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2023 Mountaineering Conditioning Group – Application Deadline
February 24
The Mountaineering Conditioning Group (MCG) is for beginner/novice mountaineers who are looking to build on their existing fitness base. This is a hiking-based group that will focus on mountaineering fitness, not technical mountaineering skills. Participants should have a good fitness base already. This group is not appropriate for someone going from couch to crag or for someone who is already crushing 6000m peaks.
Over 12 weeks, we will have 8 hikes totaling nearly 100 miles and 24,000 feet elevation gain. Most hikes are in Shenandoah NP and will be within ~2 hours from DC. The capstone weekend will include two camping nights and there is a possibility of another camping weekend if the group is interested. This group will also have biweekly 1-hour Zoom calls covering physical fitness, nutrition, mental preparation, and other topics. Special guests will include the AMGA 2022 Guide of the Year Matt Shove of Ragged Mountain, Jeff Reynolds of S2 Mountaineering, a 7 Summits Climber who trained primarily in Virginia, and Mark Postle of Evoke Endurance.
Participants will have access to resources to build their own mountaineering training plans, although building individualized fitness plans is outside the scope of this group’s focus. The three trip leaders – Ana Mills, Chris Close, and Sonal Goorha – have experience on mountains, rock, ice, and backcountry trails and are enthusiastic about helping others build their confidence and ability to reach high places! To foster a more immersive experience, this will be a closed group of around 12 participants. You should be able to attend the majority of the hikes. Calls are optional but we hope they are exciting enough to entice you to join us!
APPLICATION DATES:
Applications must be submitted: 2/24/23
Applicants will be notified via email: 2/26/23
APPLICATION FORM: http://forms.gle/k5LeUa6FMdUCvcSi9
Hike Dates:
March 4, 2023 – Day hike
March 18, 2023 – Day hike
April 1, 2023 – Day hike
April 15, 2023 – Day hike
April 29, 2023 – Day hike
May 13, 2023 – Day hike
June 2, 2023 – Camp night
June 3, 2023 – Hike & Camp night
June 4, 2023 – Hike and break camp
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