• 0 Posts
  • 14 Comments
Joined 7 days ago
cake
Cake day: March 10th, 2025

help-circle
  • I haven’t done any climbing that requires ropes/helmets yet, so far I’ve been sticking to trails. I moved to a mountainous area 2 years ago.

    Going uphill is the easier part, it just requires cardio. Going downhill hurt my knees when I first started, but that pain went away over time. Downhill always seems to be harder for people once they get past the cardio requirement for going up.

    Investing in a good pair of adjustable trekking poles makes going downhill a lot easier on your joints. Cork handles are expensive, but worth it if you use them a lot. Shortening them for uphill and lengthening them for downhill also helps.

    Another great investment is a high quality ultralight chair! I have a Helinox ground chair which is shockingly comfortable and only weighs 17 ounces/482 grams. Being able to relax and enjoy the view before descending adds a lot to the experience.


  • How do you handle elevation gain? I ask because I can climb mountains like a champ but for some reason running kills my legs and I’m terrible at cycling. It doesn’t even need to be a mountain, as a steep hill does the trick. Keeping a steady pace up a hill gets my heart rate to a place similar to running, and it usually stays pretty high for the descent as well. It doesn’t hurt my joints nearly as much as running or biking.


  • I tried switching from running to cycling for my daily cardio, but lately I’m wondering if I’m just not built for cycling. I’m so bad at it.

    I live near mountains and will do hikes where I gain 3,000 feet in elevation and burn 2.5k calories, enjoying every second of it, but for some reason I can barely bike up a small hill.

    Underdeveloped muscle groups maybe?



  • Fjallraven makes technical pants that are fantastically durable, and waterproof. They are waterproof because they are a waxed canvas, so you can remove the waterproofing and make them more durable by washing them on a hot cycle, or add wax and melt it into the fabric with a heat gun.

    They’re expensive, so wait for one of their sales. I paid $140ish (USA) for both of my pairs, it it was worth every cent. They come with a lifetime warranty, so living near a fjallraven store is helpful as they will repair them and wax them for you for free.

    Technically they’re only supposed to provide this service for 10 years after purchase (which is still worth it considering how much abuse I put them through) but Fjallraven employees will still provide tailoring/waxing even if you don’t have a receipt. I asked someone at their Seattle location about this and they said they have a customer who has been bringing in their pants for repair for 30 years. They’ll mail your clothes back to you after they finish with repairs/waxing.

    I have two pairs, one vidda pro ventilated for shoulder seasons and winter, and one pair of abisko lite trekking zip offs for summer. The vidda pro pants I use for winter sports instead of snow pants. The zip offs can be converted into shorts for hot days.