Dufourspitze: Training & Summit Lessons with Sabina

A watch alarm every 30 minutes. A summit-morning routine rehearsed before leaving home. And a healthy respect for the glaciers. Sabina didn’t arrive at Dufourspitze, Switzerland’s highest summit, hoping things would somehow work out.

What she discovered, though, was that even very good preparation can’t tell you exactly how a mountain will feel. Some sections looked more intimidating on screen than they were under her boots, while the decisions around glacier travel, guiding and pacing mattered every bit as much as her fitness.

If you’re considering a more technical Alpine summit, this conversation is full of practical things to think about. 

In this episode, we talk about…

  • How the Spaghetti Tour helped Sabina prepare for a more technical Alpine objective
  • Choosing a guide when your original guide is unavailable
  • Training endurance, strength, mobility and mountain-specific skills
  • Managing nerves around crevasses and glacier travel
  • Using a 30-minute watch reminder to eat and drink
  • Why rehearsing your routine can make summit morning feel more manageable

Work with Vertical Performance:

The Start to Summit Program

A structured, progressive mountain-specific training programme, with a weekly plan you can follow independently. Ideal if you want to build endurance, strength and confidence on ascents and descents without having to plan every workout yourself.

Explore the Start to Summit Program: www.verticalperformance.com/start-to-summit

The Peak Performance Program

Individualised training and ongoing coaching that adapts to your mountain, your progress and your actual life, with nutrition and performance psychology support. Ideal if you want a coach beside you throughout your preparation.

Explore the Peak Performance Program: www.verticalperformance.com/peak-performance-program

Join Our Next Free Webinars:

[Performance Psychology] The Mental Edge — 21 January 2027

Join Kate for this webinar and discover how your brain influences your endurance, why feeling completely exhausted doesn’t always mean you’ve reached your physical limit, and four powerful, science-backed psychological strategies to help you keep going—even when your mind is telling you to stop.

Join the Mental Edge waitlist: www.verticalperformance.myflodesk.com/mental-edge

[Mountain-Specific Training] Train Smarter, Climb Higher — 18 March 2027

Join Kate for this webinar and learn the biggest training mistakes mountaineers and trekkers make, the five types of training you should be doing each week, and how to structure your workouts to build stronger legs, greater endurance and better speed on steep terrain.

Join the Train Smarter waitlist: www.verticalperformance.myflodesk.com/train-smarter

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