Before we hit the road - practice makes perfect!

The goal is clearly defined and the team is good and ready. WEhat shall we do next? Money, sponsors, the attention of the media connected with the planned achievement? Well, nothing could be more wrong. We will think about it after returning from ... training.

It is the training, fitness and technical preparation, that should now be a priority for us and remain so until the day of departure. For sportsmen, in any field, the truth is obvious. But those who opt for an extreme trip for the first time should not forget about it also. They often have a lot of work ahead, both in terms of general fitness preparation, as well as acquiring specific skills. The reward for the effort will be rapid and substantial progress, the most notable at the beginning of a sports career.

How to prepare well? We will prepare for the climbing expedition in a different way than for biking, sailing, skiing, horseback riding, hiking. It is the most important, to base our preparations on specific, deliberate plan and implemented systematically. The worst in such cases is a flash in the pan - "All week I was training according to the program, but now I do not have enough time." The same will be the chaotic fits and starts: "Oh, there have been too many parties lately, I will make up for this during the long weekend" or postponing training.

The ideal situation is when, you and you colleges from trip would be training together. Advices from professional trainer can be helpful both for beginners and advanced persons in preparing the training program and maintaining discipline on its implementation.
As many extreme expeditions require special skills, we should in our long-term schedule of preparation remember about courses or refreshing the knowledge once acquired.

Buying the equipment is not enough, we still need to learn how to use it. When the lack of strength will force us to descent from the very top of the mountain, we would not be able to workout or realize disregarded acclimatization. Or when a colleague falls from a glacier into the crevasse - then there will be no time to recall how to make the "flaszencug".