Endurance
Hello Steph,
I just read your book and I like it a lot. I am not a climber myself yet, but will treat myself with this new hobby when I quit my job in October. Anyway, I wonder how you can climb for 24-30 hours? Are you resting anything during such monster-climbs?
Kind regards
Caroline
P.S. I love your blog and your generous sharing of your life!
Thank you Caroline! I hope you have embarked on your new adventures….!
Climbing is interesting, because unlike running or hiking, you don’t actually cover much distance. For example, when I freed El Cap in a day, the distance I traveled was only 3000 feet. That is less than a mile, closer to half a mile. So the pace is much slower than running. For sure, it’s important to stop and rest. On long alpine pushes, the distances are greater, but the technical difficulty is less, so it is taking less energy to ascend. I guess the right outlook is slow and steady. Often when kicking steps up snow, I just count sets of 10 in my head, over and over and over. Energy conservation is key–never exerting to the point of exhaustion, rather, always thinking about conserving for the long run.
Interestingly, I think this is a good approach to a lot of things in life too. I always like to say, I never rush unless I have to 🙂
Steph
