Big-mountain skier Michelle Parker聽has carved a career out of pushing her body higher and further in a single mission than most skiers will聽in an entire season. In addition to聽her talent for skiing down North America鈥檚 steepest slopes with confidence and grace, the 31-year-old聽has developed a fondness for unforgiving ascents. Last season聽she completed the most impressive one聽of her career: she summited and skied聽Denali, the highest peak in North America at 20,310 feet, with a team of athletes including Ian McIntosh, Cody Townsend, Shane Treat, and John Collinson. During the nine-day climb, she battled whiteout storms, thinning air, and nausea while carrying the equivalent of聽her body weight in supplies. Parker says the experience was聽unlike anything else she鈥檚聽accomplished.
During the off-season,聽the Tahoe, California, native sticks聽to a steady regimen聽of climbing and long-distance road biking that keeps her muscles聽and her mind聽on track. But Parker knows there鈥檚 much聽more to high-alpine success than a few extra days at the climbing gym. We asked Parker for her tips聽on training聽for long missions in the mountains.
Embrace a聽Slower Pace
During her training for Denali, Parker teamed up with alpinist Adrian Ballinger聽as he聽prepared聽for his own Mount Everest bid. His biggest tip? Train聽slower and longer. Says Parker, 鈥淭he workouts might be boring as hell, but maintaining a consistent pace over a four-hour workout was something that really got me ready for those long days on Denali.鈥 That meant walking uphill with a 60-pound pack at an unhurried, even pace. To spice things up, she started hiking with her friends,聽offering to carry their babies as extra weight鈥斺渂ecause babies are more fun,鈥澛爏he says.
Cross-Train Like a Champ
Every skier has聽their own favorite cross-training sports, whether they spend their summers mountain biking, surfing, or climbing. But聽when it comes to epic mountain missions, Parker says that long-distance road biking has been her saving grace. In addition to rebuilding her quads and hamstrings following a knee injury, long road rides have helped Parker mentally push past pain, providing a transferable聽sense of accomplishment that she takes with her into high-alpine terrain.
This summer she completed the 135-mile in California, which entails 13,250 vertical feet of climbing. She says being part of an organized race is another great training tool, one that taps聽into her competitive nature and keeps聽her goal oriented. 聽
Skip the Heavy Lifting
Parker does most of her training outside, but when she does hit the gym, she tries to stick to bodyweight exercises. That way she can bring her routine with her on the road, no matter what space or equipment she has at her disposal. One of her favorite quick workouts consists of ten聽squats, ten jumping squats, ten lunges, and ten jumping lunges, followed by a minute of rest. Repeat this cycle four times, says Parker, and you鈥檒l be sure to feel it the next morning.聽
Keep Your Mind Active聽
Parker is the first to admit that she鈥檚 not one to stay still, but one of her greatest assets聽is her ability to breathe and focus in聽extremely dangerous mountain terrain. 鈥Active meditation gives me a moment to clear my mind,鈥 Parker says. Traditional meditation involves physical stillness; active meditation is all about bringing the best parts of meditation鈥攍ike calming breath practices and having a purposefully clear mind鈥攖o more everyday, movement-filled pursuits.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to sit and meditate, but when I鈥檓 out in the mountains doing something like hiking or climbing, then I can really focus,鈥 she says.聽That mental fortitude is the foundation for聽maintaining a positive attitude on long, monotonous slogs up glaciers and into technical terrain.
Don't Forget to Ski
It doesn鈥檛 matter how often you聽hit聽the gym, if you鈥檙e not out walking in the mountains on your skis, you鈥檒l聽feel it come crunch time. Off-season training can go a long way toward prepping for your own mountain epic, but Parker says that early-season training really pushes her over the hump. She starts touring as soon as snow coverage allows, aiming for multiple laps to get her legs in shape and accustomed to long days on the snow. And because聽early-season avalanche conditions can be dangerous, she usually sticks to mellow, predictable terrain through December and January.