Ali Alami's Blog (45)

Cornice hazards in Mountaineering

In mountaineering a cornice is an overhanging ledge of snow on the edge of a ridge, cliff, or crest of a mountain. Cornices form by wind blowing snow over the leeward edge in successive layers. They can be very dangerous from traveling above and below them. A person or skier putting weight on top of a cornice can cause it to break off and collapse and causing a major…

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Added by Ali Alami on February 19, 2011 at 3:59am — No Comments

Graham Zimmerman's Nepal Expedition

FitClimb is honored to be a sponsor of Graham Zimmerman on his next adventure to Nepal. At age 24 Graham is quickly gaining worldclass prominance by putting up new routes and tackling some of the most challenging problems.

Earlier this year Mark Allen and Graham honed a partnership with the first ascent of Vitalogy (AKGr5 M6+ WI5 5.9 R A1, 4,600'). Check out the video…

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Added by Ali Alami on September 11, 2010 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Introducing Fitclimb Mobile For Iphone

Fitclimb has a mobile version of the site. When connecting via your smart phone you can now invite other climbers and friends, upload pictures in real time (as long as you have connectivity), view news feed updates, view and add discussion forums. Here’s a few things I recommend you do when

climbing or hiking if you have reception:…

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Added by Ali Alami on August 2, 2010 at 8:30am — No Comments

100 Survival tips for staying alive in the mountains and outdoors.

1. Let others know…

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Added by Ali Alami on July 2, 2010 at 2:00pm — 1 Comment

Fitclimb Photo Contest

Fitclimb Photo Contest. The member with the best picture will receive a USD $50…

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Added by Ali Alami on June 25, 2010 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

Business and Survival Priorities

As an Internet Program Manager at my day job I frequently have to prioritize different tasks, issues, and business and project requirements. Which do I tackle or assign first? The easy tasks that take less time, the ones with the nearest deadline, the ones… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on May 4, 2010 at 10:00am — No Comments

Swimming to increase lung capacity at high altitude

Ed Viesturs the first American to reach the 14 highest peaks in the world without supplemental oxygen has more lung capacity than the average person. The more lung capacity you have the better you’ll perform at high altitude. Although a big part of lung capacity is biological it is possible to increase your lung capacity through proper training. I think swimming is a great way for mountaineers to increase their lung capacity.

There are a few tips to get the most out of your swim… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on April 14, 2010 at 10:01am — No Comments

Funny & Unusual Outdoor Experiences

My friends and acquaintances know I spend a good deal of time outdoors so I’m often asked about funny and unusual experiences. Here’s a few from my Air Force days as a survival instructor. I’d love to hear some of your stories. These are true stories:

Finding salt in the wild

I was a few years into my term as a US Air Force Survival Instructor when 4 fellow instructors and I volunteered for an assignment in Texas to teach wilderness survival to a group of ROTC… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on December 29, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

Snowshoe basics

Snowshoeing is one of my favorite winter sports. It’s a fun way to stay in shape in the winter, continue to hone one’s outdoor skills in cold weather conditions, and an opportunity to experience some of my favorite trails that would otherwise be inaccessible. There also isn’t much to learning how to snowshoe the techniques are very close to walking and come natural to most people. If you already hike you probably have most of the clothing and gear needed, the main cost is renting ($10-$20) or… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on December 19, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Staying in shape in the off season

One way to stay in peak climbing fitness in the off season and winter months is to use other activities and cross train. When it comes to aerobic training four of my favorite activities are to incorporate running, swimming, biking, and snowshoeing. Ideally you want to keep a strong level of mountain fitness year round. I strive to stay in good enough shape so I can climb my average size mountain at a moments… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on November 16, 2009 at 6:33pm — No Comments

Top Antioxidant foods for backpacking

Here's my favorite Antioxidant foods that work well for backpacking and outdoor meal planning, You'll have a good chance of finding at least one type berries in temperate enviornments from May through September:

1. Blackberries

2. Blueberries

3. Raspberries

4. Cranberries

5. Strawberries

6. Walnuts

7. Coffee

8. Ground Cloves

9. Pecans

10. Prunes

11. Spinach

12. Beets

13. Red bell peppers

14. Onions

15.… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on October 21, 2009 at 4:31pm — No Comments

High Altitude Outdoor Cooking and boiling

The higher the elevation, the lower the atmospheric pressure. The less atmospheric pressure that bears down on the surface of the liquid, the easier it is for water molecules to escape into the air. Water comes to its full rapid boil at a lower temperature at 6000 feet (1828 meters) than at sea level. For each thousand feet above sea level, the boiling point of water drops almost 2° F. Knowing this I normally boil my water longer at high altitudes especially areas prone to contamination such as… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on September 8, 2009 at 10:34am — No Comments

Stretching for hiking and mountaineering

While most of us are good at stretching at the gym or before a run, we often forget to stretch before hiking, climbing, or just as part of the daily routine. It’s important to maintain a stretching program year round in order to prevent injury due to conditions you encounter outdoors like stepping on and over logs, uneven and steep ground, rocks, river crossings, boulders, and twisting and reaching in unnatural positions to find holds.

Stretching before and after a hike or climb… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on August 31, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Developing A Survivor Mind set

Most people realize that a person’s mental state and attitude play a big part in survival situations. I don’t believe a strong mind is something we are born with but developed through our environment and experiences. In my opinion a strong survivor mind set is the single most important factor to success in survival situations, climbing, sports, work, and life. What does this really mean? Here are some factors that help define a good survival frame of mind. The main focus of this article is to… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on August 4, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

Calculate your wake up time for the summit.

Timing in life and in mountaineering can mean the difference between success and failure. In alpine mountaineering you want to time your summit bid to take advantage of the cold, environmental factors, good weather, light, and desired time to be on the summit. As an example on Mt. Rainier in Washington State most climbers leave base camp around midnight to summit between 7-10AM. At night and early morning is when the snow is hardest making it easier to climb, harder for snow bridges to…

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Added by Ali Alami on July 2, 2009 at 7:30am — No Comments

10 tips for getting rescued, Signaling and Communication in the wilderness

Calling for help or getting rescued in the wilderness is not something most of us want to do, but spend enough time outdoors and chances are you’ll experience some type of emergency. When it comes to using your cell phone and getting rescued, here are10 tips you can follow that will help rescuers find you quickly, assist them, and get you out safely. A quick rescue increases the odds of survival and can reduce exposure to rescue parties. Communication and signaling play an important role in… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on June 25, 2009 at 5:00am — 1 Comment

Plant edibility test

Having a basic knowledge of edible and poisonous plants can help a hiker in a survival situation. More common is the enjoyment of recognizing and trying different plants. Plants are an easy source of food to procure when a person is on the move and don’t require specialized tools or much effort to gather. Here are some tips on eating plants in the wild;

If you don’t know a plant and can’t identify it, you can do an edibility test in a survival situation to find out if it’s edible.… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on June 17, 2009 at 7:13pm — No Comments

Basic Shelter and Camping knots

Properly tied knots are important in camping and survival because they help with improvising, safety, hauling, and can be untied with relative ease. Proper knots will also save you time and energy. Here are some basic knots every outdoor person should know.

Square Knot:

Uses: To join two ends of a rope or line together to make a loop or to extend the length of two lines to make a longer line. Mainly used in tying down equipment and shelter lines. A square knot is… Continue

Added by Ali Alami on April 8, 2009 at 6:12am — No Comments

Climbing Mount St. Helens Mother’s day

I consider Mt. St. Helens one of the funnest scrambles in the Pacific Northwest. For many this is a good introduction to mountaineering. Although a permit is required year round to climb above 4500 feet, Mothers Day weekend is the last weekend where the number of climbers is not restricted to 100 per day. The other fun part of climbing on Mothers Day is most climbers (males and females) wear a dress or skirt in honor of your mom; it’s acceptable to wear the dress over your climbing clothes.…

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Added by Ali Alami on April 4, 2009 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Get in hiking or mountaineering shape for that summer trip

Picture yourself on your first mountaineering trip with friends. You’ve spent a month’s salary on equipment, burned 3 days of vacation, and flew 5 hours to get to Mount Rainier in WA State. A quarter of the way up to base camp your sucking air, your legs are cramping, your feeling queasy, and out of steam. You don’t understand what’s wrong; you ran and went to the gym for weeks. Worst than the physical pain is the emotional frustration and feeling that your holding up the others. Now imagine…

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Added by Ali Alami on March 27, 2009 at 8:30am — 3 Comments