Training to climb Pico De Orizaba

By Ryan Humphries
Co-Owner:Axistence Athletics

​The word "ADVENTURE" is defined as the following:
"An unusual and exciting, typically hazardous experience or activity."

Climbing Pico De Orizaba was exactly that. Rising 18’491 feet above sea level, it’s the highest peak in Mexico and the 3rd highest in North America. The trail starts at 14K’ and the journey begins at around midnight. 

For an asthmatic kid with three knee surgeries who’s experienced altitude sickness just about every time he’s been over 14,000 this was a bit of an ambitious goal. However, just because the adventure itself may be hazardous, doesn’t mean your training needs to be.

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Sure, there are folks that like to beat themselves up with their training…but as Bob Dylan once said, it ain’t me babe, it ain’t me.

Having a solid aerobic base is crucial for an endeavor such as this. The typical training recommendations  will tell you to start running to build that aerobic base... That's all fine and dandy if you like running, but what if you're like me? What if you have six screws and a plate in your ankle? What if you've had three knee surgeries, not including a broken patella? What if you had to use an inhaler as a kid and running is what gave you your first asthma attack? 

Leading up to the mountain, I ran precisely zero times. I did this for a few reasons:
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1. I was nursing a foot injury and the impact of running felt terrible.
2. I wasn’t training to RUN up the mountain, I was training to SUMMIT
3. I honestly just really don’t like running :)

Instead, I took a page or two from the Strong Endurance and All Terrain Conditioning protocols. I used strength training, intervals, loaded step-ups, and rucking. My training sessions left me feeling fresh and more invigorated, not wiped out on the floor. I also hiked to altitude (11-13K) each weekend leading up to the climb.

The exact program I followed is an amalgamation of creativity and exercise science based on the last decade of my own training and experimentation.

Some folks will tell you to stay hard and push through the pain, and while there IS a time and place for that…for most folks there’s a much better way to do things that’s also sustainable and will deliver better results in the long run.

If you're interested in the exact training program I followed, let me know and I'll send it your way for free.

Below are two examples of training sessions used:

Steady-State Training:
1000 Step-ups w/ backpack
Metrics Tracked:
- Box height
- Weight in pack
- Number of steps
- Avg. heart rate
- Time to completion

Interval Training:
For 20 Minutes, Every Minute on The Minute:
5 KB Snatches (alternating hands each minute)
Track: 
- Weight of KB
- Avg. heart rate

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