Training for elevation gain?

kimbur96

kimbur96

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Dec 30, 2015
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Just got my permits for Continental Divide Loop in RMNP 29 miles over 3 days. Day two, because of the sites I got will be 9 miles and 3,000ft of gain up and over Flattop Mountain. Any advice on training? Obviously I will be out every weekend at least day hiking and trying get some mountain legs. I live at 7,000ft and Flattop hit 12,300.

Also creating a spreadsheet for my gear to look at every little thing to cut what weight i can.
 
I have no suggestions!! But will follow out of curiosity.

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Running and squats have always helped me with grinding through elevation changes, though I can't say I've done it above 10k feet...
 
Living at 7,000 ft. should mean that going to 12k will not cause you much of an issue as far as breathing is concerned. I find that pack weight is the issue on long days. Most people do not want to train with a 30 lbs backpack on, but that is exactly what you should do a least once a week for 3 weeks before your trip. Most anyone can hike 9 miles and 3,000 ft. without much issue, but put a 30lbs pack on them and suddenly its challenging.
 
Is there a tall building near you? I find that 4000 foot climbs aren't as terrible if I have been good about regularly climbing up and down 20 flights of stairs a couple time a week. Now that is going from 2000 to 6000 feet in the SE, but I think you won't have too many problems given you live at 7000 feet if you strengthen your legs.
 
Your profile says you live in Springs. Assuming that's true, you have some of the best training grounds around! To train for elevation gain, there's nothing better than doing the activity that closely resembles the goal activity.

You have the Incline, which I wouldn't do with a weighted pack, but, rather, hammer up it as fast as you can, even if it is slow. I'd do that just once a week and, if not, every two weeks.. Personally, I wouldn't descend it, but take the Barr Trail back down and repeat it one or two more times, if you have time. And, since you're in the neighborhood, load your pack and do an out-and-back on the Barr Trail as far as you can go, when you have the time. I don't know what the trail conditions are like right now, but the higher you can get, the better (i.e. at least to the A-frame which is just under 12k). Even, if at first, you can only get to Barr Camp. You may also want to consider doing Section 16 counterclockwise, since you get the steep stuff over with first. I would physically push yourself on these hikes--not only on the climb, but the descent, too.

Flat Top is seriously flat on top for a little bit before you begin descending to the West. The climb up isn't that bad and then it's nice and flat, although rocky. Like someone else has already said, you're already at 6k to 7k already, and 12k isn't going to be that big of a burden...
 
Longnok said:
Your profile says you live in Springs. Assuming that's true, you have some of the best training grounds around! To train for elevation gain, there's nothing better than doing the activity that closely resembles the goal activity.

You have the Incline, which I wouldn't do with a weighted pack, but, rather, hammer up it as fast as you can, even if it is slow. I'd do that just once a week and, if not, every two weeks.. Personally, I wouldn't descend it, but take the Barr Trail back down and repeat it one or two more times, if you have time. And, since you're in the neighborhood, load your pack and do an out-and-back on the Barr Trail as far as you can go, when you have the time. I don't know what the trail conditions are like right now, but the higher you can get, the better (i.e. at least to the A-frame which is just under 12k). Even, if at first, you can only get to Barr Camp. You may also want to consider doing Section 16 counterclockwise, since you get the steep stuff over with first. I would physically push yourself on these hikes--not only on the climb, but the descent, too.

Flat Top is seriously flat on top for a little bit before you begin descending to the West. The climb up isn't that bad and then it's nice and flat, although rocky. Like someone else has already said, you're already at 6k to 7k already, and 12k isn't going to be that big of a burden...
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Thank you for the suggestions. I will try to get over to the incline some. It's so popular that parking is an issue. I have done the Palmer 16 loop once last fall, I will definitely being doing it again, probably multiple times. I have not yet done the hike to Barr camp.

And tanks for the info on Flattop. Luckily the second half of that day, as you said will be all flat and then descending. Just want to clear the mountain before any afternoon storms. Thinking and early start 5-6am should make that happen.
 
Thank you all for the suggestion. Good news is I have several months to train and live some where with beautiful trails to train on.
 
kimbur96 said:
Thank you for the suggestions. I will try to get over to the incline some. It's so popular that parking is an issue. I have done the Palmer 16 loop once last fall, I will definitely being doing it again, probably multiple times. I have not yet done the hike to Barr camp.

And tanks for the info on Flattop. Luckily the second half of that day, as you said will be all flat and then descending. Just want to clear the mountain before any afternoon storms. Thinking and early start 5-6am should make that happen.
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For the Incline, you can always park down in Manitou at Soda Springs Park (where the roundabout is located). It's less than a mile to the incline form there and gives you a good warm-up. Yes!, the parking at the incline is really bad! :( There's, also, a shuttle from Memorial Park, as well, that takes you up to the Cog Rail parking area. FYI... That would work well for the Barr Trail or incline.
 
Check out Training for the New Alpinism by Steve House. It's probably a little bit above and beyond what you're looking for, but the whole book is basically about training for inclines and elevation gain. You can customize a plan for the objectives you're trying to reach. Just skip the climbing aspect and focus on the cardio fitness.
 
Hack squats, barbell squats, leg extension. Don't forget the calves.
Other nice things are cycling and stair climbing w/ and w/o backpack.


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Walk as often and as far as possible. I try to get 3 miles a day. Then a few times a week make a longer hike of 10-15 miles. That has really helped me.

I also jog a quarter mile every miles sometimes. I figure that simulates the uphills as best as possible here in flat Louisiana.
 
kimbur96 said:
Thank you all for the suggestion. Good news is I have several months to train and live some where with beautiful trails to train on.
Click to expand...

Was just telling (complaining to ;) ) my wife the other day how the only stretch of flat land in this state is between our front door and bathroom. If you like to run/jog, all the trails around here will do a good job killing you improving your cardio by leaps and bounds.
 
Wanderlust073 said:
Running and squats have always helped me with grinding through elevation changes, though I can't say I've done it above 10k feet...
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...also Mtn Biking also and other activities (swimming?) that build your lung capacity. I recently got into Mtn Biking and was surprised at how little I noticed the elevation in the Winds last summer (we were at 10,500-11,500). I had noticed runners had less trouble too and put the two together. That's about as scientific as I get...
 
HomerJ said:
...also Mtn Biking also and other activities (swimming?) that build your lung capacity. I recently got into Mtn Biking and was surprised at how little I noticed the elevation in the Winds last summer (we were at 10,500-11,500). I had noticed runners had less trouble too and put the two together. That's about as scientific as I get...
Click to expand...
So being in good cardio shape definitely makes it easier to breath up high... just a note though, that being in good shape will not stop you from getting Acute Mtn Sickness. You can take a world-class runner who trains at sea level, put them at 10k feet, and they may very well still suffer altitude effects.
 
Get as much trail time as you can. Carry as close to the target load as you can. Institute a lactate threshold training program. Work up to 25% of your training time. This is 75% of your calculated max heart rate. Use this formula: 180 - age = target heart rate. Use this formula as long as you have already been training 3 to 4 times per week for awhile. It does not matter how you do your LT training. Biking, swimming, running, whatever. Do not do it after a layoff whatever the reason.

I do not like squats or lunges if you are doing the other stuff. Squats are great for off season and there is a definite pay off when the season starts. If you can handle it however, go for it. Consider doing a very small volume of core training. This pays dividends by keeping your back healthy. These work great and take very little time:


Living at 7000 feet and having access to big mountains is great. Do a one day low to high day hike and pay attention to how you feel during and afterwords. If you get a headache on the way down, you may be susceptible to altitude sickness. Consider asking your MD a script for Diamox. It's good to have it in your kit just in case.
 
One more thing, the most important part: Rest. Sleep well and often. Do not overtrain. Consider stopping all training five days to one week before departure. You may find that you get a boost from that as your hike starts.
 
IMO the Sangres are far and away the best of Colorado. Weekends get down and do Comanche-Venable. More elevation gain will make that little thing in Rocky seem like a joke. Heeeh, Heeh. One weekend get over to Crestone and hike Willow Lake which IMO is far more spectacular than anything up in the Rocky area. A great weekend is to car camp near the South CrestoneTrailhead and hike Willow one day and South Crestone Lake another day.

Westcliffe a shorter drive so hike Comanche Lakes, Venable Lakes, Goodwin Lake, Dry Lakes, Horn Lakes....Those hikes will help boost you up and make you a fan of the Sangres and forget about much north of highway 24 forever.
 
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