If you are embarking on a journey such as the Three Passes trek in from Jiri, shouldn’t you prepare yourself so you will enjoy it more? Here are some tips for preparing your body for the grueling but epic adventure.
Walk with a backpack
Walking with a weighted backpack is the best way to train
Nothing is better to prepare you for your trek than putting in miles with a backpack on. Most people arrive in Nepal in various levels of fitness but with no clue how it will feel to walk with weight on their back.
Do you really want to find out once you are there? In the month before your trip, at the latest, put in 3-5 5 mile walks per week with about 25 pounds on your back. The first time you do this at home, you’ll fully understand why you shouldn’t wait. 25 pounds should be more than you have in your pack in Nepal, which will help to condition your legs quickly.
If you can’t get to a park for whatever reason, use a treadmill WITH YOUR BACKPACK.
Climb something
Walking or running does not prepare your legs for climbing as much as we’d think. It’s a different discipline and you will expend more energy than you expect once you transition from flats to mountains, and the Himalayas are the biggest mountains in the world, if you didn’t know.
Find a hill to walk up and down, with your backpack. If you live in Wichita, find some stairs. If you just can’t find anything to climb, use the stairmaster. The real stairmaster, the one that acts like you are climbing, not those recumbent things. Put a pack on your back on the stairmaster as well.
That’s really it, if you start getting in shape 2-4 months before your trek, you will enjoy it a whole lot more, and you will enjoy passing by all those who thought they could just will themselves through it.
Gear List
A list of the necessary gear for an April-May EBC trek is available.