Rapid Ascent™ is an innovative program for safer, faster climbing. Alpenglow invented it—and we do it best.
Rapid Ascent™ is a unique pre-acclimatization program developed by Alpenglow Expeditions. Other companies have attempted to replicate it but with lesser results. Over the past decade, we’ve perfected our regimen, which combines cutting-edge hypoxic training techniques with precise logistics and small team sizes to reliably increase chances of summit success. Rapid Ascent™ teams spend 30 to 50% less time away from home and arrive at base camp well-rested, energized, and prepared to take full advantage of every weather window.
What is Rapid Ascent™?
Pre-acclimatization
With Rapid Ascent™, acclimatization starts long before you get to the mountain. First, we deliver a hypoxic tent and training gear directly to your doorstep. Combined with carefully fine-tuned training regimens, this technology can get you adjusted to altitudes of 17,000 to 19,000 feet in just four to eight weeks. As soon as your body is ready, we trigger a cascade of precisely choreographed logistics to get you to base camp as fast as possible. Layers of failsafes and backups ensure that there are no hiccups. All this allows us to run expeditions to the world’s highest peaks in just 30 to 35 days—rather than 50 or 60.
Of course, doing all this safely requires deep knowledge and experience with this style of climbing. We’ve spent 10 years pioneering Rapid Ascent™ expeditions on peaks all over the world. Our guides, logisticians, and expedition doctor make up the most experienced team running fast trips to the tallest mountains on the planet. Our team knows the limitations and the possibilities with Rapid Ascent™ more than any other. – We were the first guide service to use hypoxic training at scale.
Precise Logistics
When we plan a trip, we plan for everything—including the unexpected. Whether it’s having a backup Jeep ready to go in the event of a flat or using helicopters to get our teams to base camp fast, we’re always prepared. Our operations team works around the clock to ensure that you have a smooth trip from the moment you arrive in-country to the moment you leave.
Experienced Guides
Rapid Ascent™ guides have among the highest levels of professional certification, as well as years of experience with this unique style of climbing. We understand that a guide can make or break a trip. We also know you want someone who radiates competence, has the skills to handle any situation, and knows how to turn a group of climbers into a tight-knit, well-oiled machine. We handpick all our guides based on those criteria, and we only dispatch the best with our Rapid Ascent™ teams.
Pinpoint Weather Forecasting
We use cutting-edge weather forecasting tools that give us near-perfect accuracy at every level of the mountain. With pinpoint forecasting at our fingertips and pre-acclimatization in our back pockets, our expert guides are able to precisely coordinate their teams’ movements and take advantage of small weather windows. That exponentially increases our chances of summit success and allows us to cut our expedition times in half.