The Alpine Start
An alpine start is a concept that I got introduced to when climbing in the European Alps several years ago. My climbing guide at the time enlightened me to the importance and reason for using this when in the mountains. The concept is simple. You wake up early (very, very early) so that when you climb/hike on alpine glaciers, the ice is solid. All of the snow bridges over those ominous looking crevasses freeze and become crisp and stable. This allows you to cross them safely. However, as the sun hits these snow bridges, they start to melt. If you’re unlucky, they will then collapse under your weight. That really doesn’t sound fun, does it? This is why it’s ideal to get the bulk of your climbing and snow bridge crossing done in the first part of the day. It makes your climb a lot safer and you can then spend the afternoon not worrying about falling in holes, lazing around mountain huts and snoozing. Perfect! The alpine start will also allow you to see a spectacular sunrise, which I definitely feel is worth the early alarm.
We don’t have to be in the mountains to benefit from this early start. This concept can be used when we’re at home and face a normal week but are struggling to find time to do everything we want. Let’s face it, life can get extremely busy and it’s often hard to find the time to exercise, learn new skills and designate time for ourselves. The alpine start lends itself perfectly to achieving goals and making space in our lives to pursue our hobbies. Getting up early is the best way to make time for exciting/fun activities and it’s something that I believe is extremely important for all of us.
Now, it’s all very well me saying put your alarm on early and get up, but actually doing it is another thing entirely! I used to hate the mornings. Seriously, I had real problems getting out of bed and would dread the sound of my annoying alarm clock. It took a long time for me to adjust to getting up early but having an exciting morning routine was extremely motivating for me. This is what you should focus on when getting up early… Fill your morning routine with activities that excite you and you’ll jump out of bed with a spring in your step (well, maybe not all the time).
Having a productive start to the day is unbelievably rewarding and can really set you up for the rest of your day. I start each morning fairly early (5am) but will punctuate my week with alpine starts (4am or earlier) to get things done. This may seem crazy, but I can’t stress enough how life-changing this can be! I’ve used this time to write a book, train for marathons and learn Japanese. My life has totally changed thanks to the concept of the alpine start. Everything else in my day can stay the same and be as busy as it needs to be. However, I will have managed to make time for my own projects and this is extremely important to me now.
To start rising early, I suggest deciding on a small morning routine and then diving straight into it when the alarm goes off. Maybe try getting up 30 minutes earlier than you need to at first. When you see the incredible benefits to the early start, you can then begin to stretch your morning routine to an hour. After this, why not try an alpine start and do something crazy in the morning? Maybe you could walk to work or go on an early morning adventure. There are many challenges that you can do in the morning that will help to wake you up too. How about an ice bath or intense gym session? You have so many options! All you have to do is decide how you want to use this time… Will it be training for a marathon, learning a new language or starting a business? The possibilities are endless. It really is exciting.
One of the other key things you will achieve if you begin to embrace the philosophy of the alpine start is the ability to overcome a great deal of mental resistance. When that alarm goes off, it’s very difficult to actually get out of bed. It’s so comfortable and warm and you’re so tired… If you can acknowledge these things but get up anyway, you’re showing a huge amount of control over your mind. If you can get up at silly o clock, what next? The world is your oyster. Discipline and the ability to overcome mental resistance are two skills that will really help you to make real progress towards your goals.
So, set your alarm for 4am and see what adventures you can have before work/school/your day duties. Good luck, it won’t be easy but it will be productive! See you bright and early.
“ If you can wake up early in the morning, get a head start on everyone else that’s still sleeping, get productive time doing things that you need to do - that’s a huge piece to moving your life forward. ”