Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

Just read into thin air by Jon Krakauer and it has piqued my interest in doing some big mountain climbing. Does anyone here have any experience climbing any of the huge mountains in the world, or even some of the 2nd tier type mountains like Kilimanjaro, Denali, or Vinson? Any info or trip reports would be greatly appreciated, as I think I am aiming for a Kilimanjaro trip about a year from now. Thanks!

James

Re: Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

[censored] that, its cold.

Re: Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Just read into thin air by Jon Krakauer and it has piqued my interest in doing some big mountain climbing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Huh. That's a pretty crazy book to get you into climbing. If you're looking for religions, perhaps he can sell you on Mormonism with Under the Banner of Heaven, as well.

Re: Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

Why don't you try to hike something like 12kft first with a rise of 5k feet in a day first then decide?


Odds are you might get yourself killed on this one.

Re: Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

there's a lot of outdoor/physically challenging stuff i'd rather do, it doesn't sound that great to me

Re: Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

how in Gods name did a book about everyone dying on a climbing expedition make you want to start climbing?

Did seeing Requiem for a Dream make you want to start taking heroin?

Re: Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Why don't you try to hike something like 12kft first with a rise of 5k feet in a day first then decide?


Odds are you might get yourself killed on this one.

[/ QUOTE ]

Odds are good that James won't get himself killed on Kilimanjaro. The majority of the mountain is walkable, and it's not nearly as technical of a climb as many other peaks of similar height. It's considered the worlds highest "walkable" mountain.

James,

I haven't done a ton of mountaineering, especially on higher peaks, but I would recommend getting some basic mountaineering experience and determining how you feel about the sport first. Learn the basics, roping up, crampon techniques, crevasse rescue, etc. You can learn most of these on a lot of technically moderate-to-difficult climbs that can get you a taste of what you'd be in for when climbing a more difficult route like Denali.

I would personally recommend something like a seven-day training course on Mt. Rainier (14,410ft), which will certainly test your abilities while helping train you for something like Denali or other climbs.

Keep in mind the differences between Denali and a climb like Kilimanjaro are very very large.

Rob

Re: Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

I think the suggestion to try something smaller first, like climbing one of the numerous 14kft peaks in the lower 48, would be a good place to start. Mt. Whitney and Mt. Shasta (both in California) are each challenging-but-doable, and probably good places to see if you like the activity.

If you want some more reading, I'd suggest getting a copy of the Dick Bass/Frank Wells book, Seven Summits, in which they document how they became the first to summit the tallest peaks on each continent. Obviously, there's no shortage of good books on this sort of thing, which makes it very easy to do a lot of vicarious exploration before you step into the crampons.

Re: Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

A really good friend of mine was just invited to do part of Everest in a couple monhts. I think he's [censored] crazy considering he's only done about a half dozen week long hikes in Western US mountains. But, it should be one hell of an experience.

Re: Has anyone ever hiked a 8k meter/26k ft. mountain?
 

all I know is that I get altitude sick above 10,000 feet or so.

I can't even drink beers without getting piercing headaches [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]