This XM Bulletin entry chronicles the efforts of the Grand Teton Dream Climb winners’ — Sarah and Charlie — efforts and strategies for preparing for their epic climb.

WANT TO CLIMB THE GRAND BUT AREN’T READY TO FOLLOW IN SARAH’S AND CHARLIE’S FOOTSTEPS?  No worries!  You don’t have to train like this to Climb the Grand.  Sure, this is what some hardcore athletes do to stay in shape, but let’s face it, some people just like to suffer!

7/3/11 – Hey guys! We’re officially 11 days away from flying out to Jackson! Charlie and I can’t even put into words how excited we are. We recently received a shipment of Marmot gear that we will use on our climb, and we tested some of it out in the Maine wilderness this weekend. We were afraid to wear it at first because we’re not used to having nice gear, but everything we wore stood up to the overgrown trails and rock-scrambling on our hike. Both of us noticed that we are able to hike faster, and we felt so good at mile 10 that we RAN the last mile to our car!

While we were on the summit of North Brother in Maine, we had a realization. The mountain we were sitting on had an elevation of 4,150 feet, and the town of Jackson sits at an elevation of over 6,000 feet. In other words, we were breathing in more oxygen on the top of a mountain than the people at the base of the Grand were. What this means is that our bodies will need to acclimate to the thinner air out west, but we are confident that our training will keep us strong on our climb.

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04.01.2011– Jackson, WY- Exum Mountain Guides, the country’s oldest and most experienced guide service, is proud to announce the winner of the “Grand Teton Dream Climb” giveaway. Contestants were asked to submit a two minute video of why they should be the recipients of an all expense paid trip to Jackson Hole and an ascent of the Grand Teton with Exum Mountain Guides. The winning couple will receive round trip airfare, a rental car and stay at the renowned Alpine House located in Jackson Hole. The winners will now embark on a training program written by the world famous strength coach Rob Shaul of Mountain Athlete, also of Jackson. Mountain climbing gear and attire will be provided by Marmot, including jacket, pants, and a training outfit of short-sleeve shirt and shorts. Training, preparation and gear selection will be filmed along with a written blog every 2 weeks leading up to the training and ascent of the Grand Teton July 17 – July 20, 2011.

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