Hey all,

Any advice on reorganizing some rope, a big tyre and a few bolts into something I can train with to get used to pulling a sled ?
And do people use chest harness's on Denali or just attach the sled to their climbing harness?

Thanks

Here's a thought. Pile weights in the middle.



And another.

Good luck!

Scott

Some climbers use chest harnesses but others don't want the rope pulling so high on their body if one of their team members falls in to a crevasse. They would rather be pulled at waist level so they don't get pulled off their feet so easily. Instead of attaching your sled to your harness try attaching your cord ends using wire gate biners to the lower part of your pack, like the bottom of the shoulder straps, which may be more comfortable in the long run.

If i could get away without a chest harness then great, I'm going to clip it to the hip belt on the pack, there's attachment loops on either side, see how that goes..

Thanks for the photo, it's kind of what i had imagined but I didn't think of the centre piece for the weights, I was going to put sand bags in the tyre to add weight,


Thanks guys

I bought a cheap sled from the store and pulled my wife around in the park to train. Got a lot of weird looks and questions, but it worked great for training.

rush wrote:I bought a cheap sled from the store and pulled my wife around in the park to train. Got a lot of weird looks and questions, but it worked great for training.

...And with some choice dialog such as, "You've been such a bad boy, pull harder!" and maybe have her crack a little whip, you could truly freak people out.

Another idea is to take your sled and pull it while using an old pair of x-country skis. I've got an old pair of "grass" skis I occasionaly work out with. Go early in AM or late at night-fewer weird looks and if there is dew on the grass, they work a little better.

Other useful tips are to eat kibble, chew on a rubber squeaky toy, and sleep with sled dogs.

Archm - great idea to train ahead of time for the fitness of dragging a heavy weight along the ground. I discovered to my woe on Denali that you use very different muscles for pulling a sled vs. hauling a pack (umm, duh?), so I found that part of the expedition the most physically difficult!

I'd highly recommend you try something along Dave's suggestion if you're skinning up the route in skiies rather than walking in snowshoes. I experienced both with sled hauling up there, and you also use very different muscle when sliding your feet along to drag the sled than when you're stepping up on the balls of your feet.

Also, if you really want to mimic the pain, then be sure to wear ankle weights while you're at it, to mimic the weight of your plastic boots and dragging your feet against fresh snow.

Have fun!

In addition actually pulling a sled loaded with gear as training we found that the hip sled at the gym also helped to strengthen the adductor muscles.

hadn't thought of the ankle weights either, .. also I could try do it with one nostril stuffed with cotton wool... to simulate the lack of o2 ??

96avs01 wrote:In addition actually pulling a sled loaded with gear as training we found that the hip sled at the gym also helped to strengthen the adductor muscles.

the hip sled at the gym ? can you explain, thanks

I have a creek behind the douse with a 2.2 mile dirt walkway. I have been doing weekly pulls along it with a 33" mud tire (about 55#s) IT HURTS! The abductors need work! Scott

IMHO, the real trick to pulling a sled on Denali is that you are pulling the sled uphill, and the sled wants to go back downhill. Badly.
If you really want to train, you need to mimic those forces. I'm not sure a tire will do that.

Forget the sled. Go for an alpine style speed ascent

Best practice is to put it all together. Pull a sled into backcountry, winter camp, climb a peak. Fill the sled with weight for practice ie..bottles and bladders of water and gear. Will be a comfortable stay as you can carry whatever you want. Practice with all the gear you will use on the mountain and simulate diff scenarios. Having your winter camping down is the best prep for Denali.