Raw Food Rock Climbing

Raw Food Rock Climbing Fiasco - scroll down for tips!

I went to Tahquitz Rock in Idyllwild with my buddy, Mitch, on his first multi-pitch – 500 foot 5.7 climb plus 300 feet of 3rd class plus descent and two 45 minute hikes to approach. We got off route and spent all day..literally 8 hours in the sun... hanging on white rock! We had an awesome climb and I failed at my 80-10-10 quest. 

Is raw food rock climbing impossible??? 

I only brought banana chips that I had purchased at Vons! I ate a few hundred calories of watermelon in the morning, had an orange and set off for the hike.  I decided to leave the fresh fruit because it was heavy and I would have to pack out the peels.  Most “raw” vegan outdoors people (backpackers and climbers) eat mostly fat and protein from bars, nuts, powders and commercially dehydrated foods. 

I left for an all day climbing trip and only ate about 500 calories of fruit beforehand. Bad idea.
I did not plan correctly. Call me the Rookie Raw Food Dude.

I grew hungry soon and by noon was mowing the banana chips. I read the package and – DANG! - banana chips are mostly PALM OIL. All those calories, about 1500, in the bag of banana chips were mostly oil. Not 80-10-10, not ideal for climbing and not what I had in mind. They are not even banana chips. They are oil wafers. Needless to say, I ate the banana chips and PALM OIL and crashed hard later in the day. The descent was torturous.Why?? 

 I bonked. 

I hit the wall. 

I was under-carbed.

Bonking aka Hitting the Wall: (from wikipedia) In endurance sports such as cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by sudden fatigue and loss of energy. Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates. The condition can usually be avoided by ensuring that glycogen levels are high when the exercise begins, maintaining glycogen levels during exercise by eating or drinking carbohydrate-rich substances, or by reducing exercise intensity.

Upon returning to the car I pounded about 5 lbs of watermelon and a couple of oranges and vowed never to leave on a climbing trip – or any other trip – without a supply of real food. (I also hit the wall in the Big Sur Marathon 1/4 mile from the finish and collapsed. The remedy was a can of pineapple juice.)

Raw food rock climbing is totally possible! 


Should I take this experience and say "raw food doesn't work"
................................... or should I plan a little better next time?

The Anasazi were cliff dwelling humans who ate corn, squash and beans. 
They lived on cliffs but they didn't live on Cliff Bars. 

Raw Food Rock Climbing Tips

1. Carb up before you leave the car. I should have eaten at least 1500 calories, maybe more before leaving the car. I burned between 5500 and 10,000 calories based on FitDay.com calculations. 

2. Bring raisins, prunes, dates, figs and eat them - they don't have wrappers like energy bars.

3. Nuts (stoppers) are good for protecting yourself in constricting cracks. If you want to eat nuts all day then climb a tree and sit with a squirrel, otherwise stick to the carb-rich, raw, (dehydrated) fruits.

4. Make the second carry un-dehdrated fruit -  if they aren't swapping leads.

Question of the Day!

Are you a raw foods climber or backpacker? Traveler? Is it possible to eat WHOLE raw foods while covering long distances away from stores – without dehydrating??