For amateur mountaineering — even to meet the most basic requirements — you’ll need at least 200,000 RMB. Keep in mind that due to factors such as weather, it’s not guaranteed that every attempt will succeed even after spending the money. In other words, you could end up losing several hundred thousand RMB in one go. Therefore, for amateur climbers, a solid financial foundation is essential.
The second condition is physical training. If you suffer from asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, or other such illnesses, it’s best not to participate in mountaineering activities. Moreover, you must have a certain level of physical fitness. Just imagine: if you can’t even manage to carry a 20-kilogram load for an hour, how can you possibly climb a mountain? Bear in mind that all the essential climbing gear is far from light.
If you have a certain financial foundation and your health is decent, then you can move on to the next step: preparing to climb Mount Everest. Don’t think this will be easy — the process takes 3–4 years.
The preparation process consists of three steps. The first step involves low-altitude outdoor activities, physical training, and learning basic techniques, with the focus on building endurance, cardiopulmonary function, leg and core strength, and load-carrying capacity. A novice who can make use of all weekends can complete this stage within one year. The second step is entering high-altitude, thin-air environments. Before climbing Mount Everest, it’s best to have 2–3 high-altitude climbing experiences. Following the principle of gradual progression, a healthy person can start with 6,000-meter peaks, then move to 7,000-meter and 8,000-meter peaks. This stage can take as little as one year but usually requires 2–3 years. The third step is the preparatory phase for climbing Mount Everest. Dedicating six months entirely to preparing for the Everest climb should be sufficient — but remember: it must be full commitment, especially in terms of physical training and conditioning.
(Reporter Fan Shanjing)