Shakedown for the Summit: TA's Weekly Update Feb. 6, 2010

Happy Snow Day,

 

Sitting here in my chair after an epic climb of Signal Hill to do some gear testing in today's big blizzard.  When I saw the forecast, "Snow at times heavy and blowing snow. Amount 20 cm. Wind west 60 km/h gusting to 80 except gusting to 110 along parts of the coast. High minus 4," I couldn't resist going out in it.  As St. John's winter weather is often mild, it's hard to find extreme conditions to test combinations of clothing and gear in but this week was an exception.  You can check out today's shakedown mission here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=379576&id=509940550&l=af2633e943

 

Some will remember that last February, I ventured north to Iqaluit to attend a polar training program led by Matty McNair.  "One of the key factors of any polar expedition," Matty coached, "is the shakedown."  She hounded us over and over again to experiment, test, recombine, futz, retest, and retool our gear and clothing systems before any big expedition.  Matty suggested that all gear be chosen at least one year out so there would be ample time for testing and then adapting systems.  I hear her loud and clear and have been evaluating clothing I have used in the past and acquiring some new items in the meantime.

 

I'm on a two-month countdown rather than Matty's suggested 12 months but am making good progress towards clothing combinations for various conditions and elevations.  Tuesday night delivered fairly cold temperatures (for here) and a good stiff wind resulting in a wind chill of minus 27 Celsius.  After playing two games of hockey, it was time for a different set of "padding."  When climbing the upper reaches of Everest, climbers often choose to cloth themselves in a down suit.  Rather like a sleeping bag with arms and legs, the down suit provides warm to slow moving climbers (remember high on the mountain it can take four to six breaths to take each step) in the super low temps of high altitude.

 

Given I am a fairly warm-bodied creature who pumps out heat rather easily, I have often feared immolation if I ever tried to wear my down suit inside.  Marian was game for a late night visit to the top of Signal Hill to take the suit through its paces (actually its zippers.)  I discovered that certain zipper pulls used for certain elimination tasks were too short and needed lengthening–good to know now rather than being stuck with an open zipper that I can't reach at 8000 metres.  Marian drove me up and was kind enough to record the evening's antics/costume for posterity.  You can check out the her artwork here:

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=378641&id=509940550&l=18eff3d5ae

 

Wearing the down suit is an intense experience as its fluffy folds cut you off from the environment and create kinda of a sensory deprivation situation.  Add to the suit a practice oxygen mask and goggles and the transition to urban astronaut is complete!  Wearing goggles makes it a challenge to see your feet; add the practice mask and that challenge doubles.  The practice mask had its air intake near the bottom of the mask so every time I tried to look down, my air supply was completely cut off thus being an even more realistic rendition of high altitude.  The winds were strong enough to move us around a bit as we climbed up to the summit cairn near the Ladies Lookout.  I'm hoping for a few more low temp wind chill moments to go out again with a few more combinations of clothing layers underneath my Pillsbury Dough Boy suit but overall it kept me quite cozy!

 

This was a fifty percent week.  The break in training hours and intensity gave me a chance to catch up on a few tasks and attend a few appointments.  The first part of the week seemed to be filled with "summit" energy–things were cruising along and feeling great.  The second part of the week was filled with more "valley" energy–things seemed harder and I felt more fatigued.  Funny, how I can be more tired during a rest week than during a big training week.  Having both energies in close proximity reminded me that it's good to practice being with/in the valley sometimes.  Of course, the summit is much more fun but like the tide, energy ebbs and flows.  The key is to flow with it and not attaching too much meaning to either end of the spectrum.  I noticed my mind's temptation to ramp up a bunch of doubt as my energy flagged.

 

I thought back to my 2007 expedition and wondered what effect arriving at base camp with bronchitis had on my entire experience.  I'm guessing it sent me careening towards the valley (both figuratively and eventually literally) and set off some of the same thinking I had this week.  I'm grateful for the chance to see it here when my mind is less clouded my altitude.  I can practice working with my mind on it now, do some meditation, and remind myself that likely more than half of the challenge of Everest is mental.

 

A few weeks back at the invite of Michelle (of tire pulling fame), I attend a kickboxing training session.  It was so much fun that I've been going along with her since.  There is something very elemental in learning to punch and kick.  As a kid, I studied judo.  I loved the discipline and learning to throw people and now it's being great to learn to throw punches.  About a year ago, I first gave voice to an idea:  "I want to learn to fight," I said to myself.  I had no idea what that meant or exactly why…other than a long term dream of wanting to bike from Tuktoyaktuk to Tierra del Fuego and wanting to know more about self-defense before taking that on.  I consulted a few friends who'd studied some different martial arts and poked around a few gym websites but never took any action on it.

 

There is always such joy in learning a new skill and this has been no exception.  The outward learning of weight transfer, punching combinations, and intense interval activity is fabulous.  There has been a more subtle inward learning as well related to connecting to a more primal level of assertiveness/anger than I usually experience.  I still don't really know what it all means but I do know it's darn fun and I have a sense it's going to come in handy at about 7500 metres as I "fight" to leave Camp Three for Four.

 

The blizzard abated Saturday morning just in tire for another epic pull up the hill.  I was joined in this somewhat ambitious post blizzard activity by Natelle, Michelle, and Marian.  On the first pull, the snow actually gave us a break reducing the friction we were pulling against.  On the second pull, drifts started depositing snow across the road giving us barriers to surmount and bigger wind chills to guard against.  The last half pull yielded and we could celebrate the longest pull to date 2.5 up and 2.5 back…in all a nearly 3 hour of experience of good, solid, hard work.  Thanks to my tire pulling team mates–you make it all much more fun to do!  Kent Barrett captured us in action and his commentary still has me laughing…check it out here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kentbarrett/4334943080/

 

Marian also captured some of the action on the hill this morning and you can see her photos here:

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=379939&id=509940550&l=11b9a4078a

 

I still have Everest 2010 toques for sale.  The have an embroidered Everest 2010 Logo, black knit exterior and pile on the inside for a double layer over the ears.  The toques are $20 each including tax (shipping is extra).  Email me if you are interesting in giving some toques a good home!  I'm also still selling my book, "More than A Mountain: One Woman's Everest."  If you email me and said the codeword "shakedown," I'll give you the conference rate deal of $20 including tax (shipping is extra).

 

Commercial ended…

Hope your week was filled with lots of learning, fun, and you found a few things to shakedown as well.

 

Catch ya in seven,

 

TA

*******************************************************************************
Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning

Please support the Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning Award at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

Visit the  Memorial website at  the following URL: https://www5.mun.ca/dir/viking.gv020.p001
and be sure to click the button for the award.

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor
3M National Teaching Fellow
School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com
Phone: 709-737-8670
Fax: 709-737-3979
Office:  PE 2011A
Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca
Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.
Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.
Amelia Earhart

Remember that the most difficult tasks are consummated not by a single burst of energy or effort, but by consistent application of the best you have within you.
Og Mandino
*******************************************************************************

Ladder Practice for the Khumbu: TA's Weekly Update Jan. 31, 2010

Greetings from Another Week,

 

Downtown St. John's is a cacophony of colorful rectangular houses whose front doors open onto the street and whose back doors open into secret gardens that double as cat paradises.  Today Marian and I had the joy of moving two sixteen-foot extension ladders into the back "yard."  You'd think this would be an easy task and you'd be wrong.  You see the next house is only four feet from by back door.  The door is seven feet high.  You do the math–it's impossible to have enough angle to get the ladder out the back door.

 

Plan Two.  Carry the ladder up to the second floor.  First, open front door and back ladder back unto street and angle up the stairs.  Make sure not to take out any passer-bys with the ladder.  Carry ladder upstairs and into bathroom at top of stairs.  Back ladder into dining room-the kitchen counter is full of dishes and is backed by a beam we need to maneuver the ladder around.  Ease ladder into corner of room and knock plant off windowsill but manage not to put ladder through large window.  Scrap past beam and open door and take ladder out to deck.  Reflect on the experience and move second ladder through the same path with greater aplomb.

 

Celebrate.  Ladders are longer than the deck so slide one onto neighbours roof in order to separate the extension piece from the ladder piece.  Easier said than done.  Go downstairs for pliers and return with whole toolbox.  Good thing since ladder is playing hard to get and my dad always said use the right tool for the job.  Eventually, through much problem solving, vice grips, handsaw, and many sockets, the Siamese twins are separated and lowered off the deck.  Another ladder is set at an angle using the old cupboard from the utility room renovation last summer–always knew that would come in handy.  Make another ladder course down below using some old cement blocks. 

 

Get excited.  Go find mountaineering boots and crampons–it's time!  Balancing on the ladders with sneakers was proving to pretty easy so time for the real stuff!  First choice…use middle space between front crampon teeth and back teeth?  Use front points on one rung and back teeth on another?  Use the space between the mid points to balance?  Try all three.  For now, the last option seems to be working best.  No guide ropes on the home course yet as there will be in the icefall so balance is key.  Soon I'll install some rope to be able to practice fixed rope technique (sliding my ascender along as I climb up the one ladder and across the others).  I figure my fitness can get me only so much speed–other speed will be gained from having quick ladder and ascender changes.  Check out this week's picture album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=377179&id=509940550&l=de530ad293     (sorry about last week's broken link).

 

My dad.  Missing him today and most days.  Heard the song "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley this morning.  We used it in dad's memorial video.  Every time I hear it I see the pictures of my mom and dad enjoying life together in my mind and my heart goes out to my mom who I know is missing her dear love.  I enjoyed working with tools this morning on the ladder project this morning because my dad taught me how to use them.  He taught me to take things apart and put them back together and how to make things work.  Dad taught me to put on winter tires and change the oil and cast lead bullets for the black powder rifles we would shoot together.  He taught me to drive a boat, snowmobile, and standard transmission.  His tools lessons often carried life lessons as well and I often hear myself repeating some of his wise adages.  I'm grateful that my dad taught me these skills and the confidence to use them.  I know his support and teaching have helped me go forth into many arenas considered non-traditional for women including Mount Everest. 

 

Practice.  Dad taught me the secret to any skill was practice whether soccer or downhill skiing, ladder climbing or grass cutting, public speaking or baking.  Practice does indeed make us closer to perfect and I appreciate my parents for both demonstrating this in their own lives as well as inspiring it in mine.  Practice.  It's what I try to do in preparing for all of my climbs–practice the skills and attitudes I will need on the mountain.  Mr. Hamilton, my English teacher in high school who taught me to rock climb, said it wasn't good enough to tie a figure eight knot fast.  He said, "You need to be able to tie it fast behind your back in a cold shower."  I aspire to practice so that I can cross the ladders in my back yard backwards, in crampons, with a big pack in the dark!  The Khumbu Icefall is a very dangerous place and I aim to be ready to get through it as fast and as safely as I can.  Practice will help.

 

Camp Two.  I'm just finishing up the phase of training called Camp Two.  I've got eleven hypoxic training sessions in the can and eleven to go.  As I enter Camp Three phase, the pace of training will increase once again to prepare me for the rigors of the Lhotse Face.  The phases are all at once, literal, figurative, and metaphorical (Mr. Hamilton taught me well).  We passed the two-month countdown to departure this week.  Time is both flying and moving slowly.  The to-do list grows exponentially each day and I remind myself to breathe frequently.  What needs to get done will get done and everything else will fall away.  Time to stop writing this and start laying the foundation for Camp Three.

 

Have a great week.  Thanks again for coming along! 

 

TA

 

 

--

*******************************************************************************
Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning

Please support the Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning Award at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

Visit the  Memorial website at  the following URL: https://www5.mun.ca/dir/viking.gv020.p001
and be sure to click the button for the award.

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor
3M National Teaching Fellow
School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com
Phone: 709-737-8670
Fax: 709-737-3979
Office:  PE 2011A
Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca
Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.
Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.
Amelia Earhart

Remember that the most difficult tasks are consummated not by a single burst of energy or effort, but by consistent application of the best you have within you.
Og Mandino
*******************************************************************************

Flat Stanley is in the House: TA's Weekly Update Jan. 27, 2010

Good Morning,

 

I'm back in my chair after a whirlwind road trip to the far side of the province.  Marian and I headed out Friday morning to drive to Gambo.  There I did a first–I presented at Smallwood Academy to the entire school of Kindergarten through Grade Twelve.  In the past, I've done either K-6 or 7-12 so keeping the entire school of 300 students engaged was a good challenge.  I had no idea in 2006 when I first visited Everest 2010 trekking team member Jacinta Macgrath's school in Trepassey that I would go onto to visit over 60 schools and speak to over 21,000 kids in Newfoundland and Labrador since.

 

Monday, in Corner Brook, we picked up Flat Stanley 2010.  Those that have been following my adventures since 2006, will remember that I took a Flat Stanley to Mount Everest in 2007 from Woodland Primary School in Grand Falls-Windsor.  Flat Stanley is a children's book character who was flattened by a bulletin board. He travels in an envelope by mail with miniature milk and cookies packed by his mom.  He visits different parts of the world and reports back on his experiences.  In September, on the day I was leaving for Australia, I presented to the Edge Education Conference here in St. John's.

 

Patricia Edwards was in the audience that day and afterwards came to ask if I would take her class' Flat Stanley with me in 2010.  I said I would be thrilled to and given a speaking booking in Springdale, I offered to pick up Flat Stanley myself in Corner Brook.  I spoke to almost the entire school and enjoyed walking the school corridors that had been festooned with prayer flags that Madame Edwards' class had painted.  I had my picture taken with every member of her class and Roger's Cable even paid a visit to learn about the upcoming expedition.  Patricia hosted Marian and I in her home and I look forward to the special connection with her class that will be built as Flat Stanley reports back on his experience.  Here's a link to see pictures of Flat Stanley 2010:  (http://bit.ly/bj2wb)

 

Tuesday, we woke up beside the beautiful Indian River in Springdale at the Riverwood Inn.  (http://www.riverwoodinn.ca/).  The sunrise colors reflected in the river were stunning.  We were treated to a night in such luxury by the Inn's owner, who was one of many sponsors, who made my visit to Springdale possible.  Margaret Stirling, facilitator of the Bridging the Gap program in Springdale, asked me to come speak to the students in the class.  As the class is small, I suggested partnering with the local high school to be able to reach more people with my visit.  She brought together the Town of Springdale, several programs, several sponsors, and the result was a packed house in the theatre in Indian River High School. 

 

The Springdale partnerships also enabled me to leverage the road trip to include the visits to Gambo and Corner Brook.  A talk to 14 students in one program blossomed into an outreach to over 1400 youth and adults in three locations…wow…the power of working together pays dividends!  The visit also allowed me to train in some deeper snow by spending two days snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in Gros Morne National Park and a half-day downhill skiing in Corner Brook.  Special thanks to Todd Wight of the Ocean View Hotel in Rocky Harbour, (http://www.theoceanview.ca/) for finding us a place to stay in Rocky Harbour. 

 

And now, as my father would say, "If you want to dance, you have to pay the band"… time to get off my chair and stuff five days of intense training into three.  It's the last week of Camp Two and a 100% week.  Pitter, patter, time to get 'atter!

 

Have a good week,

 

TA

 

--

*******************************************************************************
Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning

Please support the Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning Award at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

Visit the  Memorial website at  the following URL: https://www5.mun.ca/dir/viking.gv020.p001
and be sure to click the button for the award.

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor
3M National Teaching Fellow
School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com
Phone: 709-737-8670
Fax: 709-737-3979
Office:  PE 2011A
Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca
Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.
Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.
Amelia Earhart

Remember that the most difficult tasks are consummated not by a single burst of energy or effort, but by consistent application of the best you have within you.
Og Mandino
*******************************************************************************

A New Altitude: TA's Weekly Update 1-17-10

Good Evening,

 

In an unusual moment, I am lost for words.  In the scale of human tragedy, this week's earthquake in Haiti has given me (and most folks I know) an occasion for pause, for prayer, and for sorting out how best to be of service/help.  It is hard to wrap our minds around the amount of devastation, pain, and suffering.  I take solace in hearing of and reading the stories of courage, compassion, and generosity that get sifted and shared from the rubble of such a time. 

 

I had a good week of training.  Things seem to be progressing on schedule and the long hours of planning, logging, and activity seem to be beginning to pay dividends. Bryhanna Greenough's interview for The Scope came out on Thursday and I was so pleased to be featured on the cover.  Kevin Coffey did an excellent job with the photographs–we'd had fun looking for a "mountain" on Signal Hill.  You can find the article at http://thescope.ca/features/to-the-summit

 

I promised some more information about hypoxic training.  In light of the absence of words, I've put together a photo essay that documents some of the realities of high altitude living and how hypoxic training works.  Basically in a nutshell (and highly simplified), as you ascend, the atmospheric pressure declines.  The amount of oxygen is always the same (approx. 21%) but the molecules of O2 get further apart as the pressures lessens making it harder to get as much oxygen in each breath.  At Mount Everest base camp, it is as if there is half as much oxygen as at sea level while at the summit, it is like there is 32% of the oxygen of sea level.

 

In a reduced oxygen environment, the body makes a bunch of physiological changes to cope with the reduction in available oxygen.  You breathe deeper and faster, your heart pumps faster and harder, and the ph level of your blood changes.  If you ascend slowly enough, your body can change enough to keep up, if you do not, you may suffer from Acute Mountain Sickness.

 

What the hypoxic training does for me is mimics this travel to high altitude.  It allows my body to make a few changes in advance and to increase my fitness.  The trick, since life at high elevations stresses our bodies, to find the right balance between time at altitude and time at sea level.  Some people have trained hypoxically too much before climbs and then bonked on the actual climb. 

 

So, since a picture is worth a thousand words, and since I am a bear of few words this week, I invite you to click on this URL that will take you to the photo essay I put together: http://bit.ly/89RKbT

 

I spoke at Crescent Collegiate this week to 600 junior high and high school students.  It was fantastic to be back in a school and I look forward to a few more school visits this week.  It's a 90% training week that I will push into the first four days to make room for road trip to the Western part of the island for some school talks and outdoor training. 

 

Have a good week,

 

TA

 

*******************************************************************************
Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning

Please support the Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning Award at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

Visit the  Memorial website at  the following URL: https://www5.mun.ca/dir/viking.gv020.p001
and be sure to click the button for the award.

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor
3M National Teaching Fellow
School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com
Phone: 709-737-8670
Fax: 709-737-3979
Office:  PE 2011A
Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca
Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.
Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.
Amelia Earhart

Remember that the most difficult tasks are consummated not by a single burst of energy or effort, but by consistent application of the best you have within you.
Og Mandino
*******************************************************************************

Avoiding "Insanity" TA's Weekly Update 1-9-2010

Howdy,

 

It's near the end of the first week of my Camp Two training phase and it's been an interesting week of activity and reflection.  This week was a bit of a rest week with a few parts of the training program forgiven to reduce the intensity for the week to a level of 60%.  The intensity grows from week to week and culminates in either a 90% or 100% week for the last one of each phase.  Having just come off the final 100% week of Camp One, I noticed a pull to want to continuously ramp up the intensity, however my past experience of overtraining tells me otherwise and I did my best to modulate those impulses.

 

I saw someone's Facebook status update this week listing this familiar quote by Albert Einstein, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  It got me thinking about how I was training for Everest and evaluating what I was doing the same and what I was doing differently than in 2007.  When talking to former expedition teammates or mountaineering acquaintances, I frequently ask them the same question, "What will you do differently or the same this time round?"  I appreciate hearing reflections on their experiences and feel I can learn from lots by listening.

 

Hopefully by now, your curiosity is piqued and you are asking yourself, "What is TA doing differently this time?"  Here's some insights into what I am up to…

 

Nutrition and fueling–I am being very intention and mindful about both what I am eating and the timing of meals and snacks.  I decided a few months ago that I wanted there to "be less of me to haul up the mountain."  Whether I am carrying weight in my backpack or on my body, it's still weight I have to propel up the peak so I set a goal of losing some body fat while preserving and building muscle/strength. 

 

With the support of Allied Health Services at Memorial University of Newfoundland (http://www.mun.ca/hkr/ahs/about/), I've met with Holly Grant and she helped me set up specific parameters to use to attain this important goal.  Using her sport nutrition expertise, she's chosen a calorie load for me to hit each day with specific goals related to the macronutrients of carbohydrates (55%), proteins (20%), and fats (25%).  I measure all my food and enter it into a training log–it takes about an hour each day to do all the logging of both my training and food but I've come to see it as valuable information and mini celebration of each meal well chosen.  Holly checks it frequently and gives advice on how to tweak the foods I am using for fuel.  As a result of this mindfulness, I notice I am eating very delicious meals that are made from whole, fresh ingredients, am eating slower, refueling directly after exercise with a mix of carbs and protein, and thinking food is a marvelous thing!   

 

Rest and Relaxation–With hindsight, I realized that I went to Everest in 2007 having done too much and having slept too little…too much training, too much public speaking, too much of everything and not enough rest.  My goal for this attempt is to go to the mountain well rested and very eager to work hard.  In light of this, I have set a sleep goal of eight hours per night–this is a challenge since I naturally seem to need seven hours.  Like parents, with an early morning toddler, who need some extra rest, I have a morning curfew and don't allow myself to get out of bed until I have reached eight hours of "horizontal" time even if this means lying quietly or meditating.  With Marian's coaching, I've taught myself to go back to sleep in the early morning rather than rev the jets of my mind's engine with everything I need to get done.  I have simplified my life greatly and reduced my expectations about how much and what I can get done.  I continuously ask the question of "Will this help me climb Everest or can it wait until after the climb?"  I regularly say "No" these days…a relatively new word in my vocabulary.

 

Enlisting Expertise–Before the launch of Everest 2010 Mountain of Learning last fall, I cobbled together a sponsorship invitation package for it.  Using a past template, I tried to put together something that might work.  Soon after that event, I met with Deborah Bourden at AppleCore Interactive (http://www.applecore.ca/) and she said her team could help me out.  Yesterday, their rendition of my sponsorship invitation got uploaded to my website and printed off…it's stunning and beautiful and a reminder that there are times, I need to stretch and ask for the assistance of others.  Given my shyness, sometimes it's easy to do something myself than walk through the fear to ask for help.  Please visit my sponsorship page (http://www.taloeffler.com/sponsorship.asp) and see AppleCore's excellent work.  If you have any contacts that might be interesting in the benefits of sponsorship, please let me know.  I need your help in making such connections.

 

A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of doing a training session with Phil Alcock at Core Health Spa (http://www.corehealthspa.ca/).  After that session, I reflected on the strength training that I was doing.  Again, I had turned to past training regimes, read a few books, and put together a workable program that I was doing on my own in the gym.  Given my goal of going to the mountain as physically and mentally strong as I can be, I realized another change was in order.  Even though it meant a financial stretch, I knew I wanted to work with Phil intensively until I head off for the mountain.  He has the expertise to create a varied, demanding, and specific training program for me.  We worked together three times this week and he had me jumping up stairs two and three at a time, climbing down stairs on hands and feet, balancing on an upside down BOSU, and producing copious amounts of sweat.  With Phil pushing me, I work harder than I would on my own.

 

Similarly, a few months ago, in a wonderful exchange of a delicious dinner for expertise, my colleague Fabien Basset (http://www.mun.ca/hkr/research/) set up my training plan for the last four months before the mountain.  An exercise physiologist with expertise in both hypoxic training and coaching, he set up a periodized program to have me peak at the right time.  In programs I designed myself, I tended to peak early and risk overtraining.  He revamped the hypoxic training program into three sessions a week that utilize hypoxic exercise intervals followed by normoxic recovery intervals.  What does this mean in English?  It means I hike on the treadmill at a 15% grade wearing a 30 pound pack while wearing a mask that channels less than the regular amount of oxygen in room air for set intervals of intense work then remove the mask for recovery.  I'll do a future update explaining the science and reasoning behind such a strategy but for now, I appreciate having access to Fabien's vast expertise.

 

Climbing Team–In choosing my outfitter for this year's attempt, I elected to go with Peak Freaks (http://peakfreaks.com/).  As is my practice, I like to "date before going steady" so I climbed with them in the fall of 2008 on Pumori.  I found I liked the small team ambiance and cohesion.  I am thrilled that the team's leadership for next spring's climb will be Tim Rippel and Hugo Searle (both of whom I climbed with in 2008).  A third guide I haven't met yet will join them.  Additionally, I had the privilege of climbing with four of my teammates on that same climb.  For most of my climbs, I am meeting my colleagues on day one of the climb.  It will be great to already have a foundation on which to build a deeper camaraderie and trust. 

 

On many of my climbs, I am the solo woman.  As a hockey player, I am superstitious (I always put my left skate on first etc. and I watch for omens or rituals that seem to contribute to winning and propagate them).  There are two other women on Peak Freak's Everest 2010 team.  When I look back, I can see that whenever there as been another woman with me on a seven summits climb, I have summitted.  No guarantee but a wonderful omen and an opportunity for a different team climate than last time where I was outnumbered 60 to one.

 

Trekking Team–I am so excited and grateful to have company from home for the trek to base camp in 2010.  A climb of Everest is a long and intense 2.5-month group living experience and so it will be fantastic to have a team of four friends from Newfoundland trekking in with the expedition.  For the trek, I will be joined by Marian Wissink, Nadia Schenk, Natelle Tulk, and Jacinta McGrath.  All have been brave enough to follow me through the Grand Canyon and now are taking the challenge a little further and higher by coming along to Nepal.  We had our first almost-full team training session last night in the dark on the back side of Signal Hill.  We did hiking intervals and placed rocks on the summit cairn to mark the beginning of our shared journey.  Sharing the training and the climb with the WOKies in 2008 on Kilimanjaro was a life-changing event and I'm so glad to have such a fine group of women join me for the trek.

 

I realize it was a reflective week because I had two interviews about the upcoming climb.  One was with long-time Everest chronicler and climber, Alan Arnette (http://www.alanarnette.com/), and one with Bryhanna Greenough of The Scope (one of our local weeklies)…each interview provided thought-provoking questions and an opportunity to share my preparations for the climb and that got me thinking about what I was doing differently and the pulls to do the same as before (and expect different results a la Einstein). 

 

A question for you…What do you need to do differently?

 

You can check out Alan's interview with me on his website (http://bit.ly/4Kz2LM) or his Outside Magazine blog on Monday (http://bit.ly/4GXoWf).

 

Keep an eye on The Scope (http://thescope.ca/) for Bryhanna's story.

 

Thanks for coming along on this Mountain of Learning,

 

TA

 

PS.  A reminder that the expedition is raising funds for a student award in experiential education at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  Tax deductable donations can be made at the following URL: (https://www5.mun.ca/dir/viking.gv020.p001)

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Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning

Please support the Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning Award at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

Visit the  Memorial website at  the following URL: https://www5.mun.ca/dir/viking.gv020.p001
and be sure to click the button for the award.

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor
3M National Teaching Fellow
School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com
Phone: 709-737-8670
Fax: 709-737-3979
Office:  PE 2011A
Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca
Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.
Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.
Amelia Earhart

Remember that the most difficult tasks are consummated not by a single burst of energy or effort, but by consistent application of the best you have within you.
Og Mandino
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Happy 2010: TA's Weekly Update 01-02-2010

Happy New Year!

 

Wow!  It's 2010 and today is a palindrome (01022010), as an odometer moment queen* that's pretty exciting!  (* An odometer moment queen is someone who is fond of numerical fun such as the time 12:34:56 and car odometer moments such as 1234567).  So it's a fresh year and a fresh decade with a hip numerical address.

 

The new year is so often filled with thoughts of newness: new dreams, new goals, new behaviours, new semesters…but on the dawn of the new year, I found myself pondering more about the past than the future.  I've recently been reading Julie Angus' "Rowboat in a Hurricane" and during big storms on their crossing of the Atlantic in a very small boat, they would put out a sea anchor.  The sea anchor, shaped much like a drogue parachute, helps keep the boat oriented correctly in storms so it doesn't breach to the waves.

 

So that got me to thinking…about sea anchors and regular anchors…and about how one was to keep you firmly from moving and the other was for use during a storm though I guess if you were close enough to shore, you could use a regular anchor to hold the boat during a storm.  So anchors can both hold you steady in one place or perhaps enable you to survive vicious sea states…then I began to wonder about the past…was the past an anchor that holds us in one place or guidance for when storms hit? 

 

For me, I latched onto the sea anchor analogy…that the past provides stability for launching forth into what is coming.  I think there can be temptation to anchor ourselves to what we know we can do or where we are comfortable but I know for me, I'm not satisfied staying in harbour, that I need and want to venture out to get new views and new vistas.  I spent the afternoon at The Rooms, the Provincial Archive, Museum, and Art Gallery.  Many of the exhibits celebrated the expeditions and sea voyages of Captain Bob Bartlett so perhaps that's why anchors and setting out are occupying my mind.

 

In many ways the journey from 2007 to 2010 has been the length of a heartbeat and in other ways, the length of several decades.  I can't believe three years has passed and less than three months remain until I return to Everest.  I find myself looking back and looking forward at the same time.  Reflecting on my past climb and the lessons that I've extracted from it while at the same time planning and training for going back while all the while trying to remember to be present now, in this moment, in this time.

 

Yesterday as I pulled my tire up Signal Hill once again and the exertion forced me to turn my eyes down to the asphalt beneath my feet, I was very present in each step.  I noticed the small pebbles that would roll out from beneath my foot, the instant scraping crescendo of picking up a bottle cap beneath the tire, a cigarette butt, a brief skiff of wind across my cheek and the instant release from the bondage of lactic acid upon a momentary stop.  Given two trips up a week, I imagine that I will become even more familiar with the micro-world that unfolds with each step up the hill.  In those moments of intense physical outlay, I do find small pockets of attention to imagine the Lhotse Face or final traverse and try to deposit some of that physical work in a reserve bank that I can draw on when I actually am on the Lhotse Face or in the Khumbu Icefall.  Kudos go out to Michelle Young for having the courage to pull a tire up with me on Friday and special thanks to Marian for her keeping our tires safe from turning cars!

 

I had a excellent week of training–it was the last week of Camp One.  Monday marks the beginning of Camp Two with an increased emphasis on strength training and the beginning of hypoxic training on the Go2Altitude system.  I was able to witness and recognize several training gains this week and that's always a wonderful gift that helps fuel the further hard work that the next month will deliver.

 

Thanks to all who've been holding Oma in their thoughts.  My family is keeping a close eye on her and she's be able to continue living where she's to for now.  Thanks for joining me on the dawn of this new year and decade.  I wish you and yours all the best in 2010 and beyond.

 

Have a good week,

 

TA

 

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Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning

Please support the Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning Award at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

Visit the  Memorial website at  the following URL: https://www5.mun.ca/dir/viking.gv020.p001
and be sure to click the button for the award.

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor
3M National Teaching Fellow
School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com
Phone: 709-737-8670
Fax: 709-737-3979
Office:  PE 2011A
Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca
Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.
Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.
Amelia Earhart

Remember that the most difficult tasks are consummated not by a single burst of energy or effort, but by consistent application of the best you have within you.
Og Mandino
*******************************************************************************

TA's Weekly Update December 26, 2009

Happy Boxing Day!

 

It's been a quiet relaxing few days around here as I timed my training to take a few rest days around the holidays.  I had trained eight days solid since returning from Edmonton so spending Christmas Eve and Dad doing little physical activity was a welcome break.  I hope the best of the holiday season found you and your family over the past week.

 

My training is divided into four phases named Camp One-Four after the camps we will us on Mount Everest next spring.  I have one more week in Camp One before moving up to Camp Two.  Each phase introduces new goals and new training activities and is periodized to gradually increase the workload.  As my training progresses and the time to the climb becomes shorter, training or other injuries become more of a concern because there is less time to get them healed before the climb. 

 

I aim to treat training injuries as they arise and be cognizant of staying healthy in all respects of my life.  Some ask if I will give up hockey and the answer is "No."  It's a critical part of my life for both training and mental health.  I will play less aggressively and will do my best to avoid areas on the ice that are more likely to create injuries (i.e. racing for the puck near the end boards).

 

Along with my own precautions, I have privileged to have the support of a great body care team.  Last week I said I would introduce the folks who are being kind enough to support by Everest efforts by donating their services/expertise.  Dr. Amy Butt, Director of Allied Health Services at Memorial University of Newfoundland, mobilized the first group of folks.  (http://www.mun.ca/hkr/ahs/about/)  Allied Health Services offers a variety of testing and professional services to members of the Memorial University community and the general public.

 

Through Allied Health Services, Todd Row, a certified athletic therapist, is treating me.  Athletic therapists have training and expertise in treating and rehabilitating athletes and getting them back into the game/back to training as quickly as possible.  Todd keeping an eye on some of my nagging training injuries that seem to keep popping up (oh how I miss my 39 year old body:-).  Todd uses a combination of modalities such as ultrasound, electrical stimulation, assisted stretches and exercise prescription to treat various owies. (highly technical term).

 

Also, through Allied Health Services, Mike Pollard, a certified massage therapist and expert in sports massage, is keeping my legs limber and able to handle the huge training load.  Since flexibility has never been one of my strengths, Mike's work on my legs is a real help in staying the training course. 

 

Finding the right balance between energy expenditure (training) and energy intake (eating) is always a challenge.  For me right now it is more tricky than usual because some days I am burning close to 2000 calories in training–that can make for some interesting appetite spikes.  Fortunately, I have Holly Grant, sports nutritionist, on my team.  Working through Allied Health Services, Holly assists athletes in finding the right balance of macro and micronutrients to maximize performance.  I log meals into software that Holly checks in and offers suggestions on how I can make substitutions in what I am eating to hit the balance of nutrients she is suggesting. 

 

Through Allied Health Services, I also have access to VO2 Max testing, Basal Metabolic Rate testing, and underwater weighing–all of which are being used to track the effectiveness of training.  As January is often a time for setting up resolutions and making positive lifestyle changes, I highly recommend Allied Health Services if you need some expertise in bringing some of those changes to fruition.

 

Along with massage and athletic therapy, I also have Janice Drover of Core Insight (http://www.coreinsight.ca/), looking after my body.  Janice is a certified Sports Chiropractor who uses Active Release Technique in treating my injuries/sore spots.  Janice spent a year treating Olympic athletes in Calgary and will be heading out to Vancouver to treat Paralympians during their games in March so I know I am in good hands.  Within the Core Insight office, there are several other practitioners so they are also a good resource for New Year's Resolutions.

 

For me, mountaineering is a team activity.  I am grateful to my pre-climb "Body Team" and appreciate their generosity, support, and care.  On the mountain, there is the base camp medical clinic to draw upon as well as having some doctors and a dentist on our climbing team (I'm hoping not to use their services very much or at all this time!!!).

 

Time to go pull a tire up Signal Hill!

 

Take good care,

 

TA

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*******************************************************************************
Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning

Please support the Everest 2010: Mountain of Learning Award at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

Visit the  Memorial website at  the following URL: https://www5.mun.ca/dir/viking.gv020.p001
and be sure to click the button for the award.

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor
3M National Teaching Fellow
School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com
Phone: 709-737-8670
Fax: 709-737-3979
Office:  PE 2011A
Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca
Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.
Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.
Amelia Earhart

Remember that the most difficult tasks are consummated not by a single burst of energy or effort, but by consistent application of the best you have within you.
Og Mandino
*******************************************************************************