Prepare for the Worst....

My personal life philosopy is, "Prepare for the worst, Expect the best, Accept what you get, Move on". In light of that deep bit of thinking, lets look at what's been going on....

Prepare for the worst:
Night time summit temperatures can be around -30ºC with the windchill. I have been busy acquiring and testing my various layers to ensure I can be reasonably warm without much exertion at this temperature. So far I have reasonably succeeded. I say without much exertion because the climb to the summit is at a very, very slow pace, so slow in fact, you can't count on moving enough to keep you warm.

I plan to use disposable hand warmers to help ensure my water bladder doesn't freeze on the summit climb. I have checked with the University of Google, my 17 year old son (who knows everything) and his chemistry teacher. They have all assured me the hand warmers (which are oxygen activated) will work at the summit. Ms. Wong - if my water freezes, its all your fault!

Altitude sickness is a bitch...to that end I have a prescription for Diamox which I plan to take prophylactically. I will also ensure I am well hydrated at all times.

Nausea, a very common symptom of altitude sickness, is also a bitch...I have a secret plan to ensure I get sufficient calories during the hike no matter how nauseous I am. I am not ready to divulge it right now, but I will let you know on the blogs from the summit whether it works or not.

To get to the top, you have to do a LOT of walking.... I have finally gotten some orthotics for my hiking boots and shoes. I am up to eight hours a day in them and they seem to be working pretty well. I have been on one hour hikes in my boots with them and felt ok. Tomorrow I plan to do 1 1/2 to 2 hours to see how they work out. I am getting worried as my hikes are so short due to foot issues and an ongoing cold that I am losing what little fitness I may have had.

Expect the best:
The actual predicted temperatures for February at the summit are around negative single digits. This is a lot warmer than we have been preparing for. Caveat - they say altitude makes you feel much colder, so -6º at altitude is not the same as -6ºC in my front yard.

I got insulated tubing for my water bladder for Christmas, and combined with blowing back through the tubing and the hand warmer, I do expect to make it to the top with drinkable water.

Altitude sickness.... I expect to manage whatever level of altitude sickness I get with a minimal amount of whining (maybe even none). A friend who summitted 5 years ago (and is doing it again - the only person I know who's going for a second time) wasn't bothered at all by altitude sickness.

Nausea...I pretty much eat whenever I'm stressed, or nauseated, or sick, or depressed or...you get the idea. I imagine I will cope fine with eating while nauseated.

A LOT of walking... when we started training 10 months ago - Joan and Breanne said you don't have to be super fit to summit - you just have to be fitter than you were. I am definately fitter than I was.

Accept what you get.... Well, you'll have to wait until the trip blogs start being posted to decide if I have gracefully accepted whatever I got...

Countdown - I board the plane in 39 sleeps (February 7th)!

An interesting aside: I have been spending a fair amount of time on the internet reading blogs of people who summited and watching their videos as well as reading actual books on the subject. No body ever writes that it was easy and yet some of the authors speak of their companions saying the climb was easy. The question then, is it easy for some people and they don't bother writing about it? Do we publish our struggles for others to share and don't feel its worth it to post our journey if it was easy? Hmmmmm....I'm betting publication bias exists and there are people out there who didn't find the climb that hard or perhaps not even a life changing experience. Something to think about...