So, you've got your permits. You've made your Hostel reservations. You've maxed out your credit card at REI. You're cutting the extra straps off your Camelbak cozy to try and get your daypack under 40 pounds. You've been doing the Stairmaster at the gym for a month now and yesterday you did it at the highest setting. You got in trouble with your boss because every time she walks by, you're on this message board looking at pictures.
Are you ready? (Who knows?)
What surprises me is that no one bothers to just put on their pack and see how long it takes them to walk 22 miles. It doesn't matter if you're in Kathmandu or Kansas, on a lonely gravel road or traipsing through the Mall of America. Have you simply walked the mileage without resorting to having Cousin Billy give you a lift "those last couple miles" or sinking into a Starbucks couch with an iced mocha for a "breather" half way through? (Yes, I know I put the Starbucks on the summit, but for those of you still hoping, it really was a joke---the guy leaning against the wall in the pic was a French climber who crawled to the summit hut, lit a cigarette and then promptly passed out.)
I'm not trying to be too much of a smart-ass, but seriously: Just walk the mileage where you live and then start compounding the factors of terrain, altitude, elements, safety, training and equipment. If you bothered to do this then a good number of your questions (which can and will ONLY pertain to you individually and can't possibly be answered by anyone else) would be solved.
Make it a good trip for yourself---and let's try and keep the epics to a minimum (and keep SAR lot less busy) this season.
Cheers.
