, a softshell and a down outer shell to keep warm. As the sun comes up, each layer can be removed to the desired level of warmth.

Shop Jackets & Vests for layering

Blister kit is a must

This one might be obvious, but there is nothing worse than being in a remote location with a blister and no choice but to hobble home in agony. I suggest you pack Fixomull as a minimum and consider items such as appropriate hiking socks, gel toe sleeves and blister pads to protect your feet.

Lighter is better

I don’t let anyone carry my stuff, perhaps it is pride, or perhaps stupidity but whether you are like me and like to carry your own weight or are enlisting the help of a Sherpa, packing less clothes in a hiking backpack to save weight is key. The crew won’t like the smell, but your back will be better for it.

Softer shoes create less problems

This is a controversial one, but I use to exclusively go for stiff shoes under the impression that they are beneficial for ankle support and help relieve foot soreness triggered by a heavy pack. However, I have recently shifted towards lighter, more flexible and breathable hiking shoes. The reason for this is that no-matter how you lace a stiff high ankle shoe, your foot still has to flex - but instead of flexing with the shoe it flexes inside the shoe which may create friction. Merrell’s Moab range are much more flexible and breathable than other hiking shoes and well worth a go.