How to train for mountain climbing? The most asked question from those who are going to the mountains for the first time. The easiest way is to find a book on the Internet dedicated to mountaineering training and post it here with a bunch of graphs, tables, formulas and text. But this will simply be an unsubscribe and in most cases is not suitable for those who are not professionally involved in mountaineering and tourism, but are simply planning to go to accessible mountain peaks. Therefore, everything that is written below will be interesting and suitable for people who do not regularly study physical training. For those who train constantly or are involved in any kind of sport, there will be interesting information about what you need to shift your emphasis on when preparing for the mountains. It may seem to some that the number of exercises is small or they are simple, believe me, everything described below is effective and optimally suited for preparing for hiking or climbing in the mountains. The recommendations are mainly designed for climbing up to a height of 6000 meters (Elbrus, Kazbek, Damavand or Mont Blanc), because if you are planning to climb a seven-thousander (for example, Lenin Peak), these trainings will not be enough.
First, we will describe the general principles, and then we will describe specific training parameters with numbers. You need to start physically preparing at least two months before your trips, ideally six months. You won't be able to get in shape and recover in a month. Because you must follow the rule: give your body a rest two weeks before the ascent date. The rest is not passive: in the first week you can go to the horizontal bar twice a week and do 50% of the maximum possible pull-ups, run no more than 2 km twice a week. In the second, closer to the trip, it is better to take a complete break from physical activity.
The main emphasis in training for climbing should be on increasing the body's endurance, i.e. ability to withstand long-term loads. Running is ideal for this. For example, if three months before your trip to the mountains you trained actively in gym, it will be less effective than three months of running. Therefore, run as much as possible. It is important to understand that the earlier you start training, the better, preferably at least three months before the trip, but even if you started training a month in advance, it will be better than not doing anything at all. Of course, physical preparation for climbing should not be limited to running (and, say, not just running, but specific running, but more on that below).
Let's be honest and say right away that sometimes training doesn't help, and a person who trained hard a year before the climb cannot reach the top. The individual characteristics of the body in its reaction to a lack of oxygen play a role here. From personal experience: a participant came to the Caucasus to climb Elbrus, seemingly physically strong and resilient. On acclimatization trips he walked faster than everyone else and didn’t get tired. A year before the trip I ran long distances 20 km and 40 km, I trained on the horizontal bar and could do 20 pull-ups. When we arrived on the slopes of Elbrus, he barely climbed to a height of 4100, after which, having suffered from headaches and nausea for a couple of days, he decided to descend. Such cases are isolated, but they do happen. In any case, training will increase your chances of climbing, and we recommend that you be physically prepared. You can also read a manual on running, of which there are a lot on the Internet, and it will more professionally describe how to start running.
The main problem is to start running without overtraining your body from excessive zeal. If you have not trained at all, it is better to run little and slowly, but three times a week, than a lot and quickly, but once or twice a week. The basic principle is to start slowly and not overload. Try it from short distances: 2 km of slow running is within the power of anyone. Over time it is important to achieve long run at least 40 minutes, preferably an hour.
It is necessary not to forget about exercises for other parts of the body, because in addition to the legs, the backpack is carried by the back, and other parts are constantly involved. The gym and horizontal bar are suitable for such training, but do not forget that we give priority to running. For example, a weekly interval can be planned as follows: running two or three times and one day (on which you do not run) in the gym or on the horizontal bar.
And another piece of advice, sometimes you shouldn’t tie your workout to the days of the week, focus more on your well-being (just don’t confuse fatigue with laziness). A small note: cycling is a good thing, but running is better for climbing mountains.
Now about the specifics of training for climbing. It is very effective (tested on myself) to add specific exercises to running. There is no special secret here, all this was written 50 years ago in books on the physical training of climbers, we list these features in training:
Interval (ragged) running - for example, 200 meters you run very quickly (80-90% of the maximum possible speed) then 400 meters of slow, “resting” running, the entire distance is no more than 3 km. An effective activity (and very exhausting), this is exactly the kind of jerky loads that are often found in the mountains.
Walking with large steps-lunges forward - try with 20 lunges, then adjust according to your capabilities, increasing or decreasing the number of lunges. Be careful, after the first workout your muscles may be very sore.
Running up the stairs - and you need to run up each step (not walk, but run) and run down each step as well. Try starting with three runs back and forth up the stairs of a 9-story building, then adjust the number of runs. This workout is ideal for climbing and will especially help you adapt to descents. Many climbers forget that getting to the top is half the battle; ahead lies a long, exhausting descent, which for some is harder than the climb. Many people's muscles are not adapted to such loads, because in the city and on the plains we don't walk so much downhill, this is unusual for the leg muscles.
There was a case when a participant, running 120 km supermarathons at home, was unable to descend from Elbrus to the very bottom and had to call a snowcat to take him down. At this time, the guide calmly and without tension descended under his own power.
The fatigue at the top is very noticeable. A long descent lies ahead
Single leg squats, pistols - start with one rep and then increase. For information, this exercise was included in the mandatory exam when selecting participants for Soviet Himalayan expeditions to eight-thousanders. They had to squat at least 30 times on one leg, you can try it.
Regular squats too good exercise for climbing.
The listed exercises are very important for preparing for ascents and give a tangible effect. But you shouldn’t do only them all the time, alternate with regular running, it’s also not necessary to do them all, but a couple of them need to be included (or alternated) in your training. And the most important exercise is tracking your heart rate during all workouts. Yes this is one of them the most important rules, because most, due to overtraining, after a month of starting training, or even earlier, the body is in a worse state than before training. And if you can’t do 40 lunges or 5 squats on one leg, but you can run 6 km at a regular run, this will have no effect on mountain climbing than overtraining (tested on personal experience). The simplest test is to take your pulse immediately after running. If within 5 minutes your heart rate has not dropped below 120 beats per minute, you should change your workout and reduce its intensity. In the mountains, such “overtrained” people are immediately noticeable; during rest after the trek, they recover poorly, their heart rate at altitude almost does not drop, and this is a big load on the heart.
Now some specific things:
1. If you haven’t trained at all, start by running twice a week and short distances of 2-3 km. Easily? Increase and run three times a week. It’s better to focus on the duration of the run in terms of time, rather than the mileage; try to bring the running time to up to an hour.
2. At the beginning, include specific exercises once a week, later, when the level of training increases, it is enough to do them a couple of times a week.
3. Don’t forget about training other muscles, do exercises on the horizontal bar and in the gym (abs, back, pull-ups, push-ups, etc.)
4. Sometimes there is a desire not to train, not to run, although I have already had three days of rest. What should I do? We do a “lazy workout”, a 2 km run (even if you already run 6 km or more freely) and three pull-ups on the horizontal bar; if during this “training” you want to do more, follow these desires. The essence of this is simple, any physical exercise won't let you fall physical fitness, which you typed. Therefore, even such a “lazy day” will have an effect.
To help you decide whether you are ready for the climb, we provide approximate parameters for some exercises.
You are physically ready for the climb, if you can (do not do the exercises all at once, but at different times):
run at any pace for 8 km (or an hour according to time);
do pull-ups on the horizontal bar 7 times for men and 1 time for girls;
squat on one leg 3 times;
do push-ups from the floor 20 times;
run back and forth up the stairs of a 9-story building three times;
squat on both legs 50 times.
You are more or less ready for climbing if you can:
run at any pace for 5 km (or 30 minutes in time);
pull up on the horizontal bar 4 times for men and 2 times with support on one leg for girls;
squat on one leg 1 time;
do push-ups from the floor 15 times;
run back and forth up the stairs of a 5-story building twice;
squat on both legs 40 times.
You need to do physical training if:
run at any pace for no more than 3 km;
do pull-ups on the horizontal bar 2 times for men and 1 time with support on one leg for girls;
I can’t squat on one leg once;
cannot do push-ups more than 10 times;
it’s impossible to run back and forth up the stairs of a 9-story building more than once;
squat on both legs 30 times or less.
Some may find it easy to do. Wonderful! You are ready to go to the mountains right now. For those who need to work on themselves, we suggest starting today.
Hiking is not only a fun and interesting undertaking. A multi-day hike requires strict organization and preparation, otherwise things can turn out badly. The main task when preparing and conducting a hike is to ensure the safety and comfort of all its participants.
Preparation plan for the hike
- Gather a group of people willing to embark on this venture.
- Decide where the hike will take place. Where people will be thrown out, where they will be taken away. How far does it have to go?
- Determine deadlines.
- Assign responsibility for certain responsibilities.
- Buy tickets.
- Electronic copies of documents of trekking participants are required: passports, insurance, medical policies, foreign passports.
- Divide participants into groups. For example, for the distribution of tents.
- Get directions. The duration of the hike and the amount of food needed depends on it.
- Physical preparation for the hike.
- Immediately the day before the hike, you need to cut your nails and braid your hair.
Distribution of responsibilities
It is not for nothing that the distribution of roles takes place several months before the trip. Each expedition member prepares independently, according to the chosen role. For example, the navigator must draw up one or more route options and discuss them with the group. Try to optimize the route, learn about it from other expeditions. Be prepared to shorten the route.
The food manager or supply manager is responsible for food. He must ask all participants about their favorite and least favorite foods, whether they have allergies, and whether they are vegetarians. Then he creates a food layout based on the preferences of the participants and the characteristics of the route. He can count on when the expedition will pass by, for example, a locality and take this into account in the layout. In addition, he knows exactly who has food for the current day and is ready to start preparing it as quickly as possible. He also gives out dry rations - dried fruits and nuts for the day, so you can have a snack on the go. And is responsible for the integrity of food-related equipment.
The physician must be ready to provide medical assistance. You can assign him an assistant of the opposite sex, so that the expedition members can be frank when talking about their health.
Before the trip, the doctor needs to interview each member of the expedition about the presence of health problems. This information should remain unknown to others. For example, someone has allergies or chronic diseases. The physician must prepare for possible difficulties.
Zavsnar is in charge of the equipment. It must be in the right quantity and in proper condition. Burners, ropes, pegs, tents, sleeping bags. In addition, he can give advice on clothing. For example, advise buying new boots if he sees that the existing ones will not survive the expedition. Ensures that no group equipment is left in the parking lot. After the end of the trip, he returns the borrowed equipment. All the work of this role takes place before the start of the trip, so during the expedition he can take on the role of a repairman who is ready to repair any equipment.
The Finance Director is needed to account for the group’s expenses and distribute funds. He records the expenses of each participant, collects money, and distributes it for general needs. In addition, he is responsible for the integrity of funds. All expenses must be evenly distributed among the participants. For transparency of expenses, you can keep a sign that all participants will have access to.
The manager and his deputy monitor the performance of their duties by the participants. They always know how someone is doing. In the experienced group, these people have virtually no work, and in the lazy or new group, they have the most work.
Messenger. He is at home, receives SMS, reassures relatives, can transfer money to the manager’s card if something doesn’t go according to plan, and find an apartment via the Internet. He also saves money. After all, it is easier and cheaper to send one message per day on behalf of the entire group than to send them to each participant.
When the group is small, all key roles are distributed among the participants.
What to take on a hike
Equipment depends entirely on the nature of the hike. Will there be overnight stays? What kind of terrain will you need to go through? It is necessary to have all the equipment, food, clothing. Tent, sleeping bag, tools for cooking and making a fire. You will also need medicine and a first aid kit.
Physical and psychological preparation before the hike
A long expedition always involves going beyond your comfort zone. The human body is accustomed to working and staying at home, so it will be unusual and difficult for him during a walking expedition.
Preparations for the trip should begin several months before the event. Running will help increase your endurance. Running alone will not help you prepare for a hike, but you can’t do it without it. Walking is one of the easiest ways to exercise. You just have to give up public transport and walk to work. If you ignore elevators, you can add one more preparation. You need to do a lot of squats, at least a hundred a day. The press is not required, just suitable for general development. Swimming will help add endurance and increase muscle resource.
You need to be prepared for acclimatization. On the first day, everything will probably be fine. Then you will have to endure for two or three days, so that on the fifth or sixth day you will feel better.
You also need to know that hunger will overtake everyone on a hike. At first, participants may even refuse their norm, but after a few days they will eat everything they have, regardless of preferences. Additional food in the form of caught fish will be a pleasant surprise. And a stuck chocolate will cause everyone to rejoice.
Why go hiking?
There are many stereotypes around hiking: naval pasta with stewed meat, old songs about a hedgehog with a hole in its side, not very sophisticated alcoholic drinks, as well as beards and sweaters. But, firstly, this has not been the case for a long time, and secondly, it is all unimportant. And the important thing is that the hike is your usual life in reverse. This is a fire instead of a stove, this is a stream instead of a shower, this is, excuse me, the sun instead of a lamp. There are no exchange rates, mobile communications, news and mortgages, but there is a backpack and a tent. It is the contrast that makes hiking a great form of relaxation, an unexpected way to completely disconnect from the world. Add to this a lot of subjective impressions: beauty (mountains are mountains), overcoming yourself, the pleasure of communicating with people you would never otherwise meet, and even new taste sensations. This is why you need to go on a hike.
What to take with you?
The contents of your backpack determine how you will cope with the difficulties of a hike.
To avoid suffering when walking, take a backpack with a rigid back and not too narrow/wide straps. For clothing, it is important that it does not restrict movement, and for shoes, it is important that it does not rub your feet.
Try not to get wet while hiking. Previously, tourists walked with raincoats, which were made of tarpaulin, weighed one and a half kilograms and took up a lot of space. Now everything is different: clothes are covered with a special layer (membrane) that does not allow water to pass through and “breathes” - releases sweat. The membrane is used in ski clothing, for example.
If you want to look technologically advanced while hiking and not get wet, then buy clothes with a membrane rating of 10,000 or more - you can stand under a waterfall in such a jacket.
A short raincoat (from the “all for 50” store, Decathlon or Sportmaster) or polyethylene suit from a hunter's store.
For footwear, take trekking boots. If you don’t want to spend about 10 thousand rubles, then replace them with sneakers with hard soles and lightweight boots with lining.
The third task of a tourist is not to freeze. Take thermal underwear, fleece, warm socks and a down jacket.
Thermal underwear and socks will help keep your sleeping bag warm at night, a fleece jacket made of Polartec fabric with a density of 200 or higher will protect you from colds during rest stops, and down jackets will keep you warm at night by the fire and act as a pillow. Don't forget a warm hat.
When choosing a sleeping bag, ask for advice from an instructor or the coordinator of a tourist club and look for overnight stays above the forest zone in your hiking plan - they are colder. Don’t take the sleeping bag that’s lying around on the mezzanine or that a friend is ready to rent - go by the characteristics. If no one gives you any clear advice, then take a sleeping bag with a comfort temperature of -5 on your hike: you won’t freeze in this one.
On a hike, you will need a spoon, a bowl and a mug - lightweight, easy to clean, and resistant to high temperatures. Take cosmetics - shampoos, toothpastes - in small containers so as not to carry extra grams with you on a hike.
As soon as you get ready for a hike, ask your friends to lend you equipment. There is no point in buying trekking boots just for one hike, although your friends may have made the same mistake and will give you the shoes to “play with”. This applies to all items on the list - both the backpack and the bowl.
In large cities, equipment is available for rent. If you are going hiking for the first time and are not sure whether this type of vacation is suitable for you, then it is better to pay a thousand rubles for rent than seven thousand when buying a backpack. After the hike, you can sell your equipment on Avito.
"Escape Tour" rents backpacks and sleeping bags.
Equipment list
- Backpack. Convenient, with a capacity of 70 liters.
- Sleeping bag with a comfort temperature of about -5
- Headwear (at least two sets: something light against the sun, a warm hat for the evenings).
- The jacket is wind- and waterproof (preferably a membrane with indices greater than 5000 mm, or a windproof jacket + a raincoat).
- Warm jacket (compact down jacket or light padding polyester)
- Warm jacket (polartec 200 or 300 fleece, or softshell)
- Thermal underwear (or any other underwear)
- Two pairs of trousers (windproof + waterproof)
- Trekking boots (or boots with liners)
- Second shoes (light, for camp) - sandals, sneakers, flip-flops
- Gloves (warm + household)
- Trekking poles (good things, they greatly lighten the load on the back; if you go in pairs, a set is enough for two). Some people replace it with the first stick they come across.
- Socks (of all kinds, warm ones are a must!)
- Sunglasses
- Flashlight, preferably a headlamp
- Seat, hoba, minus - many names, the essence is the same - a piece of plastic to sit on during rest stops
- Travel mat
- Personal cosmetics in small containers
- Toilet paper
- Elastic bandages
- Set of utensils - deep bowl, cup, spoon. Everything is easy.
How to prepare physically for a hike?
On hiking websites you will come across two classic formulations: “Any healthy person can take part in a hike” and “to consider yourself ready, just run three kilometers, sit down 30 times and walk along a log of medium diameter.” It's not like that.
During the hike, you will experience three types of unusual physical activity: the first is walking, and you will have to walk a lot. The second is a backpack with at least 12 kilograms on your back. Third, there are ups and downs that the body is not used to.
Start your preparation by developing endurance - run, swim, ride a bike. This should be done slowly, without thinking about speed and distance, for half an hour to an hour a day. Then on the trail you will not encounter common problems for beginners: increased heart rate and shortness of breath.
A properly secured backpack places all its weight on your hips, so squat and walk up and down stairs.
The group walks from 7 to 20 kilometers a day, usually about 15. Every half hour (sometimes less often, sometimes more often) we will take a break for 10 minutes. If it gets tough, we'll slow down and unload your backpack. Hiking is a group effort, and our goal is to reach the parking lot as a group.
What do you eat on hikes?
During hikes, we plan meals so that tourists get more calories before difficult walking days, without getting tired of the monotony of the menu.
For breakfast we eat porridge and muesli prepared with powdered milk. To save time, we make lunch dry, without fire and cooking, so we cut cheese and lard. Dinner is again full, with a fire - pasta, fish soup, lentils, soups. At Escape Tour we sometimes experiment and add new dishes to the menu. We removed stewed meat from the menu because it is heavy and not always of high quality, and replaced it with sausage.
For breakfast, lunch, and dinner we eat sweets: kozinaki, halva, cookies.
Each tourist receives a packed lunch: sweets, prunes, dried apricots, nuts. The ration is usually eaten in the first days, but it can be used as you please.
We distribute food among tourists evenly by weight and content so that tourists gradually lighten their backpacks. On a seven-day hike, 2 kilograms of food are provided per person; on a 12-day hike, twice as much. It also depends on the size of the group - what more people, the less a particular tourist will have to bear.
What do vegetarians eat when hiking?
Vegetarians eat the same as other tourists, only without meat. In camping meals, meat is added at the last minute, so vegetarians get their portion first.
If you don't eat processed food, the only way to participate in the hike is to buy and carry your own food. On a trip to the Shavlinsky lakes and the Maashey valley in 2016, the tourist carried with him an additional backpack with food, which weighed eight kilograms.
Isn't it dangerous on a hike? I'm afraid of bears
Wild animals don't like people. They are not comfortable in places where people walk, they do not like the smell and noise. Over centuries of proximity, the animals realized that meeting a person is not always a fun adventure.
However, bears sometimes attack people. Such situations arise, as a rule, due to the fault of tourists themselves who are trying to treat the animal. If a bear gets the idea that a person is his competitor for food, he will attack.
Nothing bad will happen if you light a fire, make noise, and don’t try to feed or take a photo with the bear.
We lead hikes along developed routes - tourists often visit there, which means bears try not to appear there.
With ticks the situation is the opposite - they like to be where there are a lot of people and animals. They sit in the grass near the villages, they lie in wait for passers-by on the path. But, for example, in the Altai mountains they are no longer there - they do not survive above one and a half thousand meters. - If you go to the foot of Belukha, then the most dangerous place— this is Tungur, the village where the hike begins.
Get vaccinated against encephalitis. This will take a month - two injections every 14 days, and after two weeks you can already go to a dangerous area.
What medications should I take with me?
Our first aid kit contains the most important medications and medicines for a hike. We will help with ailments (paracetamol, Theraflu), bruises and wounds (iodine, cotton wool, bandages, plaster, hydrogen peroxide, fastum gel, bepanthen), poisoning ( activated carbon, smecta). Just in case, we carry nitrocor, bf glue, and analgin with us.
Take with you the medicines you need and not listed above, but do not take too much
How safe is it?
We can’t say that hiking is absolutely safe—anything can happen there that is difficult to predict in advance. We can only take all possible measures to ensure that the hike is injury-free, and if something happens, the situation will be resolved in the best possible way.
We report groups to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, warn about the route, time of departure and return. If we don't return by the stated time, they will start looking for us. In fact, this is more of an action for show - in difficult situation We will contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations ourselves. We know all the communication points along the routes (where phone reception is available), we know the telephone numbers of local residents who can arrive by car or horse, we know where the nearest rescue posts are located. Each trip of our tourist club almost always has two instructors, and we can split the group if necessary.
To avoid injury, tourists should listen to the instructor’s advice. IN hiking conditions There are really many ways to get injured - for example, pulling a muscle while throwing a backpack on your back or twisting your ankle while tripping on large rocks. Therefore, listen to the instructions.
If you have any pain, no matter how minor the injury may seem to you, be sure to tell the instructor. And don't self-medicate.
One more. During one of the hikes, the tourist severely rubbed his legs with his ankle boots. The group had set up camp and were preparing to eat dinner when he came to the fire with a sheath in his hands, on which the imprint of his teeth was clearly visible. It turned out that he simply poured iodine on his calluses and, in order not to scream, held a knife in his mouth. And all I had to do was make a pad with Levomekol, absolutely painless.
On another hike, everything was even worse: at the very beginning of the hike, an elderly tourist felt that his blood pressure was rising, and without telling anyone, he began taking pills to lower his blood pressure. He overdid it and had to be evacuated from the route on horseback - he could not go further. Everything turned out okay, but in both cases it would have been better for everyone if the instructors had been in the know.
Where will we sleep?
We purchased three-person tents Red Fox Challenger for hiking. The tents weigh 3100 grams each, and are conveniently divided into three parts of equal weight - an inner awning, an outer awning and arcs with pegs. Comfortable to carry, comfortable to share, pleasant to sleep. Of course, you can bring your own tent and use it - just notify us in advance.
Our tents are distinguished by the capacity of both the interior and vestibules - spaces near the entrance to the tent, covered from above with an awning. They are designed to store backpacks. Since the tents are three-person, you will sleep with two other campers if you go camping alone. There is enough space - they can easily accommodate four people.
How to maintain hygiene while hiking?
Indeed, there is no shower and the water is cold. The best way To wash is to take water into a pot and boil it over a fire. We rarely go all day, so you can almost always set aside a couple of hours to take a conventional shower. But there is one condition - you collect firewood for your exercise yourself.
On many of our routes (in Altai, mainly), there are quite decent bathhouses along the way. For example, on the route to the foot of Belukha through Lake Kucherlinskoye you can hear “enjoy your steam” as many as four times.
When camping, burn all hygiene items except toilet paper - it decomposes quite well on its own. But wet wipes and wet toilet paper (there is such a thing!) should be consigned to the fire.
How to sign up for a hike?
- If you want to clarify something, please contact us. You can do this through the website, through social networks, or by phone or email.
- Buy tickets to the starting point. We'll tell you the best good time arrival.
- Pay us an organizing fee of 3,000 rubles. For us, this will mean the seriousness of your intentions. Naturally, the amount of the contribution is deducted from the final cost of the trip.
- Prepare for the hike - buy or rent the necessary equipment.
- We will contact you a couple of days before the trip to answer all questions and clarify details.
- We collect money for the hike during the first meeting of the group. You can send or transfer the entire amount in advance.
- Come to the starting point and go ahead, the mountains are waiting!
Preparing for a hike is an important stage that determines the entire further development of the event. In order for the trip to be a success, you need to collect the necessary kit:
- things;
- food, water.
You also need to prepare a route, having previously marked it on the map. It is better that there are no unnecessary steep slopes along the way - this is very draining of energy. On your first trip, you shouldn’t take risks - you should choose the easiest routes, and leave the more difficult ones for later.
You should decide on the number of people going on the hike and organize their arrival on time. If the trip will take place in the format of a bicycle trip, then you need to make sure that all bicycles are in working order and ready for the trip. Someone alone has to take the tools to repair the bike.
It is also necessary to distribute roles in the group, select a leader and those responsible for certain issues. For example, for making a fire, for cooking. It is best for the leader to be chosen by voting. It is important that this person has great authority in the group. He must also be able to navigate the terrain well and know the route perfectly and how to overcome it.
It is worth finding out the transport routes to get to the designated place and back. It is necessary to determine the routes in detail and clarify their relevance.
In order to safely complete the route, you need to have good physical training. Therefore, if the group members have not trained for a long time and are not ready to master the upcoming path, then they need to practice properly. To do this, it is enough to run a certain distance every day. And it’s better to try to do this right away with a backpack to get used to the load. You can exercise on an exercise bike or on a treadmill, or go swimming. All this is done regularly within a month before the planned event.
For a hike, especially if it is happening for the first time, you need to be mentally prepared. You need to prepare for various kinds of difficulties. To do this you need to arm yourself basic knowledge in geography, geology, biology and collect the most necessary items.
Collecting only the things you need
Hiking, of course, is impossible without a backpack. It is best that it is durable and roomy, since you will need a lot of things. These should be the most necessary things, because heavy luggage will put extra stress on the body.
You need to be prepared for any vagaries of the weather. In particular, it may rain along the way. To protect yourself from the rain, you should take either an umbrella or waterproof clothing with a hood. One thing is better, because many things are an extra burden.
If you are hiking overnight, be sure to take a sleeping bag with you. You need one tent for five people. If there are more people, then there should be more tents.
You should definitely take a first aid kit with you. You can assign this responsibility to someone alone to save space in your backpacks. If one of the children has a chronic disease that requires taking specific medications, then he must take his medications with him.
The first aid kit must have:
- dressing bandage;
- tourniquet;
- adhesive plasters;
- cotton wool;
- tweezers;
- iodine, brilliant green;
- alcohol;
- hemostatic agents;
- antipyretic medications;
- painkillers;
- allergy remedies;
- laxative;
- antibiotics;
- nitroglycerine;
- insect repellents.
It is better to get vaccinated against ticks in advance, especially since there are all the possibilities for this. It’s better not to take cosmetics with you - it’s unnecessary.
The required set of things includes the following items:
- containers for food, for cooking;
- forks;
- spoons;
- towel;
- soap;
- toothpaste and brush;
- several rolls of toilet paper;
- threads, needle;
- flashlight;
- passport.
Let someone else take the dishwashing liquid.
Product collection
Before collecting food, you should decide how long the trip will take. Depending on this, a certain amount of food is calculated. It is better to take non-perishable products, but for the first time it is possible to take some perishable ones. Non-perishable items include canned food, crackers, and dried fruits. You need salt and sugar in separate containers.
If you make a fire along the way, it is better not to take firewood (they are heavy), but to build a fire on the spot from fallen branches. And accordingly, you need to take matches with you. You should also take old newspapers and dry wood chips to make the fire burn better.
All products, especially perishable ones, must be sealed in plastic. Before doing this, they should be washed in advance to avoid wasting water on site. From food it is better to take porridge, pasta, ingredients for soup. You can catch fish on the spot and make fish soup out of it. For drinks, you need to take tea, coffee, cocoa with you. It is better to take milk in dry form. For dessert, you can take a few chocolate bars, cookies or waffles.
In case you get hungry on the way, you need to take with you, for example, a bag of nuts or a pack of cookies.
Water is always needed, so you should take as much of it as possible. At least a liter per person if the hike lasts an hour. And everything that requires washing should be washed at home.
Choosing appropriate clothing and footwear
Clothes and shoes should be sporty, closed and extremely comfortable to wear. It is better that the sneakers are also waterproof. There are special hiking boots for hiking.
Clothing should cover areas of the body as much as possible so as not to pick up a tick. The trousers should be tightly connected to the socks. And between them there should be no space where an insect could crawl. It must be remembered that ticks become active in April, and by June they are almost gone.
Along the way you will have to overcome many natural obstacles: mountains, forests, rocks. It is best to wear rubber boots, as there may be ponds and flooded areas along the way.
You need to take the following types of clothing with you:
- additional trousers;
- replaceable T-shirts, shirts;
- sleeping set;
- headdress;
- a set of socks;
- underwear.
The thinner the clothing, the more you can take to make room for other, more necessary things. The headdress is selected depending on the time of year. For the summer you can take a Panama hat, for the fall - a warm hat. For cool summers, you should also take a warm knitted hat. If the weather is sunny, then sunglasses will not hurt. In summer, it is still advisable to apply sunscreen to your body.
If there are a lot of mosquitoes in the area where you will be stopping for a rest, then it would be a good idea to take linen clothing with you - it repels these insects.
It’s worth taking a change of shoes with you, because anything can happen on the road.
How to behave on a hike
First of all, calmly and collectedly, because the mood and psychological state of the entire team depends on the mood of any member of the team. To avoid getting too tired, it is better to take a break every hour and a half. You can make one long halt, and spend the night on the second.
What to do if you're lost
In order not to get lost on the way, you should take care of such devices as a compass and GPRS navigator in advance. And also warn all your loved ones about the hike, as well as the route of the event. This is especially important if there is a sudden delay in transit and communication is disrupted. If a delay is expected, it is better to immediately inform relatives about it so that they do not worry.
You need to study the map of the area as carefully as possible. Remember what is in the north, south, east and west.
And if the hike will take place far from inhabited places, it is recommended to register with the Ministry of Emergency Situations in advance. To do this, you need to go to the appropriate Department two weeks before departure along the route and leave an application. Let the group leader do it better.
If, nevertheless, the group is lost in an unfamiliar area, then it should be guided by natural signs. So, you need to remember from the school curriculum that lichens grow in the northern part of the area. The longest branches of the tree point south.
Before you go on a hike, you need to be well prepared for it.
This preparation begins with the formation of the group. The most important thing - the choice of the hike route - depends on who will be in its composition, what is the physical training and tourist experience of the hike participants, what tasks they set, what time and funds they have.
It’s natural to want to discover something new, to go through something that hasn’t been done yet. Our country is so vast, it has so many wonderful corners that there will be enough interesting routes and discoveries for a lifetime.
The route is easier to follow when it is well thought out and studied. Then there will be more time and energy to get acquainted with interesting places and of course, the safety of the hike will increase and the likelihood of changing or not completing the route will be minimized. Groups of novice tourists and those traveling to a particular area for the first time should use one of the reference routes. These routes are the most logical and interesting, introduce you to the sights and include obstacles characteristic of the area. Advice on the route can be obtained at the tourist club or at the ICC. There you should also read reports on the trips of other tourist groups.
When developing a route, you need to collect all the necessary information about the hiking area, using maps and diagrams, descriptions of difficult obstacles, information about weather conditions, transport capabilities, the condition of roads and crossings, etc.
All preparatory work must be carried out in an organized and systematic manner. To do this, a plan is drawn up and responsibilities are distributed among group members.
Based on the duration and complexity of the route, the composition of the participants in the hike and the intended tasks, general and special equipment, repair and medical kits are prepared. The group's supply manager compiles lists of products, outlines where it is best to purchase them, and decides on packaging issues. The obtained data on the route, equipment and food allow us to determine the total weight of the cargo, the weight of backpacks on approaches and on the main route, and to draw up cost estimates.
It is necessary that all participants in the hike have not only similar skills and knowledge, similar interests, but also approximately the same physical training. To do this, 2-3 months before the trip, you should organize joint training sessions, during which tourists improve physically and master technical skills and techniques for overcoming obstacles. Weekend hikes, tourist rallies and competitions should be used for these purposes.
During joint weekend hikes, methods of movement, overcoming natural obstacles planned on the route, methods of collective belay and self-insurance are practiced, equipment is checked and modified. Specially created large loads during these trips make it possible to identify and compare physical condition and training of individual participants.
Joint training and organizing overnight stays contribute to the psychological “breaking in” of group members. We must strive to ensure that already in the process of preparation the group becomes a single, well-coordinated team, ready to successfully solve the assigned tasks through joint efforts.
Working out techniques Technique competitions help test equipment different types tourism. It is useful to participate in them, but, of course, you should not get carried away only by them, forgetting about the most important thing in tourism - travel. Competitions were invented by tourists. At first they were held as part of tourist rallies and were very simple. Their program included: setting up a tent, lighting a fire, crossing a log across a river or ravine, etc. With the growth of technical equipment in most types of tourism, competitions began to be held independently. And there would be nothing wrong with this if these competitions were not put on the same level with tourist trips, or even replace them. This became especially noticeable among water and mountain tourists. We should not forget that such competitions are testing in nature and serve to determine technical readiness tourists for upcoming hikes. They compare the achievements of athletes not comprehensively, but according to individual indicators, but technical readiness alone is not enough to complete a difficult hike.
If a group is engaged in the tourist section of the physical education team of an enterprise, institution, educational institution, DFSO, then these organizations must create conditions for the physical, technical and theoretical training of tourists, and provide them with the necessary equipment if possible.
All members of the group must undergo a medical examination no earlier than a month before the start of the hike and obtain a doctor’s permission to participate in hikes of categories I-III of difficulty, and for participation in hikes of categories IV-VI of difficulty - a conclusion from a medical and physical education clinic or a physical education doctor.
As already mentioned, any trip begins with a check at the ICC. But don't let this scare travel enthusiasts. By filling out hiking documents, defending the route in front of IWC members - experienced tourists - you receive new information and recommendations about the hiking area, advice on selecting equipment and products, and on actions in difficult situations. If the trip has been prepared thoroughly, if everything has been thought out, studied, collected in advance (and this is the only way it should be), there will be no difficulties with preparing route documents.
A document giving the right to conduct sports tourist hikes of I-VI categories of difficulty, as well as non-category hikes that include elements of hikes of II-VI categories of difficulty, is a route book of the established form. A route book can be obtained from the route qualification commission at your place of residence or work. Two copies of the book should be filled out correctly, with certificates about the tourist experience of the group members attached, medical certificates, cartographic material, descriptions and the possibility of photographing difficult sections of the route, lists of special equipment and means of providing first aid. Everything should be collected in advance in preparation for the trip.
You need to contact the same MCC with documents. If she does not have the authority to consider a hike of this category of complexity, the application documents with her preliminary conclusion are sent by the organization for which she works to the higher ICC.
The ICC gives an opinion on the possibility of the group completing the declared trip. Special instructions and recommendations for the group are entered into the route book, the place of its registration before going on the route at the relevant CBS and KSO, and the established control dates are recorded.
Based on the positive conclusion of the ICC, the group leader is given a numbered route book and a completed message form to the KSS, certified by the signature and stamp of the ICC. But the ICC’s contacts with the group do not end there.
The most important measure to provide assistance to the group if necessary is to organize control over its completion of the route within the established time frame. This control is carried out not only by the KSS located in the hiking area, but also by the ICC. The deadline is considered violated if the telegram is not sent by the group within the control day. After this, search work begins. Therefore, too strict deadlines are equally bad, which force the group to shorten the route, move in the evening or even at night, neglect insurance in difficult areas, and too extended deadlines, which can lead to the fact that the group that suffered an accident will not be able to receive timely help.
In accordance with the Rules, a written message to the KSS in the established form must be sent no later than 10 days before the group leaves for the starting point of the route. Even this one circumstance, in addition to others (elimination of comments, if necessary, checking the group on the ground, etc.), requires the submission of application documents to the ICC 1-1.5 months before the start of the trip. However, if a group with well-prepared documents came to the authorized ICC, for example, two weeks in advance, its application should be considered and everything should be formalized. ICCs are called upon to work quickly, and republican, regional, regional and especially zonal ones, moreover, should not close for holidays.
If, just before leaving for a hike, there is a need to make changes to the route or composition of the group, this must be agreed upon with the ICC and notified to the KSS.
Tourist groups planning to conduct a hike in the territory of a reserve or border zone must obtain permission in advance in accordance with the established procedure. But checking the availability of such permission should not be the responsibility of the ICC. The IWC must warn the group that part or all of its route passes through these restricted areas.
All of the listed issues related to preparing a group for a hike and preparing itinerary documents are primarily the responsibility of the hike leader.
