I’ll never forget the email that landed in my inbox last November. “Failure isn’t an option,” Trudy wrote. “How do I get in tip-top shape for a 30-day Upper Dolpo trek?”
Fast-forward five months: Trudy—67 years young and 88 pounds lighter—had logged almost 275 miles and 94,000 feet of elevation gain training, half of it on real stairs and mountain trails, the rest on treadmills between deadlifts and trap-bar sessions. She showed up in Nepal ready for twelve high passes (six over 16,500 ft, topping out at 18,250 ft) and the cultural immersion she’d been craving since her Peace Corps days.
In this episode, I pull back the curtain on the program we built together: how we ramped weekly goals from 12 miles/3,000 ft to 18 miles/4,000 ft, why a 25-pound training pack and forty-lap stair grinds became her secret weapon, and how she toed the line between over-training and optimal conditioning.
Trudy joins me to share the human side, chatting with curious neighbors during two-and-a-half-hour staircase sessions, balancing powerlifting meets with summit prep, and using Diamox along with smart acclimatization days to keep altitude sickness at bay.
If you’re eyeing Everest Base Camp, Kilimanjaro, or your own backyard epic hike, Trudy’s journey proves that meticulous prep and a rock-solid mindset trump age, altitude, and doubt every time.
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