There’s something unforgettable about reaching a mountain summit. Beyond the beauty of the landscape, it’s the sense of achievement - meeting a challenge bigger than yourself, the mental and physical effort it took, and the memories made along the way. This guide highlights the training and preparation strategies to help you arrive on the mountain ready, resilient, and equipped for the challenge ahead.
Preparing your body for high altitude (above 2500m) is one of the most important steps before heading into the mountains. This means not only following specific physical training but also understanding the process of acclimatisation. Success on a mountaineering expedition goes far beyond fitness alone - it relies on a blend of preparation, skills, planning, and knowing how your body responds to altitude. Your training should always reflect the exact demands of the trip you’re undertaking.
At higher elevations, air pressure decreases and less oxygen becomes available to the body, which is what makes high altitude so demanding. This change can lead to altitude sickness, an umbrella term covering mild symptoms like headache and nausea (acute mountain sickness, or AMS) as well as serious, potentially life-threatening conditions such as fluid in the lungs (HAPE) or swelling in the brain (HACE).
The best approach is primary prevention - avoiding altitude illness in the first place through sensible planning and gradual acclimatisation. That means ascending slowly (no more than 500m of sleeping altitude per night once above 2,500m) and factoring in a rest day every 1000-1500m or 3-4 days. Staying hydrated, avoiding alcohol and listening to your body are equally important. Above all, prevention is the gold standard - so the smarter you ascend, the safer you’ll be.
Physical training for high altitude trekking or mountaineering is about balancing aerobic endurance, muscular strength, and resilience. You need the stamina to carry a loaded pack uphill for hours, the strength to tackle steep and uneven terrain, and the capacity to recover day after day. Unlike traditional distance-based training, mountaineering focuses on elevation gains and time on your feet rather than miles covered, so understanding the demands of your specific expedition is key. Build a solid aerobic base, include uphill sessions with minimum elevation gains to improve muscular endurance, and work on strength, hill training, and endurance blocks. Recovery is just as important - sleep, nutrition, and rest days are essential to arrive on the mountain ready for the challenge.
Key Focus Areas for Training
1. Aerobic Base
An aerobic base is the foundation of cardiovascular fitness, allowing your body to sustain effort over long periods with efficiency. Building it improves oxygen delivery to muscles, delays fatigue, and helps you maintain a steady pace on long climbs or multi-day treks. Activities like long hikes, running and cycling, train the heart and lungs to work efficiently for extended periods. Steady sessions of 60-90 minutes, gradually increasing in intensity and duration, condition your body to handle prolonged exertion without tiring quickly.
2. Uphill training focuses on building muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness specific to climbing steep terrain. It strengthens the legs, glutes, and core to handle prolonged ascents, while teaching your body to sustain effort under load. Hikes, stair climbs, or treadmill inclines, especially with a pack, replicate the conditions you’ll face on the mountain.
3. Strength Training
Strength for mountain endurance is the ability of your muscles to sustain repeated effort under load and over time, allowing you to carry a pack, climb and descend steep terrain, resist fatigue, prevent injury, and move efficiently during long, multi-day expeditions. Squats, lunges, and step-ups build leg strength and balance for uphill climbs, while deadlifts strengthen the posterior chain to support posture and reduce fatigue. Pull-ups, rows, and weighted carries improve upper-body and core endurance, helping with packs and trekking poles. Downhill training, through exercises such as step-downs, split squats and walking lunges strengthens the quads, glutes, and stabilising muscles to reduce joint impact and prevent fatigue or injury on long descents. Core work like planks stabilises the torso, conserving energy and preventing injury. Together, these exercises prepare your body to handle long, multi-day mountain expeditions.
4. Endurance Blocks
Practice consecutive long days on your feet to condition your body for back-to-back days. This trains both physical stamina and mental resilience.
5. Recovery
Prioritise sleep, nutrition, and rest days. Proper recovery ensures your body can handle the altitude and demands of the mountain. Arriving over-trained or exhausted will make the climb harder and increase injury risk.
The key to staying safe is pacing yourself. Walk slowly and steadily, even if you feel strong at the start, because over-exertion is one of the main triggers of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). Take regular breaks to eat, drink, and check in with how you’re feeling. Pay attention to early warning signs such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, or shortness of breath - these are cues to rest or, if severe, descend. By moving carefully and listening to your body, you give yourself the best chance to enjoy the climb safely.
There’s no true “fast” way to adjust to high altitude - your body simply needs time to adapt to the lower oxygen levels, a process called acclimatisation. Pre-acclimatisation strategies, such as using altitude tents or training at simulated elevations before your trip, don’t speed up this process but allow your body to begin adapting ahead of time.
Rules of acclimatisation:
· Staged ascent: Sleep no more than 500m higher than the previous night once you are above 2500m.
· Rest days: For every 1000-1500 gained, take a full rest day, or every 3-4 days.
· Hydration: Drink plenty of water - dehydration worsens AMS risk.
· Avoid alcohol
· Avoid over exertion
· Acclimatisation hikes: ascend during the day, but return to a lower altitude to sleep.
Typical altitudes at risk for Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) are above approximately 2,500 m, with symptoms usually appearing between 4 and 24 hours after ascent, although severe cases below this altitude are rare but possible. AMS is a clinical diagnosis, and anyone experiencing symptoms should seek help from a medical professional.
Early symptoms:
· Headache
· Nausea or vomiting
· Loss of appetite
· Fatigue or weakness
· Dizziness/light headedness
· Severe palpitations
· Listlessness
· Swelling in the hands and feet
If AMS progresses untreated, it can develop into High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) or High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), both life-threatening emergencies that require immediate descent and treatment with medication and oxygen.
There’s no miracle pill or supplement for altitude. The best “treatment” is prevention through staged acclimatisation. That said, a few things can help:
· Iron & multivitamins: If you have deficiencies, correcting them beforehand helps oxygen transport.
· Nitrates/beetroot juice: Some studies suggest improved oxygen efficiency, though evidence is mixed. People should be careful to use the right type of nitrate and watch out for possible blood pressure effects if they’re sensitive.
· General nutrition: Prioritise a diet rich in carbohydrates at altitude.
Acetazolamide (Diamox) for High Altitude
People should always ascend in stages to allow natural acclimatisation to occur, and generally, taking drugs while on the mountain should be avoided. Diamox is widely used to help prevent Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) by jump starting the acclimatisation process. Diamox can cause mild dehydration, tingling in fingers or toes, and changes in taste. People with kidney problems or sulphonamide allergies should avoid it. While not officially licensed for AMS and banned by WADA as a diuretic, it can be useful for rapid air ascents or rescue missions where gradual acclimatisation isn’t possible.
Knowing when you’re truly ready for a mountaineering or trekking expedition isn’t always obvious, but a structured approach can help. Anyone who has underlying health conditions should start their preparation with a medical check to ensure that travel is safe and to get advice on managing their health at high altitude.
1. Fitness check: Determine your heart rate zones and current strength to guide your training.
2. Develop a training plan: Include aerobic base, strength, and specific hill training. Supplement outdoor sessions with functional exercises to improve strength, stability, and endurance.
3. Terrain and elevation familiarisation: Understand the terrain you will tackle specific to your trip, including daily elevation gains.
4. Kit and equipment: Ensure your gear fits, functions properly, and suits the conditions.
5. Skills practice: Brush up on navigation, pack organisation, and any technical skills required.
6. Nutrition & hydration planning: Practice eating and drinking on the move and make sure you know what fuels work for you at altitude.
7. Acclimatisation strategy: Plan staged ascents, rest days, and, if relevant, pre-acclimatisation.
8. Mental preparation: Build resilience and practice managing fatigue, discomfort, and decision-making under stress.
9. Emergency planning & safety: Know evacuation routes, understand weather conditions, review first aid basics, and learn how to respond to altitude sickness.
10. Communication & support: Ensure you have ways to contact others or get help if needed.
Preparing for a high altitude trekking or mountaineering expedition is as much about patience and prevention as it is about physical strength and endurance. Training your body on hills, carrying weight, and developing resilience is vital - but respecting altitude is what keeps you safe. As the saying goes, enjoy the journey!
Click here for more information on altitude sickness and how to prevent altitude sickness.
