The Challenge IRONMCK 30.2 “30 Days for 2 major challenges” seeks to resolve, in a unique and groundbreaking, two sports projects of high difficulty and themselves possess a great recognition among members of the respective communities triatlética and alpinística: The Ironman of Lanzarote and Mount McKinley. It is the latter, of a proposal by extremely ambitious, and behold the great particularity of IronMcK 30.2, circumscribe both events to a small temporary space just 30 days.
The first evidence of the scale of the challenge is the difficulty inherent in itself and presents each of the challenges separately.
The Ironman of lanzarote is ranked by many as proof in the distance but hard on the planet. Not surprisingly, even the most experienced triathletes have needed two or three attempts to be able to finalize the slopes to save and the constant wind on the island are well known and familiar to the long-distance triathletes. Therefore, the chances of success diminish considerably.
For his part, Mount McKinley is one of the most complex mountains, cold and remote planet. It’s considered a benchmark of first category in the high mountains, and very probably the most difficult beyond the domains of the Himalayas. Absolutely it is a mountain and affordable for their particular idiosyncrasies (arctic conditions, complete self-sufficiency, technical steps) is definitely a challenge of high difficulty. Aim also that McKinley will be for the author the third summit of the “Seven Summits”, consisting climb the highest peaks on each of the Seven Continents.
Another major feature of the challenge are antagonistic conditions that presents two scenario: the warm volcanic island of Lanzarote off the Alaskan Arctic. Both locations offer conditions disparate; heat and dry winds of Lanzarote turn now to the hurricane and Polar Alaska. The gradient of temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees, the higher pressure at half Atmosphere, all in scarce days.
Another element, clearly differentiating is the kind of effort; much more “explosive” in Lanzarote and more sustained in Alaska, another great paradox of the challenge. Unbelievably the Ironman is the evidence of “speed”, Mckinley of the “substance”.
The preparation that require both activities is another of the peculiarities at the same time and difficulty of the challenge. The Ironman requires a continuous fitness for about seven months, engaged in a huge volume of kilometers in the three disciplines (translated into about 20 hours a week will mean). Meanwhile, the McKinley require preparation of a technical, physical and mental very different and difficult to quantify but also excellent. As preparatory test will be conducted the winter ascent of Mont Blanc.
Thus, there are many difficulties that challenge represents, as we have already seen evidence of ultraresistencia as the Ironman, which obviously will be exhausting, this post gradient of temperature and conditions to be faced to reach Alaska, a tremendously preparation complex and finally having to cope with a logistical and budget actually compromising. To this must be added the condition of being a beginner in both tests and try consecutively without intermediate recovery.
At the margin, and eventually, possibly the main challenge will be to prepare the body to cope psychologically something that is not “designed” to venture into completely unknown land, where intuímos or barruntamos which can be the response of our body on the basis of our preparedness and previous experience, but not know where the end result. That mixture of feelings, fears and illusions make this a completely unique challenge. To paraphrase certain words prayed in a tomb in the cemetery in the Montañeros Inca Bridge, at the foot of Aconcagua: “Just try it will feel a privileged, achieve an election”.
