One year to train for the diamond.

[tradmike]

So my good friend and climbing partner has asked me if i would want to climb the diamond with him next year.  I feel this is to good of an opportunity to pass up but am also intimitaded by the shear size of this goal and climb.  Right now I am leading devils lake 5.7's and 8's and following 10's with the goal of my first ten lead by the end of the year.  The hardest pitch on the casual route of the diamond is 5.10a(However at altitude will feel much harder).  Wondering what everyone suggest for training? here are my thoughts.

Living in the midwest, i'm planning on doing lots of cardio.  If the approach sucks the climb will only suck that much harder.

I'm also planning on lots of laps at the gym, kind of thinking that i should have my arc period be much longer or on the supplemental days of the other phases to do arc workouts to get more milage along with cross training.

Not sure how much limit bouldering would come into play for a climb like this.

I really feel it comes down to cardio and milage  suggestions.  sorry or lack of detail about to run out the door for fathers day celebrations.

Mike

[Charlie S]

I'd target your cardio to specific types. For instance, my cardio workouts consist mostly of 20 minutes of The Stairmaster on intervals (5 min warm up, then the next levels for 40 second intervals: 10, 11, 12, 20, 10, 11, 12, 20...and so on until 20 minutes are up). By keeping the workout time low I've managed (for me) to not put on much extra leg mass. I only do this 2 times a week and go down to 1 or 0 times a week at the performance stage.

Note that the approach will likely take some energy, especially hauling camping and climbing gear.

10a at elevation can feel like 11. You will be breathing heavy. If you have a way to practice crack techniques, this will likely make your climb much easier and more enjoyable.

You may also benefit from laps at your crag. If it were me, I'd focus on ARC, strength, and PE. Power may not be a limiting factor for that climb.

EDIT: a year to go from 5.8 to 5.10a is totally doable.  You're looking at 3 cycles.  I've not seen you climb...but I'll tell you the difference between 5.8 and 5.10a for me was taking a lead fall on gear.

[Erichh]

Good goal! The Diamond is spectacular. Things to consider....

-Since you don't live in Colorado you should be prepared to give yourself up to a week or maybe more in the worst case scenario to get a good weather window.
-You might want to hike in and camp above Chasm Lake the day before to give yourself more time to climb and to acclimate
-If you have the chance you might also want to climb other routes in RMNP in glacier gorge, Hallets peak, etc... for fun!

Be prepared for the north chimney. It sucks but is manageable. You really want to hit it at first light (between 5-6am) to give yourself enough time to climb the route. Be prepared to scramble up choss. I did not rope up in the north chimney but many parties simul climb which is not a bad idea. Also, it seems if you stick to the right the climbing is a bit more difficult (5.8?) but way more solid. I stayed left in the 5.6 loose rock. Then you arrive at broadway ledge.

The climbing is not that sustained. Unlike Yosemite granite, on the casual route there are quite a few face holds and feet. Don't worry about the p2 traverse. Yes, it is runout but it is easy. The crux on p6 (I think?) is short and can be aided if necessary.

Once you hit table ledge you can rappel or go to the summit. Also, I have had to bail off the diamond before and because this is fairly common due to bad weather, there are rap anchors everywhere. Especially if you have 2 ropes you will be able to rappel safely.

Let me know if you have more questions!

[tradmike]

Curious to any other cardio suggestions, and if i need to adjust my training in any way, such as doing long days at the gym or outside of as many laps as possible

etc. should i be running or hiking to get my cardio up. I could also do the stairmaster as suggested and with my pack on if that helps also.

[climber511]

Train to carry your pack for a few hours (pack up the actual gear you will be carrying)and gradually work up to carrying that or maybe a few more pounds. There's a big difference between being able to run or bike etc and carrying a loaded pack at moderate altitude. Otherwise I think allowing adequate time for acclimation is probably the biggest thing.

[slimshaky]

without any doubt, the altitude is going to be your biggest hurdle. doing a lot of cardio work will help a little bit, but for most folks altitude is a very specific issue that can only be addressed by spending time at altitude.

first question - are you going to try to do it car-to-car or will you bivy up there? both have plusses and minuses. the last time i was up there (late 90's), my partner and i hiked up to chasm lake the day before in the early afternoon. we bivied, and then got a really early start up the north chimney to do pervertical sanctuary. it was a really long day. a REALLY long day. as in, when we were going down the north face, the camel gully, etc - i was in full on thousand-yard-stare mode. i was in really rough shape.

at the time i was fairly out of 'alpine shape'. other than doing some backcountry skiing during the winter, and a quick run up a route on spearhead the weekend before, i really had not been above 10000 feet that much in the previous year or two. i was in pretty good cardio shape - i was doing some mountain biking, running 8 miles a couple times a week, etc. it's just really hard to keep the engine hitting on all cylinders up there. the climbing is pretty steep and physical, and the routes are pretty long.

i would recommend trying to spend some really long days climbing at your local crag. when i say long, i mean really long. like wake up in the dark, end in the dark, 20 to 30 pitch day sort of long. probably 4 weekends of this before your trip.  you are going to want to be able to dig deep, real deep.

also, i would try to make your trip as long as possible, do an easier alpine route or two to get some acclimation. then get a solid couple days of rest at a lower elevation. then go for the diamond.

good luck and let us know how it goes!