The Great Adventure

Before I get to carried away with all these trekking plans I have concerns as to my overall level of fitness. I have no experience of walking at these altitudes (6500 - 11,000ft) or indeed the rigours of daily trekking carrying a hefty load.

I've only been above 12,000ft once and that was a tourist visit up  Mount Teide  on the island of Tenerife in the Canaries. I certainly noticed the reduced oxygen at this altitude, although in fairness I had gone from sea level to the top (via car and cable car) in about 1.5 hours so perhaps a slightly more gradual acclimatisation will mitigate the effects of altitude.

In my favour I am not without form. My main sport from the age of 14 has been cycling and whilst these days I am very much a leisure cyclist (rather than the hardened club cyclist of old) it has given me a significant physical base to work from as well as leaving me mentally robust when the going gets tough.

I'm  back on my bike and currently up to my local 30 mile circuit (1hr 40) and aiming to move back onto my more hilly 45 mile circuit shortly. The other test is mountain walking and I have deliberately attacked some of my favourite walks "at the gallop" to see what the legs (and lungs) are capable off. 

One of my favourite walks is up Aran Fawwdwy seen in the image on the right from Bala Lake. Its  located near Dollgeau in mid Wales, but unfortunately is hardly a local walk as its 80 miles from Liverpool and even on the best traffic days takes me 2 hours to drive there.

Click for full sizeI normally compete the route in an anti clockwise direction, a distance of approximately eight miles in 3.75 hours (weather permitting) with an ascent of more than 2500ft.

That's not the full story however as the climb to the summit is unremitting and the final descent back down to the valley of Hengwm is a real knee breaker. Coincidentally another favourite walk  Cadair Idris is only half a dozen miles away.

For my "local" training I use Moel Famau  which is the highest summit of the Clwydian Range of hills near Mold North Wales. Its more of a hill than a mountain, but depending on the route taken the ascent to the summit is very abrupt and steep.

It has additional advantages - its more convenient to reach being only 40 minutes away from Liverpool and the walk, which is clearly marked, can be completed in just about any weather without fear of becoming disorientated and lost. My preferred route is 6.5 miles, includes ascent of 1400ft and can be completed in 1hr 45 (although I am working on reducing this time further).

So to conclude I would say that I currently have a reasonable level of fitness and stamina, but want to improve it further to build in a cushion to allow for the undoubted impact that the altitude of my proposed trip will have.

I also need to investigate walking poles - never having previously used them I can see a potential benefit from a stability perspective when walking fully laden. However I will leave that to another day and entry  ...