Best Mountain Endurance Nutritional Strategies for Optimal Performance
By Bill Allen
One of the most important things you can do to stay strong during long days in the mountains is to keep your body fueled enough so that you can perform well today and recover for another big day tomorrow. It turns out that coffee and donuts may not be the best way to start your day, even though many great climbs have been made around coffee and donuts, including the famous 1910 Sourdough Expedition on Denali! Since we’re not as tough as those turn-of-the-century miners, we have to take advantage of everything we can to gain an advantage.
You’ll spend a lot of time training for your climb, practicing with your gear and clothing, and fine-tuning everything to get it perfect, but don’t forget to also train with your food and fuel. Climbing a big mountain involves long days with low to moderate aerobic output. This is not a short, high-intensity workout. You’ll often be on the move for eight hours day after day, and a day on top of a big mountain is often more than 12 hours of work! How you fuel and hydrate on a day like this will make a huge difference in your performance and ability to recover for the next day. If you’re joining us on an expedition, we do our best to provide you with good, healthy meals, but I’m going to focus this article on snacks and drink mixes you can bring to help fuel you during the day and keep you healthy. recover at the end of the day. end of it.
Adaptation of fats for endurance
Even if you’re thin, you have enough calories stored as fat to get you through days in the mountains. Improving your ability to burn fat during exercise is an important part of training for a long expedition and gives your body access to a huge source of energy. There is growing evidence that fat burning is beneficial for endurance athletes. You can improve your fat adaptation by making some fundamental changes to your diet and including long endurance days in your training routine to help your body learn to burn fat for fuel more efficiently. Anyone who has ridden the Sugar Bonk roller coaster on a long day on the mountain – having to stop for a GU or gummy bears every 45 minutes – understands what it means to be totally dependent on simple sugars for fuel. Our body can only continue to use glycogen as its primary fuel for a short time, and then we have to replenish it, while fat stores are almost unlimited. There is a great article on training to burn fat on the Uphill Athlete website where I see lots of information about my training and nutrition. I also use a lot of Hammer Nutrition products and reference some of their high quality articles on fueling and training for endurance, including this one on the Top 10 Mistakes Endurance Athletes Make .
*Updated 2024* If you’ve seen endurance athletes break previous records, including at the 2024 Tour de France, you’ll know that the science of fueling has evolved. Ten years ago, we recommended “fasted workout” days to improve our fat-burning ability. This is NO LONGER recommended and fueling during training and while climbing is an important part of the training program. Train with your supplies like you do with your layering and other systems on the mountain and you’ll know how to handle long days and keep going.
Bill’s Favorite Drink Mixes for Energy and Fuel
I have two different drink mixes that I use on long days in the mountains. One provides longer-lasting energy and promotes fat utilization, while the other provides complex carbohydrates and electrolytes that are very easy to digest. I believe in these drink mixes and use them regularly, but they might not be right for you. As with equipment or anything else you use on an expedition, you should try these drink mixes on your training days and know that you love them!
The mix I rely on for any big day (3+ hours) in the mountains is Hammer Perpetuem Latte Flavored Drink Mix. I fill a hot water bottle and several scoops of Perpetuem on summit day and enjoy a hot drink at each stop! I mix this drink pretty strong and carry it in a 16oz Hydroflask bottle to keep it warm during the day. I don’t really rely on this drink mix to hydrate me much, which means I don’t drink it when I’m thirsty, but it does provide some hydration with plenty of good fuel. The Perpetuem drink mix provides a combination of protein, fats and carbohydrates, and I really feel like it provides good stable energy and is easily digestible even at high altitudes.
The other blend I use is another one from Hammer Nutrition called HEED. This one is a carb-type drink mix that’s easier to digest, but doesn’t rely on simple sugars that can cause a roller coaster. I feel like the HEED blend does a good job of providing consistent energy throughout the day, and it tastes great so it’s easy to keep drinking. I mix HEED drink mix in two liter Platypus bottles, which I can keep in the inside pocket of my down jacket or parka on a very cold morning.
You should find what works best for you and use your training days to also work on your fuel and nutrition strategy. I know everyone is different and you might not tolerate my favorite drink mix, but by the time you’re climbing a big mountain, you should know what’s best for you.
Best Recovery Drinks
On long expeditions we often have to climb 3-4 days straight, putting in a lot of effort each day and recovering as much as possible each night. A good recovery drink as soon as you arrive at camp at the end of the day is a great way to ensure that you are immediately giving your body what it needs to begin the recovery process. Loading up on carbs and protein immediately (within 30-45 minutes) is a great way to ensure your body absorbs what it needs to rebuild and recover for another day. I like to use another Hammer product called Recoverite whenever I can when I get to camp or at the end of a long day, and I think it has helped me feel better day after day.
I’ve found what works for me through trial and error, as well as research and talking to people who know a lot more about these things than I do. I try not to use an expedition as an excuse to eat candy and junk food, but it’s important to stay carb-fueled. I try to eat real food when I can, including nuts and dried fruit when I’m at camp, less on the trail, and train my body to burn fat more efficiently. I have seen the power of a packet of GU to revive someone who is clearly out of breath. Keep in mind that at higher altitudes it can be difficult to digest things like nuts, dried fruits, and meat. So you need to be creative and have enough easily digestible fuel. Find what works for you and use the time you spend training to figure out what works best and what you enjoy enough to eat regularly. Train your body to burn fat as part of your workout routine and you’ll see the benefits when you’re not having fun.
I recommend several products in this article, not because I am sponsored by Hammer or receive a commission, but because I have found these products work well for me and I want to help our climbers get the most out of of an expedition. I almost feel guilty on a trip when I drink my “secret sauce” drink mixes and the climbers I’m with wonder what I’m drinking. Find what works for you and treat your body as a machine that needs quality fuel. I am confident that you will feel the difference both when climbing during the day and when recovering better. It just makes an expedition more enjoyable when you feel better and stronger!
