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Ask the Expert
Big-Wall Warrior Mark Synnott Answers
Your Climbing Queries
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I am preparing to climb Mt. Kenya next summer, but I am unsure
what I should be focusing on when I am at the gym, weights or
cardiovascular? I have a year to prepare and I want to be really fit. I
have been on long treks before but not at high altitudes. I would
really appreciate your help.
—Sara Knox, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Sara,
If it was me I would be concentrating much more on the cardio than I
would be on the weights. Unless you are training for high end sport
climbing, there are a lot of things that will improve your climbing quicker
than weight lifting. I never lift weights, but I do tons of cardio. Instead of
pumping iron, I try to apply that time to specific finger exercises and
getting in as much time as I can on the rock. If you are going to be doing a
non-technical route your training should be almost all cardio. Hiking up
big hills with a heavy pack is one of the best things you can do. You can
also train yourself mentally by going out on some grueling hikes or runs
and pushing through when you hit those walls of pain and suffering.
Learning how to make it through those times when it doesn't seem
worth it might just make the difference on your climb between turing back
and making the summit.
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About Our Expert
"A lot of people don't realize it, but the only thing you really need to climb
big walls, or any big route, is determination," says Mark Synnott. OK. But
what else does it take to best a big wall?
E-mail Mark and he'll give you the skinny on everything from grub to
gear to getting started. And he should know.
Mark has bagged more than 50 big walls, including Argentina's Cerro
Torre and first ascents on Canada's Baffin Island and southern Asia's
Karakoram Range. And when he's not climbing, he's helping design new
North Face equipment or contributing to magazines like National
Geographic, Outside, and Climbing.
E-mail Mark
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Climber Mark Synnott
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National Geographic Atlas of the World