29029 Snowbasin #1

The 29029 Snowbasin #1 challenge involved hiking up a mountain thirteen times to reach the equivalent height of Mount Everest (i.e. 29029 feet), so Chris tried to largely rely on sports nutrition products to fulfill his fueling requirements during hikes. By consuming PF 30 Gels and PF 30 Chews during each 1.5 to 2 hour hike, Chris took more fuel on board (~45-60g/h) when he was moving at a higher intensity to keep his energy levels up. Between hikes, Chris took advantage of the real foods on offer at lunch, dinner and breakfast to consume the other macronutrients of fats and protein, which can be crucial during an event that involves such an extreme duration, whilst he was also careful to control his portion sizes so he didn’t overload his gut.

Chris effectively used two 500ml soft flasks throughout the event which he filled up ahead of each hike, one with plain water and the other with PH 1000 Electrolytes. This allowed Chris, who’s classified as a ‘low’ salt sweater, to replace a good proportion of his sweat sodium losses. Chris’ fluid intake seemed adequate for this event, but he increased his intake during the hottest parts of the day (highs of 36°C/97°F!) to 1L/32oz per hour, which he thinks in hindsight may have been too much. In future, collecting more specific sweat rate data to give him an idea of the volume of sweat he loses in a variety of environments and intensities would be helpful. Overall Chris did well to listen to his body, change his approach during the hotter hours, and avoid any major hydration-related issues.

Chris could have considered using slightly more caffeine during the waking hours of the event to reach the recommended caffeine guidelines in an attempt to help increase his perceived energy levels. This said, Chris told us that he was conscious of getting some good quality sleep (which he achieved!) and was worried that caffeine would have a negative impact on this.