Should I cancel my mountaineering course?

Hello. Long time reader, first time poster. Sorry for the long read in advance. I feel weird typing this. 

I have a 6 day beginner/intermediate mountaineering/climbing/glacier travel course in two weeks that I signed up for last October and paid a lot of money for.

I signed up as a way to motivate me to get back down to my normal weight and get out of a long rut. I gained over 100lbs during the last two years from depression , being overworked and stressed from working in healthcare during Covid.

When I signed up for the class in October I weighed 316 pounds. I lost 64 lbs so far and currently weigh 252 lbs but my class is in two weeks. The class states I just have to be able to hike 6-8 hours with a weighted pack which I can and have done for years but says nothing about weight or pace. 

My question is, is 252 too heavy for training on a glacier? I walked into the place that is doing the course and they seemed like it would be ok and stated they would be going at a “guides pace” so I would be fine but I’m still not sure. I keep second guessing and don’t want to be a hinderance to my class. I also don’t want to hold them up. I’m fully capable of hiking with elevation gain but it’s usually at my own pace which is about 2 mph with elevation gain.

Thanks for reading.

Go on the course and have a great time! I suspect you might be in better shape than several of the other people in the course. I don't think weight is super relevant for this kind of course.

Go and have fun.  You've been training, and you've assessed your abilities.  Many of your fellow participants will not have done that.  You don't have to be overweight to be in poor shape.   My guess is you wont be the weakest/slowest in your party.  And as for size, I've had several partners over the years who've weighed as much or more than 250.  Go and enjoy!

-Haireball

You got this. You will probably find that you are more prepared than most.  Keep up the good work. Depression is a bear. Kick it’s ass!

2mph with a pack and elevation is more than decent. For a beginner course I would say you should be fine. Go and have fun!

Do it man. Dont expect everyone there to be in incredible shape. In a course like this, more important is being strong on days 2,3,4,5,6 than how fast someone moves.At least that’s how I experienced it. Also the altitude. I hope you have a great time!!

Don't let self doubt rob you of this opportunity. Use this class to propel yourself to the next stage of your Renaissance!

I guess if you were looking for people to tell you it's okay to bail, you aren't going to find it here.  Totally you should go. Just do your best. It's a safe, supported, low-consequence way to get into the mountains with other interested and passionate people.   Take lots of pictures, because it can be a lot of Type 2 fun. 

You should definitely go!!!  If you don't go you might retreat down the depression hole.  They would have said something if they thought it was a really bad idea for you to go.  

2 MPH is plenty fast for this type of thing and I doubt you will be the slowest.   

Go to the class.  Be engaged and actively participate.  Ask all the questions you can think of.  Make some new friends.  Have a great time.

And report back here how it went.  We are all interested.

Go go go

Your weight is an advantage as you will not be the crevasse poodle. They will want you to be the rear anchor so you will be the last to cross. Yer good, go have fun

You are all amazing. Thank you so much and I’ll do the course. It’s been a really really rough 2 years. I love you all. 

Timing is everything - saw this story on social media yesterday. Its not so much in the details of the story as it is the attitude of the writer. Check it out

https://www.outdoorresearch.com/blog/sizes-and-summits-what-really-matters-outdoors?fbclid=IwAR2u66Wq4PF1CK7EMjhT4maEC4lbU5nZm7MNoLF5rlz4cOry-3iCx50aIQ4

No matter what your fitness and experience is - if you get out regularly with others - sometimes you’ll be the one out front who has to wait, sometimes you’re the one in the back everyone else has to wait for - for whatever reason - happens to everyone.  +1 - just go - be a good team mate and nobody will care about the pace.

I'm surprised nobody here has mentioned Don Whillans. Dude was fat as shit (by climber standards) when he and Bonington were putting up groundbreaking ascents in the Himalaya in the 70s. It's hard to find someone with a more enviable climbing resume.

Robert Hausewrote:

When I signed up for the class in October I weighed 316 pounds. I lost 64 lbs so far and currently weigh 252 lbs 

Just wanted to highlight how impressive this accomplishment is, especially that you lost the weight while dealing with depression. That's indicative of your level of commitment. Fantastic work -- keep it up and go enjoy the course! 

Matt D wrote:

Bump. How did the course go? Hope you went and had a good time.

Hey man thanks a bunch for checking in, yeah it was a blast and learned a lot. Hoping to keep practicing the skills with others up here in the cascades. You all were right on pace, there was no problem keeping up and was able to encourage others to keep pushing. The only time I noticed my weight was postholing when taking the snowshoes off.

You guys are awesome! I’m hoping to find others to practice the skills with and see some beautiful things. Going to attempt Stuart sometime soonish. 

Robert Hausewrote:

Hey man thanks a bunch for checking in, yeah it was a blast and learned a lot. Hoping to keep practicing the skills with others up here in the cascades. You all were right on pace, there was no problem keeping up and was able to encourage others to keep pushing. The only time I noticed my weight was postholing when taking the snowshoes off.

You guys are awesome! I’m hoping to find others to practice the skills with and see some beautiful things. Going to attempt Stuart sometime soonish. 

Glad you had a blast!

Awesome update!

Chances are you will question your fitness/ability again (and again). So try to remember how it went this time so you can remind yourself in the future when you are facing a big trip/objective and wondering if you have it. 

Robert Hausewrote:

Going to attempt Stuart sometime soonish. 

Dope! Stuart is awesome. Really stoked for you.

Glad you had a good time!