Mountain climbing food

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General issues of nutrition and the formation of food layouts when organizing mountain expeditions and ascents

Traditionally, one of the most important stages of preparing for a mountain trip or climb is drawing up a nutrition schedule and selecting special food. I still remember those times when, before going to the mountains, we dried bread, cooked dried meat in the oven, and filled honey and nuts into plastic bottles - these time are gone.

From a distance the mountains always look so close. Caucasus, Bezengi Gorge. Mount Koshtan and Dykh Tau summit

Progress does not stand still, and now the main difficulty is not the absence of something, but the abundance of opportunities and the breadth of the range of available outdoor food products.

In this text, I want to offer you a series of theses about nutrition in the mountains, based on my own 25 years experience as a guide on mountaineering climbs of varying duration and complexity.

Perhaps my theses will seem controversial to someone, but they are certainly useful, like any well-founded and professional point of view.

There is always food in the mountains. But it's not always easy to eat it

I must warn that you will not find ready-made solutions for food layout in this text, since they do not exist. I will formulate only the basic principles and recommendations on the topic of nutrition in the mountains, which can help you prepare for your mountain route.

Formation of an individual food layout before setting out on the route to climb Mount Gestola, Caucasus

Let's look at the following questions regarding nutrition during mountain climbs:

· Specialties of nutrition during mountain programs and alpine ascents
· Hot or cold food?
· Do you need a thermos for the alpine ascent?
· Are army packed rations suitable for mountaineering?
· Are there ready-made solutions to the issue of food layout for mountaineering - what products to buy?
· Alcohol in a mountaineering layout

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The first important feature of mountaineering as an activity is the critically high level of short-term, peak loads on the body.

Climbing Klyuchevskaya Sopka in Kamchatka - 12 hours of continuous push on the summit from a level of 2900 m

During ascents, we expose our body to a very high load; it is impossible to compensate the energy consumption with nutrition at the same time, no matter what products we stock up on.

Climbing even on the initial difficulty can cost more than 10,000 calories per day - such a loss of energy cannot be compensated for by any nutrition - we can not eat that much. And even if we could, we won’t digest it...

Climbing Mount Kazbek - you can climb this mountain in 2-3 days, fueled by dreams of delicious khinkali - you can smell the next photo, their aroma is unique

Our body is a well tuned computer that perfectly understands and can calculate how much energy it needs at the moment and how much power it will spend on extracting this energy from certain products.

If the proportion seems unfavorable to the body, then it can refuse to take external food and use its inner reserves.

The process of redistributing energy and turning on resources is an automatic reaction of our body to extreme environmental conditions, part of the general process of adaptation to stressful load.

Khinkali is one of the unobvious but terrible dangers of Georgia - they penetrate into the stomach too easily...

Of course, this process does not always go smoothly - there are quite a few factors that complicate our life in the mountains, and the issue of nutrition is only a small part of the overall picture.

Do not forget that while staying at high altitudes, the load on the body and energy consumption continue even in a state of conditional rest. Even during sleep, our energy goes into adapting to the lack of oxygen, unusual external conditions and physical activity schedule.

Mosquitoes in Kamchatka never lose their appetite

Many climbers have noticed the effect of loss of appetite during acclimatization in the mountains. In the first days of the alpine route, the body does not want or even refuses to take food.

This is a completely normal, natural reaction of our body, which understands that it will spend more energy digesting food than it will receive in return.

You should not force food intake in such a state - this can lead to unpleasant or painful consequences - stomach upset and even greater loss of energy. The recommendation is simple - listen to your body's reaction - it may well tell you which products and in what quantities it needs at the current moment - or does not need it at all.

If you want to eat a cricket or a cockroach, it means your body has need of it

Such an approach, especially at high altitudes, requires experience and caution - the fine line between painful acclimatization and pathological reaction to altitude is difficult to determine, especially in case of lack of the necessary experience.

Under the influence of altitude in the mountains, sometimes even attacks of cannibalism occur

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Here is an example from my experience as a mountain guide:

We climbed Mount Huascaran Sur - the highest mountain in Peru, almost 7000 m high. Having good acclimatization, we decided to climb the summit in the easiest and fastest format possible - in three days, completely independently - without porters and with a minimal food layout.

Nevado Huascaran in Peru 6746 m

The load in this format of mountain climb was so high that during the ascent the body did not require food at all - we did just with hot sweet tea and several cookies a day.

In case of a sudden need for calories, everyone had a couple of chocolates in his pocket - to get protected against the “glucose hole” (hypoglycemia) - this functional failure can be triggered by a critically high load even on a trained body - that is tested from my own experience.

The Huascaran climb was successful, and after the summit we immediately began to descent.

Ice summit of Nevado Huascaran

Going down, I physically felt the processes in my body being restarted - with every hundred meters of the lost altitude, I began to feel hunger more and more clearly. However, this hunger was quite selective - I remember very well my internal dialogue with my own stomach:

- Maybe we can eat beef steak? - no, he's too rude

- Then at least grilled chicken! - no, it's too dry

- Maybe a pork chop? - no, it's too fat

- What kind of whims?! What do you need, my dear stomach?! - I want cuy! (traditional dish in Peru, roasted guinea pig)

In this choice there was nothing surprising - it is guinea pig meat that has the best qualities for recovery after high-altitude load - it is tender, very light and nutritious.

Here it is - cuy - a traditional holiday dish in Peru

Due to its qualities, this dish is extremely popular among the people of the Peruvian and Bolivian highlands; among the Quechua Indians it is considered a delicacy.

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The second obvious feature of the real mountaineering routes (I’m not talking about commercial programs, where quality food is part of the service) is that the entire set of products and means for their preparation must be transported independently - in the backpack.

At the same time, the energy consumption for carrying cargo in the altitude conditions can be many times greater than the energy value of the carried products.

Mountains are easy and accessible only in the pictures or on the top of your sofa with a TV remote control instead of an ice ax

For myself, I found the optimal solution to this issue: for the short alpine routes in the mountains - 1-4 days, I take a minimum set of basic dry food (dry weight 250-300 grams per day: nuts, honey, chocolate, dried fruits, dehydrated meat), the most important condition is the availability of plenty of sweet hot drinks: in my case, it’s tea with sugar and lemon.

I can comfortably survive on the climb for several days even at maximum physical load - I have climbed Mount Ushba and Dykh Tau in Caucasus more than once in this format.

Mount Ushba is the most beautiful and quite difficult for climbing mountain of the Caucasus

Longer routes in the mountains require an expanded range of food products - accumulating fatigue dictates more stringent requirements for recovering and renewal of energy.

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Another story from my practice.

Once I worked as a guide on Khan Tengri Peak, and had a client from Austria, the owner of a large restaurant business.

With well-known German pedantry, my client packed food into containers for all the days of high-altitude climbs.

The plastic boxes contained chocolate, biscuits, dried fruit, dehydrated turkey meat, energy bars, delicious Bavarian sausage and even a micro can of beer. In the Base Camp it all looked perfect, but...

Peak Khan Tengri, view from the top of Chapaev Peak - the classic route runs along the central ridge

After the ascent, almost the entire set of products was lowered to the Northern Inylchek BC and presented to me as a souvenir for the next expedition. The Austrian guy climbed to the summit using resources of his own body, two Snickers and my thermos of tea - he didn’t want dried fruit, the sausages made him sick, and the beer could only be sucked or licked - at an altitude of 6000 m it got frozen.

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Summarizing this example, I can say that the thoughtless arrangement of high-altitude rations leads, among other things, to littering of the ascent routes - not all the teams have the opportunity or desire to lower the unused food remaining after the ascent.

Sorry for that picture... this is just a garbage left on the Lenin Peak classic route - in the altitude zone 5000+, where any garbage does not decompose at all

From the above, we can draw some conclusions:

• Nutrition on the climbing routes cannot fully compensate the energy expended in the moment. Effectively overcoming the load largely depends on the availability of body reserves. So you should not deliberately lose weight or go on a diet before going to the mountains.
• Meals during the climbing should be as easy as possible for the body to digest - liquid, warm and well prepared - in order to reduce the load on the stomach and energy expenditure on digestion.
• Food during the ascent should be ready to eat without additional cooking - the “pour boiling water over and wait 5 minutes” format.

It should be taken into account that the boiling point of water at an altitude of more than 4000 m is significantly lower than at sea level - many products (instant noodle or cereal porridge) are not completely brewed with boiling water and require several minutes of additional boiling.

For this reason, it is not recommended to use plastic pots while climbing - it is impossible to cook or heat food in them over an open fire.

Cooking a standard instant ration at an altitude of 7000+ meters, climbing Peak Communism

• The food layout for climbing should be extremely compact and light in weight (dehydrated) - do not forget that we spend our own energy carrying the load.
• Ideally, the food layout should be adapted to the acclimatization schedule (in the case of a long climb or mountain expedition). In the first days of high-altitude load, the need for food will be lower than at later stages of the route.
• In the mountains you can eat everything, even what many are forced to give up on the plains - for example, flour and sweets. Sweets are the easiest energy to absorb. Chocolate, honey, jam should be in any food layout for the alpine ascent.

Hot or cold food?

When it comes to saving the weight of climbing equipment, sooner or later a thought comes to mind: is it possible to completely abandon bulky and heavy equipment for heating food - burners and gas cylinders?

Is it possible to stay in the mountains without hot food, to live for a short time solely on stream water and dry foods?

It is quite safe to drink fresh water in the mountains, but definitely it is better to boil it

I experimented with this format of ascents (of course, up to the snow zone) and came to the conclusion that this idea was inappropriate. Of course, to leave in the car the kitchen equipment is very tempting in terms of reducing the overall weight of the carried equipment. But this weight saving comes to an additional noticeable loss of energy.

The fact is that in order to fully assimilate the food our body needs to heat (or cool) it to this body temperature. The process consumes a lot of energy. If there is a noticeable deficit and high energy consumption on a mountain route, drinking cold water from a stream and consuming unheated food can be critical in terms of energy loss or even hazardous to health.

Sometimes in the mountains all you need is just a cup of hot coffee for your breakfast

The above also applies to the frequent question of whether is it worth taking a thermo bottle for a climbing route. Not all mountain guides answer this question unambiguously. Sometimes I myself, after checking the weight of the packed backpack, decide to replace the thermos with a lighter plastic bottle...

However, having a hot, sweet drink can be extremely useful on the mountain, especially in case of delays along the route or any unexpected situation.

Having assessed the weight and volume of the backpack, we often come back to the question: what is the reason for our going to the mountains?

Therefore, about a thermos, the answer is more likely yes than no. A light, possibly titanium liter flask with hot sweet tea can significantly facilitate a climber’s survival on the route. And in a critical situation it even can save lives.

Military food ration

When working on the food layouts for the ascents, I often deal with various military dry rations - both Russian and foreign. With many similar parameters, the realizing of army food rations largely does not meet the nutritional requirements for mountaineering.

Russian military food pack - the best that can be said about this food box is that after unpacking and using it, a bunch of garbage can be seen even from space.

Let's figure out what army food rations are generally intended for. First of all, this is a standard set of products to provide food for soldiers when it is impossible to organize a field kitchen - in a dugout, in a trench, etc.

Army food rations are not intended for autonomous forced marches - for this they are too heavy and bulky - for use on the independent route they must be re-equipped and freed from all unnecessary things.

After re-equipment, (if there is anything useful left), the army food ration can be relatively suitable for use on the autonomous routes and alpine ascents.

After all, mountains are food for the soul, not for the stomach

Ready-made food layout solutions and outdoor food industry

There are no ready-made food layouts solutions for mountaineering.

The fact is that the set of food for climbing must correspond to the specifics of the route, its timing, climbing tactics and the group training level. Of course, the set of products will be different when climbing trekking alpine route, for example, to Mount Elbrus or to big-wall climb of Fitz Roy or El Capitan.

Big Wall climb of El Capitan, USA

However, there are many options for composing the mountain climbing food layout.

All over the world, for a while there is a developed industry of outdoor food products specifically designed for use in various types of outdoor activities. As a rule, these are packaged rations, either ready-to-eat or not requiring a long preparation time.

It should be noted that with all the abundance of choice, offers in the narrow format of mountaineering practically do not exist on the outdoor food market - this segment is too small and of little interest to the manufacturers.

Still there is no expedition in which you could taste the entire collection of delicious outdoor food

The main audience of the outdoor food market is hiking and trekking enthusiasts, fishermen, hunters, and tourists making easy hiking trips lasting 2-5 days.

In this format, the food manufacturer pays great attention not so much to the ratio of energy value and weight of the product. The most attention is paid the taste and gastronomic appeal. This marketing approach in civilized countries is reflected even in the segment of military food rations.

By chance once I got several sets of the US Army military rations - the standard version included 30 (!) sets of various foods of the high quality, well-thought-out assembling and packaging.

Just high quality and thoughtfully prepared camping food

So, in the broad outdoor food market segment, menu variety takes precedence over the weight and method of preparation.

You can agree that eating a variety of tasty food not only physically supports a tourist, hunter, or a soldier in unusual or difficult conditions, but also relieves stress and psychological frustration, creating a feeling of “home care”.

Having all that food you don't even need to go to the mountains

Modern portioned outdoor packages offer the highest quality and variety of ready-made food, ranging from dishes from various grains - rice, wheat, beans, to outright gastronomic masterpieces of the national cuisine of different countries - this is especially typical of Chinese and Korean producers.

Chinese products are top notch as usual - in every sense

The competition of manufacturers in the international outdoor food market is very high: one can endlessly list the various brands and products, the range of which is updated every day.

The outdoor food market is especially well developed in countries with a high culture of outdoor activities - Europe, the USA and Canada are clearly leaders in this field.

Alcohol in the mountaineering food layout

In the conditions of critical energy consumption during an alpine ascent, the need for constant physical and psychological mobilization of all the body's resources, any additional load can lead to loss of energy and functional failure.

The only benefit of alcohol in the mountains is that you can get drunk to a hard hangover and make your guides happy, changing your mind about climbing to the summit

Drinking alcohol on a mountain climbing route creates unjustified risks. For this reason, I recommend to avoid any alcohol consumption on any, even the simplest mountaineering routes.

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If your goal in the mountains is the Summit, in order to achieve it, it is worth to endure some of the inconveniences of a meager food supply. But after the descent, in a good restaurant and good company of your climbing friends, you can celebrate your success and reward yourself for all the mountain hardships.

Coming down from the mountains - overeating is unlikely to be avoided

The author of the text and photos - Alex Trubachev
Your professional international mountain guide and climbing coach

MCS EDIT 2024