Since I was a young kid in the sixties, it has always been my dream to just be able to hike the Keyhole route up Longs peak. I’ve tried 4 times and failed for one reason or another. Got to the Keyhole twice, once in the seventies and once in August of this year. I live in the extremely low altitude of Chicago and was wondering what you would suggest for pre-altitude conditioning before I give another shot in 2012. Is it too soon to go on long urban hikes now? (I just went last Friday for a 17 mile “hike” on flat city ground) or do you think I should wait until after all the calories of the holiday season?

I also looked up the list of the five “easiest” 14ers in Colorado which includes Mt. Bierstadt, Quandary Peak, Mt. Torreys, Grays Peak, and Mt. Massive. Do you think I should try these first or can you recommend some hikes in RMNP to condition for altitude once I get back to Estes Park. I bet you’re extremely busy, but any recommendations will be seriously taken. Also how is you’re 2nd book coming along? Can’t wait to read it.

Sincerely and highest regards from John in Chicago

Steph
I was just in RMNP this weekend and got my first glimpse of the Diamond on Long’s Peak.  For lack of being able to find a good partner and not really being able to figure out the point of climbing in the first place, I’ve been losing interest as of late after only a year and a half or so of climbing.  So got to work this morning and did a google search on the Diamond and found a great video of your free solo of it. 

After seeing the wall in person and your video I’ve found myself totally inspired to stick with it and wanted to send you a thanks for the inspiration.  And if you ever find yourself wondering why you yourself climb, maybe this is just one more reason.
 
Keep inspiring!
Matt

Thanks Matt and John!
I just turned in my manuscript to the publisher, which was a big milestone for me Projected publication is February 2012, so I hope there will be a lot of editing before then!

Going up to Longs takes a lot of effort, especially if you live at low altitude. The bottom line is it’s a lot of vertical gain, and things seem to get extra tiring once you get above 12,000 feet, even if you live at slightly higher elevation (around 5000 feet). As with all endurance sports, training is the answer. If you are at sea level, you can train for endurance by running or hiking hills as much as possible (this is not going to help much with the lungs at altitude, but it will be much better than not doing it).

For seven winters, I climbed in Patagonia, where most of the climbing is physically way easier than the so-called “approaching” up glaciers to get to the rock. To prepare for those trips, I would go out snowshoeing at higher altitude in the LaSal Mountains (9,000 to 10,000 feet), carrying full water bottles in a backpack. If there wasn’t enough snow, I would just hike up hills with a pack full of water bottles, and empty them for the descent (to save my knees). I did this at least 3 days a week for 4-6 weeks before my trip, and it made a huge difference. I would recommend this strategy for you too, if it’s possible. If you don’t have access to that sort of terrain, use the stairmaster machine in the gym. Simply, if you train, you will find everything much easier.

Doing some easier fourteeners first before your climb on Longs is a very good idea. Going up to higher altitude and then returning back to lower altitude will get your lungs acclimatized, and it’s true that Longs is a long walk with a LOT of up. If you can do two other easier peaks first, you will stack the odds in your favor when you go for the Keyhole.

If you are in Estes for your entire trip, I highly recommend hiking up to Gem Lake at Lumpy Ridge, and possibly even the entire loop around Lumpy Ridge, as a training hike. For another training day, you can hike up to Flat Top. You can also do a preliminary day on Longs, where you hike up to Chasm Lake. This is a beautiful hike, and you won’t go there if you do the Keyhole, since you will branch off to the right at the fork and skip Chasm Lake. Doing this has multiple advantages: the more you hike a trail, the easier it feels. And if you are familiar with the lower portion of the trail, starting in the forest, you will feel confident starting the hike with an alpine start in the dark, which also makes things easier at the top.

If you can only pick one training day, I would pick the Chasm Lake hike. With two of those three days under your legs, and adequate rest afterward, you will feel pretty good on the Keyhole.

Think about weight also. You’ll need rain gear and food. But make sure to bring some iodine water purification tablets and the neutralizer tablets. Start the hike by pounding some water at the car, and carry the empty bottle. You can fill your bottle all through the forest, and keep drinking as you hike in the trees. Fill your bottle(s) again when you pass the last stream crossing over the log bridge at the end of tree line. If you do this, you’ll be able to get very hydrated in the beginning of the hike without having to carry as much weight. I also recommend bringing ultralight hiking poles. It’s much easier to hike uphill with poles. Make sure to wear thin glove liners if you opt for poles, to keep the straps from rubbing your wrists and palms.

The Diamond is one of the most glorious places on earth….I hope you both get up there and see the columbines and the colors on the face of it this summer.
Steph

Thank you very much for writing to me Faye: I can’t even tell you how much it means to get letters like yours. I wish you all the best of luck. Stepping out takes a lot of courage, and you definitely have that There’s nothing better than learning. I hope you are finding some of what you’re looking for.
Steph

I’ve heard from other climbers that stopping climbing altogether is unnecessary though. Any experience with this? I know tweaked fingers won’t be affected too much by climbing juggy routes but your shoulders are used no matter what so I’m not sure what to think about giving up altogether. Between poor physio and fear of doing very bad damage I haven’t climbed now since September and with winter disappearing I’m getting very anxious to get back out on rock! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Take care,
Richard

Hi Richard,
Luckily I have not had any shoulder problems myself. But my best friend Lisa Hathaway is somewhat of an expert on them, because of her own experience and also because she’s just the kind of person who’s an expert on all kinds of injuries and training tidbits, as well as being a rad climber. So I asked her to share some information that I hope will help!

Hello Richard,
I’m Lisa, a friend of Steph’s. She has asked me to guest-post on the topic of shoulders. Unfortunately, I, too, have suffered shoulder issues—no fun for any climber! I had chronic dislocations of the shoulder which manifested as a damaged rotator cuff. After years of semi-successful rehans, that would eventually lead to another separation, I consulted for surgery. With no MRI, I went in for a laser treatment for the r-cuff, only to discover it was fine, if not overly loose by nature and I actually had torn ligaments in the front of the joint (I can’t remember which ones, sorry!!) They wanted to do an open procedure to repair the ligaments, but I opted for the laser “shrink-wrap” treatment to the R-cuff, and rehab, which has so far worked out! And I continue to regularly do support-muscle exercises to maintain the strength and health of all the little guys in the shoulder and back.

As I am sure you are well aware, as you have been consulting with a physio, the shoulder is a very complicated joint! It’s greatest boon—incredible mobility and all that comes with that—is also it’s greatest bane. And as climbers, we do not politely ask, but demand (maybe even with a metaphoric foot-stamp and crossed arms!) outrageous tasks from our shoulders. For climbers like you and me, that can result in dislocations (in my case) and over-use syndrome (in yours.)

Athletes in any sport are very adept at figuring out trickery to mitigate the circumstances and limitations of an injury and we will go on and on and on despite pain and consequences. I know plenty of climbers who have modified their styles and climbed rad routes with any number of misfortunes, from fused ankle, spines and fingers to detached ACLs (Jason Kehl on the FA of Evolution!) and sans finger (Tommy Caldwell on, well, you name it.) But shoulders are a different beast. We hang from them, reach from them, swing from them, prevent imminent falls from them. Extreme pain or instability in this joint can more directly affect one’s safety than most conditions we climb with if pain, impingement or instability results in a loss of grip or displaced joint. In severe instances, over use or trauma can lead to nerve damage in the neck and arms.

But even all that is not enough to stop us!

Quite honestly, personally and anecdotally, I am more familiar with impingements, tears and instability issues with shoulders. I am less familiar with tendonosis or -itis of the shoulder tendons. But as a long-time climber I’ve certainly dealt with more than my fair share of other -osises and -itises and have some tips to share—we’ll get back to that in a minute.

As far as your situation is concerned however, the first thing I would suggest (and it sounds like perhaps you have?) would be to assure you are confident of the diagnosis. It’s sounds like your physio is totally on top of things and the fact she is a climber is a huge plus. Often, medical professionals outside of the realm of climbing don’t really understand what we demand of our shoulders and the forces acting on them. People often hear “climber” and envision a well-clothed, cramponed and glacier-glassed person ascending a snow-slope with an ice axe carried below waist-level. Which you may or may not do, but I suspect you also hope to be swinging around on steep rock! And the difference is night-and-day when consulting medical help (for any of you who may be in a similar boat and aren’t as fortunate to have a climbing physio–when you consult, bring a video, photos or a magazine of what YOU do.) In diagnosis and treatment, a knee or an ankle can usually be treated the same despite the athletic demand, but endgame really comes to the forefront in a climber’s (or gymnast’s or … ) treatment for upper body joints. So, excellence of your physio notwithstanding, I would strenuously recommend an MRI to confirm your diagnosis if you’ve not had one. Athletes’ bodies are really good at inadvertently masking symptoms or leading us to misinterpret our symptoms.

Assuming your diagnosis is correct and you are not suffering from any tears or impingements, which would be a whole other conversation, we then get to treatment … and boy, what a can of worms that is for tendonitis. If you search for treatments for tendonitis, I’m sure you’ll find dozens upon dozens of recommendations, from complete immobility and rest to surgery to “grin and bear it.” And I’m sure following this, we’ll hear some advice from other climbers who have had similar maladies. But all I can do is tell you what I would do, as a completely-not-medical-professional and total-over-doer-climb-aholic!

Firstly, I would consider the root cause of this tendonitis. Normally, one gets tendonitis from over-use or from a biomechanic issue that may cause things to be “rubbed the wrong way.” My first question is: “How is your posture? Both in regular activity and climbing?” As a climber with shoulder issues herself who has never even laid eyes on you, I’ll lay a bet it’s a bit dodgy–only because that’s the case with most climbers, myself top of the list. And I don’t just mean hunching or slouching. When we climb, we tend to do so with rounded backs and shoulders forward. The best thing I ever did for my climbing was to revamp my posture to a yoga-esque “shoulders down and back.” I started this to help aid my instability—a down and back shoulder is a lot harder to yank from the socket, even with a raised arm, than a rolled forward shoulder. Upside: my lock off improved TREMENDOUSLY once this became my de-facto way to move, as it engages and recruits the larger muscles of the back.  I like to envision squeezing a quarter between my shoulder blades when I am climbing on any terrain. I started this on the easiest of routes and warm-ups and now I can do it reflexively. Correcting your posture could help a tendonitis issue tremendously. I’d add the yoga, too. Nothing like a climber in a yoga class to show how adept we are at compensating with strength for poor posture! (Full disclosure: my posture is still pretty terrible in normal activity!)

Next, are you in constant pain or only when you climb? Does it get worse only when you climb? During or after? Acute or dull? As a life-long athlete, I have always adhered to the adage “run though irritation, never through pain.” Now, that may be bad beta, but just TRY to hold down a rabid runner/climber/skier! Telling the difference between irritation and pain can be tricky and one runs high risk riding this fine line of self-appraisal as we athletes can be amazingly self-delusional when it comes to laying-off. When I have had an -osis or itis (bicep, Achilles tendon, I-T band) as well as tendon and tendon pulley injuries and strains, I have lived by this adage and I know many others who have as well. ANd I believe it has helped my recovery each time. We operate under the (medically valid and vetted) opinion that with an over-use injury or a strain, regular activity that is carefully modulated is good for blood flow to the injured area and can promote healing. A chronic injury is not unlike, well, a wart!, and as such can be semi-neglected by our bodies’ response systems—as it’s not acute, it doesn’t get the attention it needs to heal. So if we jostle it a bit, the theory loosely goes, it gets the attention it needs. But don’t do big days or thuggy things, especially right away. Build your pyramid with a nice, wide, stable and sure base! Listen to your body and use restraint! After I had shoulder surgery, my doc said I could climb in 3 months. I went out on the exact day and I didn’t feel right–so I took three more months from rock climbing and just trained and rehabbed and after 6 months off, had my best season to date.

The other techniques I use when I have a bout of -osis are to heat or warm up the afflicted area prior to activity and then I practically sprint to my ice bags after exercise. There’s this odd idea amongst many athletes I know that ice is only useful in the 48-72 hours following an acute incident, but this is so not the case. Ice, your external anti-inflammatory that is site-specific, will help decrease your swelling, which should in turn with your physio and improved posture and yoga should help to alleviate your symptoms. I also like to take an herbal anti-inflammatory called Zyflamend after a grueling sesh. It was recommended to me by a climber-chiropractor and I find it helpful. Others will tell you to quit drinking coffee. I know numerous boys, too many to discount, who insist quitting coffee (and then drinking it again) alleviated their elbow tendonosis, only to have symptoms revisit upon consuming it again. I tried that with my bicep and experienced  worsening symptoms daily! The aforementioned chiro recommended I get back on the black juice, as we are all chemically different and one mans bad ju could be a girl’s saving grace. Like I said–with these chronic issues, it’s a big ol’ can of worms!

So, in summary, from your friendly not-a-medical-professional fellow climber:
-confirm your diagnosis as all treatment is predicated from this! And you want to treat any and all issues.
-work on your posture, especially when climbing
-climb if you comfortably can, even through mild irritation, but don’t suffer, ever! And bear in mind, if you are protecting one joint and compensating in your movement, you could easily injure something else. That’s why they call them compensatory injuries!
-warm up thoroughly and even literally
-cool down properly and ice down
-consider an herbal anti-inflammatory after rigorous exercise
-do yoga and/or supplemental muscle group strengthening and stabilizing exercises
-consider diet modifications such as no caffeine, but don’t adhere to them if you feel worse
-tread lightly upon your return to activity and do small sessions.
-treat your shoulders like gold and lay-off if need be–they are really a make-or-break joint for a climber and you don’t want to end up with myriad other problems that could have been avoided by taking a year or so off.

I hope this helps and hope we hear back from you this spring – with good news and tales of happy pitches!

Lisa

I thought it would be even better to ask lots of climbers about their fantasy gear, so I asked Tom what he thought about that. He thought it was a great idea, so tell us what you think: add a comment if you have any answers to any/all of his design questions. Personally, my ultimate fantasy gear is a rope that weighs almost nothing but still works like a normal rope (somehow). Oh, and clothing that weighs almost nothing but keeps you at exactly the right body temperature in any conditions….

I’m looking forward to hearing what you guys think. Here are Tom’s questions, and best of luck on the project I hope we can help.

Hi Steph,
Thanks for replying back! That sounds like a fantastic idea, and yes it would be very beneficial to the development of my project! I’d love to get feedback from other climbers as well. I have a few questions and I’m looking for more of an opinion than a “right answer” I hope that takes off some pressure, if there was any. (:

1. What is your favorite part of climbing? Why is it your favorite? Is there anything that could make it better?

2. What is your least favorite part about climbing? (could be even something that’s kind of annoying, or you could live without) And why? Is there anything that could improve that?

3. From what you can remember what were some challenges you faced when you first started climbing? And why?

4. What helped you to overcome those challenges? Looking back now, what could’ve helped in overcoming those challenges more successfully?

5. Climbing from what I’ve experienced so far is pretty minimal in terms of gear, but when you do buy gear what helps you choose ? Pure functionality? The design? What matters to you?

and finally, this last question is meant to be fun. be as creative as you want, the skys the limit!

You were commissioned to design climbing gear for the future. You have access to any and all technological advances, what gear would you design for the climbers of the future? Why would it be relevant for them?

Thanks again for all your help Steph! I hope you have fun answering some of these questions! Looking forward to hearing from you (and possibly your blog visitors) soon. Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Tom

I am writing you because I am having a hard time finding any other information on moving to and renting in Moab. I am sure there are supposed to be governmental/department of tourism programs set up, but I have been hard pressed to find them ( maybe you could work on
commission). No Moab area craigslist, either!?

I am a climber/artist/farmer/traveler and I am looking for a spot to rest(mainly my little truck) for a bit. I’ve been to Moab a couple of times and Castleton and IC and I love it.

Are there any resources you know of to find/rent rooms? It’s cold and staying in my already overly stuffed 1980 Datsun truck does not appeal for more than a week or so.

Any ideas as a local?

Thanks so much in advance.
Yeshe

Hi Yeshe,
Moab is a pretty easy place to get by. The best thing to do is to just show up, and this is a good time of year to do it because things are quiet. If you’re not into truck camping, you can stay at the Lazy Lizard in a bed, room or cabin or just get a shower there, to start.

Usually you can find a place to rent by checking the message board at the Moonflower Market and/or talking to the people who work there, and also by checking the Advertiser paper which is a weekly local ad paper you can get free at almost any store in town.

It probably won’t take you too long to find something that works for you that way–also, days are getting longer and this has been the nicest (warmest) winter in recent memory!
Steph

I’ve seen several documentaries over the years on the topic of meat production but Earthlings really seemed to jolt me into the reality of it all. Thank you for
including posts about veganism on your blog. Without seeing your site I don’t think I would have even considered it as most of the vegans/vegetarians I have known over the years have been malnourished. Now, from my own experience, I realize its not too difficult to have a
very nutritious diet without eating meat and I feel much better-I never thought I would be saying that.

Thanks again and happy climbing
-Erin

Dear Erin,
Thank you very much for writing, and for your impressive comments. I have a good friend who quietly became vegan after watching Earthlings. I admire people who have the courage to make major lifestyle choices based on their desire to reduce harm. And I’m glad you have discovered good health and good feelings through veganism!
Steph

My dream involved us climbing and flying wing-suits.  It was one of the coolest and most satisfying dreams I have ever had.  I have been rock climbing for two years, but the nerdy truth is that once I saw the movie Point Break when I was a kid, I’ve knew I wanted to do skydiving.  Seeing advancements in technology and rigs, I then discovered wing-suits were the ultimate for me.  I’ve been tandem three times and will be getting my AFF license this spring and on my way to the end goal of BASE jumping with a wing-suit.  

I’ve only just started your book, but one line struck me as something I wish a lot of people would apply to their lives.  “Agonizing over the future is pointless.”  I’ve tried to live my life this way because you cannot change what has happened and you cannot know what will happen.  I try to live in the present and enjoy things as they come.

I love the advice you have given everyone else, but if you could share some more for someone who is head-over-heels in love with skydiving and wants to do what you do, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading and only the best for you in 2012!
—
Jared

Hi Jared,
Thanks for your nice letter The best thing about flying dreams is you never have to land…. Steph

Unfortunately, courtesy of an overly enthusiastic dismount from a bouldering problem I completed in the gym last night, I am dealing with a pretty serious ankle sprain. I heard it pop when I landed on the crash pad… it makes me wince just thinking about it. There are no fractures according to the X-rays, but I’m not out of the woods yet. There could be some major damage to some ligaments or tendons. I have to be patient and see how it goes over the next few days. I’ve been following RICE and I have a set of crutches to keep the weight off my injury.

I hope to return to activity as soon as possible, but I understand I must be smart about it. I am leaving for a 3-week trip to Central America in a month, so it is really important that am careful and take care of this properly. I know it might be awhile before I should return to bouldering, but would all climbing be something I should avoid? I have another climbing option, its a four sided natural face tower with auto-belay. It would seem that this would be a better option for my ankle than bouldering, but I’m not really sure when I will be able to return to that safely either.

Knowing this, I am primarily concerned about losing all of the great strength and fitness I’ve built up. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for exercises/activities I can do to maintain what I’ve got to the best of my ability. I’m now climbing routes at the V2 level.

Thank you so much!
Emily

Hello Steph,
Love what you do and I love watching your videos.  I needed some advice.  I’m 33 and I have been climbing for about 6 months now.  I trained hard doing strength building exercises like push up, pull ups and core exercises and cardio.  I took to climbing pretty good advancing up to 5.9 routes.  I thought I was having some tendinitis in my elbows and stopped working out and climbing  for about 2 to 3 weeks.  The pain went away but as soon as I started to climb I was in severe pain again.  I decided to see a Dr. and he said I had torn a muscle in my arm and it had caused some kind of minor nerve damage.  Good news is he said I should heal within about 3 to 4 weeks if I lay off it and go to physical therapy.  My question for you is what type of strength training, stretching and nutrition program would you recommend to make sure I’m not hurting my body? 
 
Ive found my calling in climbing to me its more than exercises or a hobby. As silly as it sounds its like Ive found my place.  Ive learned so much about myself and meet some of the best people Ive ever known in the climbing community.  I want to train right and know that I have many years of climbing ahead of me.  By the way I was the guy who asked about a good time to visit Moab on your facebook page.  I live in Georgia but once a year I head out to the West Coast and Moab looks awesome in your pictures so I figured I would check it off the list.  I was in Colorado 2011 and Montana in 2010 on backpacking trips.  Thanks in advance for any recommendations you have.  Be safe and keep inspiring!

Thank you,
Jon

Hi Emily and Jon,
Sorry that you got injured–it’s never any fun Joints seem to be if not fragile, then at least complicated, and like any intricate machine, they can be trouble when they get tweaked. In my experience with these types of strains and injuries, the exact problem is sometimes difficult to diagnose exactly even by a doctor. If they tell you it’s a strain, minor muscle tear, etc., basically you can assume that it’s going to get better on its own in a few to several weeks. If you do activity that doesn’t feel destructive, it is probably not injuring it further. Ankle pops and sprains/strains are something I’ve had frequently, and doing the aggressive RICE is really worthwhile. I’ve also taped my ankle really thoroughly, almost like a small cast, and left the tape on for several days at a time when needing to do activities, and that seems to work well with minor ankle problems while allowing you to keep doing things.

For elbows, you can’t really tape and go. I think in this case, you’ll need to be pretty patient at first and also take into consideration that the problems came up when starting into gym climbing at a pretty accelerated rate. You’ll need to dial that back a little, because this is a guaranteed cause of overuse injury. Since you like training, a good idea is to think about opposing muscle groups to climbing muscles. Reverse curls with a dumbbell bar, pushups and military presses can keep things balanced out. Doing downward dog yoga stretches or even just holding your hands out spread open with your wrists flexed a little can stretch out your forearms and all those little muscles you don’t normally notice until they get tweaked.

When you get injured and can’t do your normal activities, think about other things you can do that won’t hurt the offending body part. Swimming is amazing for fitness, and seems to be really good for climbing too (I think because it strengthens shoulders and core). Stretching, yoga, and core exercises can be hard to make time for in normal, busy life and can have very good results during some downtime from climbing.

Usually you end up healing faster than you expected
Good luck!
Steph

Was wondering if you might be able to assist me? I’m looking to write a proposal for an expedition grant and haven’t had much luck in finding templates or examples. Would you happen to know of any webpages that could provide me with this information? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Doug 

Hi Doug,
I think the grant application that the AAC has up for the Lyman-Spitzer Grant is a very good guide. I hope that helps and good luck with the application and with your trip.
Steph

I was happy to find your blog recently when my rock climbing junkie of a husband mentioned that you had some vegan recipes/strategies on your page.

I recently made a beetroot adaptation to your carrot cake recipe and posted it on my website. Just wanted to let you know that I’d referenced you and used one of your recipes. You can take a look here: http://www.poweredbyplantz.com/2012/01/beet-cake.html

All the best to you in the new year,

warm regards
-lacey

Thanks Lacey,
I love beets and I’m looking forward to trying this!
Steph