Hines - Peak Nutrition: Smart Fuel for Outdoor Adventure

PEAK

NUTRITION

PEAK

NUTRITION

SMART FUEL FOR
OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

Maria Hines and Mercedes Pollmeier

MOUNTAINEERS BOOKS is dedicated to the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.

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Copyright 2020 by Maria Hines and Mercedes Pollmeier

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Printed in China

Distributed in the United Kingdom by Cordee, www.cordee.co.uk

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Copyeditor: Rebecca Pepper

Cover and book design: Jen Grable

Front cover photographs by Maria Hines (top center, bottom left, bottom right) and Kyle Johnson (top right, top left, bottom center)

Frontispiece photograph by Kyle Johnson

Back cover photographs (left to right) by Dustin Brown, Kyle Johnson, and Jeff Kilpatrick

All photographs by Maria Hines unless otherwise credited.

Special thanks to Kyle Johnson (.

Additional photographs provided by the following: Dustin Brown: page .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file for this title.

Mountaineers Books titles may be purchased for corporate, educational, or other promotional sales, and our authors are available for a wide range of events. For information on special discounts or booking an author, contact our customer service at 800-553-4453 or .

Printed on FSC-certified materials

ISBN (paperback): 978-1-68051-205-2

ISBN (ebook): 978-1-68051-206-9

CONTENTS

IVE BEEN A RECREATIONAL MOUNTAIN athlete for 18 years. I started as a climbing gym bunny, then moved on to outdoor sport climbing trips abroad, traditional climbing, big wall climbing in Yosemite Valley, outdoor bouldering, and alpine rock climbing. As a 47-year-old chef, restaurateur, nutritional coach, food consultant, and author with family priorities, I find that my mountain time often goes to the bottom of the list. Sadly, this is common for a lot of us who dream of spending more time playing in our cherished green spaces.

In all these years, Ive yet to come across a comprehensive nutritional cookbook that is dedicated to mountain sports. Professional and recreational mountain athletes require proper nutrition to fuel their bodies, minds, and spirits. This book is for outdoor athletes who want to perform at their best.

Do these experiences sound familiar? You stayed up a little late eating and drinking with friends, knowing full well you have to get up at 7 a.m. to go climbing with a partner. Tired and groggy, you slam a couple cups of coffee (as opposed to water) and grab a banana. While on the road to the crag, you grab a double espresso, just to make sure you crush it on the rocks and keep the stoke level high. You say to yourself, Self, I should probably purchase that giant, fresh-baked cinnamon roll, covered in icing, to get some carb loading in for my one day out this week. Thatll keep me going. Now youre good to go!

Reaching your destination, you hop out of the car and charge the approach, super jittery and practically foaming at the mouth with excitement. Visions of ascending hard fill your mind. But by the time you get through a few warm-up pitches, you start to feel lethargic. Focusing becomes difficult; your motivation dwindlesthe familiar feeling of bonking. But its your only day outside, so you charge ahead as best you can. As you get into the harder climbing, your hands cramp up and your technique falls apart. You feel a bit nauseous, and the top of the route is epically far away. Youre not about to let your climbing partner down, so you pull through the rest of the climb. Youre exhausted at the end of the day. It takes you a full day to recover, and that nagging overuse injury has really got your attention now. Perhaps the empty carbs and coffee combo wasnt the best fuel. You decide to change your ways.

Youve spent months planning for your epic big wall, vertical camping trip. Its going to be amazing! Youve managed to not get injured, youre fairly fit, your partner didnt bail, and the weather looks great. The stoke meter is at 110 percent. On day 1, you start up the route, estimating a 12-hour day of climbing, which slowly and painfully turns into 16 hours. The weather report the day before said 80 degrees F, which turns into 96 degrees. You hadnt anticipated the heat absorption of the granite youre attached to. You feel a bit of heatstrokeyou didnt put enough electrolytes in your water. Its too hot to eat your allotted food. Your brain is foggy, your breathing labored. Just focus. Youll eventually get to the top of this pitch, you tell yourself.

Relieved, you finally get to the anchor. Now you have to haul a 100-pound bag all the way up the pitch. You want to cry, scream, slump over, and rest. But your climbing partner is waiting down below so they can release the bag and start cleaning the pitch. You go into beast mode, stoically hauling away before eating or drinking. By days end, youve switched on your headlamp and fought with the portaledge before eating, drinking, and taking a break. You and your partner eat dinner in silence. Its late, youre beyond tired, and the team is in need of a serious morale boost. I know what we need right now! you say. Bourbon!

Your partners eyes light up, and for a moment you forget about the intensity of the day and the 2000 feet of additional climbing waiting for you in the days to follow. After a few sips, you relax, and you and your partner are the best of friends again. You snuggle in for a five-hour sleep on the cramped, unevenly pitched portaledge. Smelling your partners stinky feet and the fermented poop bag, you toss and turn all night. You bumble around, as quietly as possible so as not to disturb your buddy, while trying to pee off the side of the portaledge and not on the ropes or haul bag. The next morningunrecovered, undernourished, dehydrated, inflamed, and achyyoure at it again. Wall hands have set in. Your cramping, swollen, cuticle-battered, scraped-up hands struggle to unscrew your water bottle lid, stuff the sleeping bag in its stuff sack, and tie your torture box shoelaces. Morning chores feel epic. Youre rethinking your poor nourishment from the day before. You promise yourself, Today I will do better!