Conditioning
On your first day, or first and second days, of the Alpine crossing, from Lake Geneva
(Lac Leman), you will need to ascend 4,000 - 5,000 feet (1,300
- 1,700 meters). Obviously, you will need to be in pretty good shape before
you leave.
Fitness is sport specific, so, if possible, prepare yourself by
hiking in mountains near home. When I couldn't get to the mountains, a very steep 400 foot high hill served for conditioning, by climbing rapidly up and down it 3 or more times.
If your only recourse is fitness machines, then the following exercises
should also prepare you: 1) Walk on treadmills set on a 20% slope
at 2 miles an hour or more; 2) On a stair-climbing machine with
actual steps (where you have to lift your feet to the next step),
climb 100 flights, ideally within 40 minutes or less and without
undue fatigue; 3) strengthen your quadriceps (utilized mainly in
going downhill) on a machine designed for this propose.
Be forewarned: I personally know of two examples of middle-aged men who
thought they were fit, because they worked out in the gym. They
also thought that because certain women they knew could do the GR5, it would be no problem. In both cases —though they were
told they should— they did not do the specific exercises recommended
above or practice hike. In both cases they were physical exhausted
on the GR5 after their first two days of hiking (which required
thousands of feet of vertical elevation), and they had to abort
their trips (in one case bad weather was a major contributing factor).
Hiking Speed
American and English hikers may be disconcerted to find that in the
Topo-Gides and other guide books time, rather than distance,
is used as the measurement between two landmarks. For example, the Topo-Guides don't tell the distance from the shores of Lake Geneva to the village
of Novel, but rather give a time: 2 hours.
The author has come to find this time system quite reasonable for
measuring Alpine hiking. Most of the Alpine trails are much steeper than
most trails in the American West (but not steeper than trails in the Appalachians),
and one's speed (and effort) are not directly related to
distance between two points. One's effort is more closely related to time spent. Additionally, the use of time makes it easy to calculate where you might have lunch, where you can reach in a day
In certain cases, such as valley walks, or long assents or
descents at minor grades, you will want to know the mileage,
which can give a good indication of wear and tear on your body.
Calculate the mileage from the times in the book, or from maps.
After a day or two of walking, you will be able to compare your
speeds with those listed in the Topo Guides or other guide book.
The Topo Guides use approximately 300 meters (1000 feet) per hour
up, about 400 to 600 meters (1,400 to 2,000 feet) per hour going
down, and about 4 km (2.4 miles) per hour on the flat. ( The guides
are usually, but not entirely accurate or consistent.) Compare your
time with the book time as you climb, descend, and walk on the flat.
Usually, in the author's experience, a reasonably fit walker will attain or beat the times listed in the Topo- Guides. Remember that the Topo Guide times
do not make an allowance for rest stops or meals.
Rest Days
Schedule a rest day at least once a week, if for no other reason
than to allow your body and spirit to recover. Some suggestions
for rest day locations are made in the route pages of this site.
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