Well just 5 weeks to go now, and I think I am looking forward more to finishing the daily training routine more so than starting the expedition!
With these last remaining weeks, today I have shifted the training program to a greater bias towards hill climbing on Da Hei Shan (Big Black Mountain) which is an impressive backdrop to the Dalian downtown area seen in this picture:
The hill climbing started at 7am this morning, for 4.5 hours with a loaded 20kg pack, and 2kg weights strapped to each ankle; these weights replicating the weight of the high altitude boots & crampons we will wear climbing above 6000m.
Now Da Hei Shan is only 400m or so from the base to the summit, definitely more a hill than a mountain, and certainly not too much to get excited about for training, although it does make a pleasant stroll every weekend for the local Chinese ladies in high heel shoes! But, with the help of a local motorcycle taxi guy "Zhan" hired for a few hours, things worked out a lot better.
I would hike from the bottom of the mountain up along the road to the summit, and Zhan would "rev the rings" out of his Chinese workhorse winding his way up to the summit meeting me there about 25 min later. There I would be touted by the local corner drink vendor selling cold drinks to avid hill climbers, then jump on the back and we'd head back down to the base, riding the front brake lining all the way, and then do it all over again - a total of seven #$%^#* times!
Have faith right in the saying "No pain, no gain"? Bye for now. David
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