Bmc - Nim

Swapnil

Dear Ani , practice , practice & practice more...thats the only way increasing your stamina (& wrist power) & follow the tips given by la vagabonde - quite useful .
Also any climbing movement involves three points of contact with the climbing surface. Usually while climbing you make use of two feet and one hand or it is the reverse two hands and one foot. You need to concentrate on your footwork. Your legs should carry maximum weight and allow you to move freely. Along with your footwork, concentrate on the movements of your hands and arms as they control the direction of movement.Don't be in a hurry and see to it that you don't put much weight on your hands. If you want to climb with ease you need to follow a simple step. First shift you hips and then lift your foot, this way you don't need to move your weight around once the foot is "flagging".Hope this will help ...

ani rch

Thanks.
I want to ask you another thing.about the right shoes.as everybody is suggesting that for rock climbing shoes should be preferably 1 size shorter than the normally we use.and for trekking they used to suggest 1 size large shoes than the normal.for NIM what kind of shoes i should buy and what size?I normallly use size 6.Please tell me some affordable brands.

Swapnil

ani rch ,I'll suggest do not purchase rock climbing shoes unless you are planning to use them regularly even after NIM course ..in glacier & snowline region you'll be using Koflach (Dual layer boot costing around 15-20K each pair) both ( rock climbing & Koflach) will be provided by NIM itself so no need to worry about that...just make sure you don't lose them anywhere or damage them (else in that scenario you'll have to compensate from your pocket)...What you need to bring from home is good trekking shoe ...I do know about minus 1 theory of rock climbing shoes but never heard about +1 theory of trekking shoes ....& as la vagabonde rightly said you need to break them in before using at NIM . You'll be mainly using this shoe for : - daily exercise, while going to tekhla,inside NIM campus ,while trekking from Bhuki (roadhead) to basecamp & return .
Make sure shoe provides ankle protection & rubber sole for sufficient grip ( e.g hunter shoes as recommended by la vagabonde) main diff. between international brands & Indian brands lies between weight of shoe , International brands are much more lighter & more comfortable (& expensive) than Indian one .Personally I prefer & using Woodland shoes (costing around 2.5 K) - although they're little heavier than international brands but one gets used to it after a while (on earlier pair I done 53 treks (including NIM) & on current pair 12 treks so far...) Choose as per your budget ...just keep in mind qualities to look for in shoe while making your final decision .

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la vagabonde

dear ani
swapnil has already covered the shoes aspect.
normally it is advised that your trekking shoes be +1 cos sometimes the feet swell up during a difficult day. also snug shoes put undue pressure on the toes during descent, causing blisters, corns, pain under the nail of the big toe,and other disgusting things
so to accommodate the increase in foot size, you need shoes that provide space for these changes. also rest of the time, an insole can be used to make you comfortable (it also provides extra cushioning for your foot).
as for the wrists, go for wrist rotation, opening and closing your fingers and making a fist, flexing them, doing wrists curls using light weights, hanging from a bar (increase the time gradually) and of the old favourite, push ups!
dont forget the ankles! you can stand on the edge a step with just the front part of your feet on it, then stretch up and stand on your toes with your arms raised above your head. you can increase the intensity by standing on only one foot at a time with the other leg stretched out behind...increase in muscle power, balance and concentration.
more than the physical aspect, ani try to read up on the general area u could be visiting (NIM has several training areas, About 10 glaciers...look up the nim site)you will definitely enjoy much more!! definitely get good shades....
god...thats such a lotta advice....just do it babe!

wildearth

Hi Maverick am attending the Advanced course at NIM 23rd April and I plan to trek across from Mussoorie to the road head leading to Uttarkashi . Want to go cross country carrying all my gear.The route looks like Mussoorie-Saur-Kanatal or alternatively Mussoorie Saur-Thauldhar-Dang.

Trying to find out more about the distance and difficulty level.

Let me know if you are up to it.

cheers

Swapnil

Thanks la vagabonde for explaining +1 size theory of trekking shoe in detail ...I wasn't knowing about this.

@ wildearth
maverick is going to attend basic course at NIM....
Maybe someone staying in that area (Dehradoon/Musoorie)or someone who done this trek before will be able to help you...
Just out of curiosity one question : Why do you want to do this trek ?....when you already going for advance course @ NIM ...do you want to do this trek as warm-up trek or what ?

wildearth

Swapnil "Why I am doing this trek before NIM, AMC ?" To enjoy reaching Uttarkashi,bypassing as much of the crowds as possible. Also to activate my climbing muscles, I can only train on stairs in Hyderabad.

Dilliwala, thoroughly enjoyed reading your thread. Also read the Naq Tibba thread. I only have the Uttarakhand Road Atlas and all references are from there. I do refer to google maps but find the scale inadequate.
I am planning to be in Mussoorie on the 20th/21st, to make an allowance for a 2 day walk carrying my 20 kg + pack.

On Google maps saw a ridge extending East from Dhanaulti which extends to NH 94 and accesses Chham /Bhaldiana. Plan to go cross country on footpaths preferably, avoiding metaled roads and villages.

Mussoorie- Dhanaulti- Chahhm/Bhaldiana seems like 50 km which means an overnight. Have done a bit of overnight solo trekking,have all necessary gear and I am reasonably comfortable being alone in remote places. Seems like fun. Would appreciate your further advice. Thanks

Cap'n thanks for your kind suggestion on separating the last few parts of the thread. That would be nice. Cheers

capt_mahajan

Done (Phew)

Unfortunately, since some of the posts pertained to the ongoing discussion in this thread too, have left them here.

Slight disjointed feeling, but it's the best I could do

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