Mont Blanc Training, MS Fun Run & Kathmandu RNP

This week has been really focused on cardio with lots of running.

A serious and good training leading up to climbing Mont Blanc, could either be:

• running three times a week for one hour or
• hiking every weekend and climbing an elevation of 1800 meters

 for the three months prior to the climb.

Living in Sydney sadly, we do not have many of these elevations around so my training is mainly focusing on the running! Though I plan on going back to Mt Kosciuszko prior to going to France.

I really love running back home from work. I found it the best way to finish the day and let off some steam. My running itinerary takes me from the city through the botanic gardens, the Opera house, circular quay, across the Harbour bridge and then uphill  to the North Shore.

With daylight savings, I am now running after dark (very handy & safer to wear reflective materials and headlights) and Sydney by night is just splendid. Feel really grateful to be able to live, work and run in such a beautiful city and environment! And I also love the fact that door to door I am actually faster than the bus at peak hour and not polluting a bit!  

I also ran this morning around Luna Park and Balls Head. I am currently preparing for the MS fun run on June 3rd (and also for the Kathmandu Adventure Race at the Royal National Park next weekend). The MS Fun Run is a great initiative to raise funds and awareness around Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It is a great run, in the words of the organisers: "A challenging route through picturesque harbour-side streets from Milsons Point to Balls Head Reserve and return. Finish with a sprint down the famous Luna Park boardwalk".

I did the run two years ago and finished second of my category in 31mins 52s. While I did not train seriously for this race leading up to it this year, I went for a trial run this morning and did the itinerary in just under 36mins. So not quite there! A few minutes to shave off!

Will be running twice next week (not including the Kathmandu Adventure Race) and plan on doing the MS Fun Run itinerary a few times before the race. It is a tough race with lots of up and downs to be done at a fast pace but again, a beautiful scenery which makes it really worthwhile! Whether you walk it or run it, it is a great way to exercise, make a difference for people with MS and enjoy a beautiful scenery. I highly recommend doing it!

Kosciuszko - Part 6: Prepare - Gear

Your gear is the most important and the trickiest item to prepare for this hike.

Due to the unstable and sometime rapidly changing weather (ie cold, rain, fog, wind, etc.), you need to make sure you have the appropriate gear.  Rather than long explanations, just check the two pictures below:

Start of the track on Saturday  

  

End of the walk on Sunday

It started super sunny and finished cold as, raining and foggy. Better be prepared!

To make it easier for you to prepare, I took a picture of the gear I packed for the weekend:

You can buy most of the items in your local camping/outdoor store. Most of my gear is from Kathmandu and was perfect for this adventure.

There are 4 categories of gear:

• Clothes (white group)
• Pack (orange group)
• Personal  (green group)
• Food (red group)

As you can see, there is quite a lot of gear to cover. So please use the hyperlinks above to go directly to a specific group or section!

Clothes (white group)

1. Cargo / Zip-off Pants
2. Fleece 
3. Waterproof / Gore Tex jacket (compulsory)
4. Breathable / Sports top 
5. Socks /Undies
6. (Board)short 
7. Long sleeve thermal top
8. Skins / compression gear (optional)

     Not shown – beanie (compulsory)
     Not shown – hiking boots or trail running shoes

You need to take with you a Gore-Tex/waterproof jacket in case it rains or gets cold. The last thing you want is to be caught in the middle of the walk and suffer hypothermia.

Make sure you pack warm clothes (thermal, beanie) for evenings and also for cold/rainy/windy weather and light clothes for sunny weather. Zip-off pants might be a good idea to be used either as pants or shorts.

At night time, the temperature drops close to zero; make sure you wear a beanie to stay warm.

Also make sure your shoes are broken down or you have used them for long walks. I have used trail running shoes which was fine for the entire trail and great to run up to Mt Townsend!

Compression gear might be a good idea to accelerate blood flow, reduce build-up of lactic acid, stay warm and prevent chaffing. To be worn during or after the walk to recover.

Pack (orange group)

9. Big backpack (65L) 
10. "Camelback" bladder (2L)
11. Inflatable mattress
12. Tent
13. Sleeping bag
14. Day pack

A good backpack is paramount. The light daypack will be great after setting up the camp to go to Mt Townsend with only a few things with you.

The inflatable mattress will ensure you have a good sleep (especially after a long day trekking!) and ensure the cold is not transmitted through to your body/back. You do not need a full body length one, as long as your back is not against cold hard ground, you are sweet.

An easy to mount and light tent will be best to pitch at the end of the day.

Camping in the valley

 

Personal (green group)

15. Topographic Map – Perisher Valley 85252S ~$9.95 (compulsory) & Wildwalks Notes
16. Waterproof map case (optional) 
17. Compass (compulsory) 
18. First aid kit (compulsory) (here in waterproof bag) 
19. Purification tablets (preferable) 
20. Emergency matches 
21. Sunscreen (compulsory) 
22. Sunnies (compulsory)
23. Hat / cap (compulsory) 
24. Insect repellent (preferable) 
25. Cleaning wipes (preferable) 
26. Toiletries bag with what you need (contact liquid, etc.) 
27. Bepanthem (to prevent chaffing) 
28. Toilet paper 
29. Trowel 
30. Head torch 
31. Camera / GoPro!

Not shown – Telephone

Not shown – Towel

Ok lots of critical items here! 

First aid kit, map and compass are compulsory. Protection against the sun as well.

To find out where you can buy topographical maps close to where you live, click here. I went to Map Worldin Sydney CBD to purchase the map, and was really impressed with their customer service. Very helpful if you plan on going off-track. Otherwise you can buy a mini map for ~$5 from the visitors centre in Jindabyne. I also recommend reading/printing/taking the notes from Wildwalks on this trek, they are very useful.

There is plenty of water around but it’s preferable to boil/purify it before drinking. Make sure you have means to do either. Also you need to be able to create a fire in case of emergency, so equip yourself with either a small/light camping stove or emergency matches.

Bring a telephone. While in many parts of the national park you do not have coverage and you CANNOT rely on your mobile as an emergency communication device, I found that on higher grounds with Telstra I had several bars and could place a call. No idea what the coverage is with other carriers. If you go alone, it might be worth considering renting an emergency beacon from the visitors centre in Jindabyne.

Cleaning wipes are the bomb for your personal hygiene. They are cheap, do not take much space and are super refreshing. Again, take your rubbish with you!

Food (red group)

32. Metal Pot
33. Spork (a combined plastic spoon, fork and knife)
34. Leatherman / Swiss Army knife
35. Stove (preferably with piezo so you do not need matches to lit it)
36. Gas canister
37. Dehydrated food (Back country cuisine)
38. Snack bars
39. Lollies / dried fruits / nuts
40. Tins (soup / bakes beans / tuna)
41. Cup
42. Tea bags / Instant Coffee
43. Rubbish bags (compulsory) 

Not shown – Water

Based on my experience with this weekend trek, just get snacks, a medium pot and dehydrated food. The metallic pot will be good to boil enough water for your meal and to fill a water bottle.

Tins are cheap but bulky and heavy to carry, and after eating them, they are messy/sharp and still take a lot of space. Sandwiches might be a cheap option but it might be difficult to find time making them, keeping them from being squashed in the pack and staying fresh with the heat!

Dehydrated food is a bit more expensive, but just boil water, put it in the bag, wait a few minutes and you can then directly eat it from the bag (so no dishwashing!). I was happily surprised to see that it’s pretty good (though after a long day walking any warm food would be considered good ;). It is light to carry before and after eating it and it does not take much space. Your back will thank you.

As usual, take your rubbish with you!

Let me know if you found the above pictures and tips helpful and in the next post, we will see pictures and videos of the actual walk.

Crushed Bike, Last Patrol & Adventure Racing

Hello everyone,

Cannot believe that it has been exactly a month since my last post!

Had the post Kosciuszko - Part 4: Going there in my draft ready to go but with Easter and moving places, it sadly did not happen until now. Let me know what you think about it!

Anyways, since then, I had my last patrol for the season in Freshwater:

Bye for now dear rescue board!

It has been a great season with no major drama, a lot of fun, great teamwork and great weather! I love being able to exercise outdoors and do my bit for the community at the same time, thank you surf life saving!

Also went to the great Oaks trail for a mountain bike ride and clocked up nearly 50km/h downhill which was really exhilarating! Sadly my GoPro decided to stop filming before the fast leg and the handlebar holder broke with the vibrations! But this little GoPro in its case did not come out with a single scratch!

Haven't gone through all the movies but hopefully will post that soon.

Quite a dramatic event happened since then which will definitely prevent me from doing pure mountain bike races (sadly for my friends at Maxadventure which are organising the Wombat & Convict 100kms), I crushed my competition mountain bike:

Two of the three cracks on the frame

A pretty dear lesson to teach me not to forget to take the bike off the roof racks before entering the garage :/

I went to see the friendly team at Bike addictions and thought I could change the frame but sadly the fork also got damaged so I will need to get a new bike :/

In two minds at the moment with buying a new bike (especially with the upcoming expenses to do with climbing Mt Blanc), so for now will use my old hardtail (which is not much fun to ride) but better than no bike. Did receive an email today from maxadventure, saying that Kathmandu is looking for experienced, passionate Kathmandu gear testers. Fingers crossed, I will be selected which will be great to put the gear to test climbing Mt Blanc! Then I definitely get a new bike :D

I actually did ride my old bike at the Duo race at Belanglo state forest, which was a great event with both orienteering and bike riding. 

Next upcoming race will be the Kathmandu Adventure Race in the Royal National Park. 

Always very special race for me as it was the place where I started to do adventure racing! The weather was terribly cold and wet, but I could not help smiling for the entire race, check this out:

Kathmandu Adventure Race RNP

It is two weeks away and a great race to do. Always lots of fun. I would highly recommend doing it if you want to take on a new challenge and/or do something different!

After registering online, a PR person from the Kathmandu Adventure Series actually contacted me to potentially run a story with the local newspapers. Watch the space!

Kosciuszko - Part 4: Going there

Hello everyone!

Driving to Charlotte Pass from Sydney is a LOOOOOOOONG 6 hours drive or 500 kilometres. 

Google maps itinerary from Sydney

If like me you plan on spending the weekend at the Kosciuszko National Park and driving from Sydney, then ideally, the best will be to drive there on Friday afternoon/evening to start the walk on the Saturday morning.

Aim to leave early as it will be a long drive after a day at work!

Going there with a group of friends might be a good idea to share the drive. You can also take turns to eat in the car (sandwiches / salads) to get there quicker.

Most car parks in the city have early bird specials allowing you to park early and leave by 4pm for ~$15. So pack the car on Thursday evening, drive to work and park early on Friday morning and leave early on Friday afternoon to Kosciuszko!

Parking in the city (or leaving directly from work) is a good idea to prevent you from going back home to pick up your gear and then get stuck in peak hour traffic. This is also good for people who do not like to drive at night time.

I drove by myself down there, stopped mid-way at Goulburn for dinner around 7pm, and at the same occasion said "G'day" to an Australian icon:

Goulburn's Merino

The drive is actually not too difficult, just long. Getting out of Sydney is a challenge, especially on a Friday afternoon/evening (it did slow down a few times on the M5) so the sooner you leave, the better! 

The idea for me was to camp on the way to Charlotte Pass to keep the drive to a minimum (more details on this topic in the next post). While I did have several stops on the way, the drive was long and I was glad to arrive around 10pm to my camping site as I was quite exhausted.

So to sum it up, try to leave as early as possible on the Friday and if able to, share the drive down there!

In the next post, we will talk about accommodation and listen to a night-time serenade! 

Spend the Easter Weekend in the mountains!

Hello,

Happy Easter!

Just read in the NSW National Parks and Wildlife newsletter that a number of activities will be organised for you and your family’s enjoyment at the Perisher Resorts this Easter weekend. 

Another reason to organise your Easter or/and School Holidays in the mountains!

There will be a FUN RUN, the annual Perisher Fun Run (you can walk if you like) between Perisher Gap and Charlotte Pass at 9am on Saturday 7 April 2012.

Other activities include:

• the Great Perisher Duck Race – 4pm Saturday 7 April
• the Guthega Super Sleuth Treasure Hunt – Sunday 8 April
• NSW National Parks and Wildlife Discovery Program
• Guided Walks
• Social Gatherings.

Drink stops, medical supervision and return transport from Charlotte Pass will be provided.

The Guthega Hotel will be open all Easter and JAX will be open for drinks, finger food and the Perisher Fun Run presentation on Saturday evening.

Charlotte Pass Resort will also open The Chalet for lunches and beverages over Easter.

Location: Perisher Range cross-country ski trails

When: Ends Monday 9 April, 6:00PM

Bookings: Sally Miller (NPWS) on 02 6450 5616, sally.miller@environment.nsw.gov.au or David Read (Slopes) on 0418 419 938, djread@bigpond.com

More information: Visit the event website

Kosciuszko - Part 3: Decide when to go / checking the weather

Welcome back!

So you have trained, maybe done a few adventure races with our good friends at Maximum Adventure and you are ready to climb Mt Kosciuszko!

The best season to walk to the top of these two mountains is between April and November. 

The weather is more stable and warmer at this time, but severe storms, strong winds and even snow are possible any time of year. You need to be ready for cold, wet and windy conditions at all times (and pack accordingly!). 

Summer temperatures range from -1° to 30°C while winter goes from -12° to 10°.

Just check the pictures below to get an idea of how the weather can change within 24hrs:

Start of the track on Saturday  

  

End of the walk on Sunday

We started the walk with really sunny and warm weather and wore shorts and tee shirts. The very next morning, it was raining, windy, colder and foggy. 

A gore-tex/waterproof jacket (my loved one - above - is a Kathmandu Armstrong that I use for all my outdoor activities (running, adventure racing, etc.) to stay dry and a fleece to stay warm are must haves! I will go through the gear you need to pack with you in detail in a next post. These pictures are more to show you practically what to wear and what to expect!

The weather will clearly be the main deciding factor in choosing “the” weekend to go to the Kosciuszko National Park.

I would recommend checking it regularly using the great Bureau Of Meteorology (BOM) website and the forecast for the Perisher Valley area:

http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts/perisher.shtml 

As you need to drive the Friday afternoon, I would suggest making the call to go there on the Thursday afternoon after the latest update from the BOM (generally the BOM issue a forecast update around 4/5pm). 

Being Thursday, you can then do late night shopping to get last minute items or food you need for the trip... and pack! 

In the next post, we will talk about how to get there!

Kosciuszko - Part 2: Prepare - Fitness

G'day!

So you want to go to the top of Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Townsend but now you are wondering how fit you need to be?

Well, while going to the top of Mt Kosciuszko is nowhere close to the effort required to climb Mt Blanc, it still requires a decent level of fitness and endurance.

The Main Range Track is a 28 kilometre loop from Charlotte Pass with a 1,259 metre climb (remember that you will be carrying a big backpack). This took us exactly 24 hours with an overnight camp. Better to plan for a day and a half walking at a comfortable pace (back to the car around/after Sunday lunch).

Walking with a big backpack

The Main Range Track Loop

Not to be too dramatic, while you can go by yourself, it's more fun to go with friends and preferably by group of three (or more) to be safe (if someone gets injured, one stay with the patient and one go to get help). The advantage is that you can also share the load and travel lighter!

If you exercise regularly and can bushwalk for a day with a 10/15kg backpack or you do adventure racing (like the Kathmandu Adventure Races), you should be fine.

While there are some elevations, most of them are gradual and not extremely steep. Apart from the weather (if it is too hot or raining) I think the most difficult part might be carrying a heavy backpack. 

If you are unsure as to your level of fitness, or you are not used to carrying a backpack, go for a day long bushwalk with friends. Load your backpack with 10/15kg of stuff (up to you with what ;) and see how you go. That should be a pretty good acid test to assess if you are fit enough/ready or not.

In the next post, we will talk about when to go and the weather!

Kosciuszko - Part 1: Prepare - Background

Welcome back!

In this post, I will provide you with links and documents to kick off your preparation to get to the top of the two tallest mountains in Australia!

 

Mt Kosciuszko (2,228 m) and Mt Townsend (2,209 m) are both situated in the Kosciuszko National Park and are the two tallest mountains in mainland Australia.

Mt Kosciuszko was named by Polish explorer Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, in honour of a Polish national hero.

For the mountaineers, Mt Kosciuszko is part of the Seven Summits, the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge!

If you are not a mountaineer, that's ok, something to brag about at your next cocktail/BBQ party. 

The National Park has put together an extensive document: the Kosciuszko Visitor Guide that can be downloaded for FREE.

The best season to walk to the top of these two mountains is between April and November.

While there are several tracks to go to the top of Mt Kosciuszko, the one I will describe (the one I did) is the Main Range Track. 

Sign in the National Park showing the tracks

The Main Range Track is a great overnight walk starting from Charlotte Pass. 

  

It does provide breath-taking views of the Kosciuszko National Park, goes to the top of the two tallest peaks in Australia, offers views of the glacial lakes and finally crosses the famous Snowy River!

Start of the Track!  

  

Wilkinsons Valley

A great and succinct document detailing this walk is accessible on the wild walks website. 

If you are interested by other/additional tracks, check the section specific to walks in the Kosciuszko Visitor Guide.

In the next post, we will talk about the level of fitness required!