Training for Stoneman Dolomiti Hike

Last year on tenerife, I set myself a little challenge: I wanted to hike up Teide — on foot, of course. So, I hiked from the valley station to the cable car’s mountain station: 1600 meters of elevation gain and 20 km, and apart from my basic fitness, I was completely unprepared. It worked out well, so the next challenge: Stoneman Dolomiti Hike with 56 km and 3300 meters of elevation gain. 😳

Elevation Training

Of course, this time I can’t do it without proper preparation—that would be reckless and foolish. That’s why I started getting in shape for it some time ago: I regularly go to the gym and use the stair master, basically an endless staircase, and climb my steps. And in fact, I can now consistently maintain 60 steps per minute for over an hour, even with a backpack — that’s 720 meters of elevation gain per hour.

Here is an image of the stair master 😅

Distance Training

The second part of my training is a bit more time-consuming. The elevation gain isn’t the only “problem”; there’s also the distance of 56 km. To simulate that in the gym, I would have to stand on a treadmill for about 11 hours, and somehow that just feels silly. So instead, I head out into nature and just go.

07.03.2025

In March, I already completed a somewhat longer tour (27.4 km and 720 meters of elevation gain) quite well.

11.05.2025

Last weekend, I took the next step (33.4 km and 940 meters of elevation gain).

The next tour is currently being planned with 49.7 km and 1200 meters of elevation gain. 😂