So unfit - HELP!

Aero17

Hi

I'm due to climb croagh Patrick this coming Sunday the 26th of July. I would consider myself unfit as I do virtually no exercise apart from a leisurely walks during the week. I'm a teenager and I'm not overweight but i know I should be doing a lot more activity than this. I'm just wondering if there's any way I could prepare myself during the week or is it too late? Should I give up my place on the bus now?

Sorry if this is in the wrong category.

Any advice much apperciated.

Thanks in advance.

WAPAIC

Drink lots of water and eat well this week. Start with the group, take your time, don't let others bother you or rush you. Pace yourself. if you have to stop, don't stop for long or you'll get cold. If you have to turn around, at least you got part of the way, you'll get there the next time.

Losty Dublin

Croagh Patrick, while a stiff climb, isn't out of the reach of most people unless you have mobility problems, cardiac/respiratory problems or or serious illnesses. While you are leaving the training rather late to increase your fitness and stamina it won't do you any harm to get out and do a few 4-5-6 paced mile walks this week if only to get used to moving for long periods of time. As the last poster says, take your time and while you will feel it afterwards, you will be fine and you will be able for it.

Other than that, prepare for the walk well; don't go on the tear before it and ensure you go up having had something decent to eat. Bring waterproofs as Mayo is very prone to rain, light fleece tops and a decent cap as it will be very cold and windy on the summit, gloves, decent footwear and socks, sun block, water, food, sunblock and a backpack.

Oh bring a change of clothes and a towel in case you do get wet and if you have it, a camera as the view is sublime. If you have a phone, ensure that it's charged as fully as possible and that you switch off data and close off apps to ensure battery life.

Reek Sunday will have plenty of First Aiders, Civil Defence and Mountain Rescue people on hand should you need help on the day. However don't take this to mean that you can take chances or go unprepared; they are there just in case the worst happens, and it invariably does to a few careless or unlucky people.

Have a look at the below link for a few other pointers and hints. And enjoy yourself

http://www.mountaineering.ie/_files/Walk%20Safely%20-%20A4%20final.pdf

Pat Mustard

Aero17 wrote: »

I'm just wondering if there's any way I could prepare myself during the week or is it too late? Should I give up my place on the bus now?

You don't have enough time to make a significant change in your fitness in the five days left before Sunday.

You have plenty of time to organize your gear though. I'd work on that. As Losty said, make sure that you have boots, waterproofs, rucksack, water, food, etc.

Assuming that it is a properly supervised hike, etc., go for it.

acorn

Avoid blisters by wearing boots/shoes that you are used to walking in, if necessary wear them everywhere you go this week so your feet are used to them.
Even if there's a cloudless blue sky at the bottom bring your waterproofs, hat, gloves and extra sweater/ fleece.
Put everything in a plastic bag in your backpack, unless you"re very lucky it will rain at some point !
Be extra careful with your phone, most walkers have sacrificed at least one phone to the rain gods before copping on. Put it in a small plastic zip lock bag.
A stick is useful, particularly on the descent.
Take your time.
GO FOR IT AND ENJOY !!

GalwayGrrrrrl

You have some great advice here. Make sure you do bring a stick- I tried to do it without one which was a big mistake. Also wear shoes or boots and socks that you have worn before to avoid the risk of blisters. Have a great time!

WAPAIC

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Oh bring a change of clothes and a towel in case you do get wet and if you have it, a camera as the view is sublime. If you have a phone, ensure that it's charged as fully as possible and that you switch off data and close off apps to ensure battery life.

Good advice but just to be clear there is no need to bring these up the mountain, you don't need extra weight in your bag.

Losty Dublin

WAPAIC wrote: »

Good advice but just to be clear there is no need to bring these up the mountain, you don't need extra weight in your bag.

Yeah, I should have said to leave a change of clothes and towel in the bus. Camera/phone though should go as the view on top is too good to not record.

BarryD

If you're not very overweight and do take the odd walk and you are in mid/late teens - then you should be grand if you sort out your gear and just take your time. Better to keep moving up slowly and steadily rather than go too quick, take a break, then lash into it again etc. Watch your footing when coming down the hill.

BeardySi

Mainly a psychological thing I think, but if you're taking a breather, stay on your feet. Lean on a rock/stick/pole if you like, but don't sit down! It's a lot easier to get going again when you don't have to stand up and put on a bag etc. You're also more likely to only take as much of a break as you need rather than what you might want.

If you're struggling, focus on one step at a time, forget about the peak - just focus on the next few steps.

hmmm

As Waipac says, pace yourself - if you can talk in complete sentences, or hum the lines of a song to yourself you're going at the right pace. Don't get sucked into following the fastest person (particularly at the start when some people will take off at speed), ideally you should be able to plod away without stopping and that will require going slowly.

GalwayGrrrrrl

Croagh Patrick climbs for today have been cancelled due to bad weather. (According to Irish Times Facebook) Feel sorry for you OP- hope you get a chance to tackle it again soon.

Losty Dublin

xfactorfan23 wrote: »

Croagh Patrick climbs for today have been cancelled due to bad weather. (According to Irish Times Facebook) Feel sorry for you OP- hope you get a chance to tackle it again soon.

I actually thought I was hearing things when I caught today's news. Wise move if their weather is as bad as it is in Dublin.

Aero17

xfactorfan23 wrote: »

Croagh Patrick climbs for today have been cancelled due to bad weather. (According to Irish Times Facebook) Feel sorry for you OP- hope you get a chance to tackle it again soon.

Yes. I must admit it was bitter sweet when the bus had to turn around 😂 at least I can now start my preparations for next time thank you to everyone who posted. I know all the advice will definitely come in handy for next time!

allthedoyles

Seemingly hundreds ignored advice and climbed anyway .

On a day like today you definately would need waterproof footwear , as there is many parts wet and sandy .

Alun

allthedoyles wrote: »

Seemingly hundreds ignored advice and climbed anyway .

On a day like today you definately would need waterproof footwear , as there is many parts wet and sandy .

Apparently, some have been rescued with hypothermia and others have been turned back. I hope they're forced to give a hefty donation to Mountain Rescue as a penance for their idiocy.

The Black Oil

Daft carry on. Some of them appeared to be using rain gear you'd pick up for a tenner.

BarryD

People have to take personal responsibility for themselves. If I was involved in MR over there, I'd have gone home after advising people not to ascend and let them look after themselves and each other thereafter.

The Black Oil

MR might let ya go for that. :P

Alun

BarryD wrote: »

People have to take personal responsibility for themselves. If I was involved in MR over there, I'd have gone home after advising people not to ascend and let them look after themselves and each other thereafter.

That's not the way they do things though. It's difficult at times to understand how they manage not to lose their rag when confronted not only by cases like this, but also ridiculous callouts such as this one
http://wmr.ie/call-outs/487-call-out-34-bray-head-search-19-07-15 for example, but one of their basic tenets is not to be judgemental, and just do their job.

allthedoyles

They could have put a lock on the gate , - it was short notice anyway as I think it was only announced this morning .
Lots of people would have travelled from all over the country and further.

You can only advise them and you can bring a horse to water but you can't make them drink it .

jusmeig

Aero17 - Did you survive, I heard it was pretty bad weather wise....with thousands not heeding the advice of mountain rescue and the Garda!!!

Losty Dublin

allthedoyles wrote: »

They could have put a lock on the gate

The thing here is that Reek Sunday is a different beast altogether and, with many determined to do it and who have traveled miles or those who can't/won't be told, you literally can not close the mountain off. There were Gardaí, Mountain Rescue, Civil Defence, First Aiders and parish and other volunteers on the ground from to warn people away from making the climb. However they have no legal powers to compel them away and off the mountain so if people chose to ignore them well that was that.

Another issue with Reek Sunday is that many climbers take on the mountain after dusk on the Saturday. Some even climb it during the night or at dawn. Others take the climb via a number of other routes to the west and south of the mountain so it's harder again for those stewarding to get to them as well.

Anyway, for those who didn't see it there's a video clip in the link below that gives an idea of how it looked on the day.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0726/717246-croagh-patrick-pilgrimage/

allthedoyles

I climbed it last Tuesday , and was okay going up , very warm humid day . The top was covered in fog , but had cleared when we arrived at the top.

The top was like a different season altogether , and it was freezing with little shelter , and if you did'nt bring outer clothes to put on , you would'nt last long there .

The sheep came over to us and we fed him some cheese , and it was all worth it for the scenery alone .

Mountain Rescue

Glad to hear you took the advice on Sunday morning aero17 Anybody that was on the reek before 11am really took a hammering especially higher up. Things eased of a little after that but still not a great day to be out. Out of the couple of thousand that were on the hill that day there were probably about 50 people who I would consider properly kitted out for the conditions and been capable of looking after themselves if something went wrong for them on the hill. I spent 15 hours on the hill Sunday in 3 full kits of rain gear and still found it cold up there.
So aero if you want to come back down at any stage over the summer I would be more than delighted to climb with you.