Abstract
To prevent mismatches between “the level of physical fitness required for the mountain to be climbed” and “the climber’s own level of physical fitness,” the authors devised a method (conversion formula) to determine the climber’s level of physical readiness for climbing, based on a point system for the combination of climbing and running during pre-mountain training. In order to verify the usefulness of the conversion formula, three mountaineering enthusiasts were asked to climb the Tsurugidake mountain. The fitness required to summit the Tsurugidake mountain was calculated to be 5900 points (course constant × 100). The goal was to achieve a total of 5900 points (2950 points for climbing and 2950 points for running) during a two-month pre-training period. The percentage of subjects who achieved the target points in the pre-training ranged from 83.6 to 104%. As a result, the knee joint extension muscle strength per body weight increased by 10 to 17% for each subject before and after the pre-training. In addition, the subjects were able to climb Tsurugidake and traverse Tateyama in 2/3 to 3/4 of the standard time without any accidents such as falls, and showed less muscle stiffness and muscle soreness, and less local and general fatigue after the climb. The proposed method of assessing physical readiness for mountaineering (conversion formula) has the potential to support safety mountaineering.
