Sherpa Steps
A trekker shouldering a weighted pack in a Houston parking-garage stairwell, shot in grainy black and white
Houston, Texas · Est. 2019

Six feet above sea level, on a flat coastal plain. The mountain doesn't care. We make sure your legs and lungs do.

6 ft Sea-level start
Everest Base Camp track · Target
17,598 ft

Houston is six feet above sea level. We train you for 17,598.

The problem

The mountain doesn't care how many spin classes you did.

It cares about your legs, your lungs, and the load on your back. Sea-level cardio builds a heart for sea level. We build a body for thin air, under load, on stairs that don't end — Everest Base Camp training in Houston, built for flatlanders.

The program

Twelve weeks. Three phases. Base, load, then thin air.

Phase 01 · Weeks 1-4

Base

Build aerobic base and unloaded stair volume so the legs can take the work

Phase 02 · Weeks 5-8

Load

Add the pack you'll actually carry and train your legs and back under that weight

Phase 03 · Weeks 9-12

Thin Air

Train in the altitude room to manage oxygen debt so your body adapts before your flight does

See the full week-by-week plan →
The altitude room

We dial the oxygen down to 4,000 meters in a room off I-10.

Your body starts adapting before your flight does — more red blood cells, steadier breathing, fewer surprises at altitude. It's not a guarantee against altitude sickness. Nothing is. But graduates arrive steadier.

How the room works →
Simulated altitude
4,000m
Effective oxygen
~12% O₂
The summit wall

An entire wall of people who stood on top.

Every photo started on a stairwell in Houston. The wall is the whole pitch now.

See the Summit Wall
The coaches

Coached by people who have been short of breath at altitude — and lived to plan your training.

Meet the coaches & the method →
Graduate proof

What they couldn't do in week one, and where they stood by the end.

“I live at sea level and work at a desk. Twelve weeks later I walked into Base Camp without a headache.”
Priya Nathan Everest Base Camp, departed November 2024.
“The altitude room is the part no other gym has. My legs were tired on Kili, but my lungs were ready.”
Tomas Reyes Kilimanjaro, departed February 2024.
“The stairwell intervals with a 30-pound pack are brutal and exactly right. Nothing on the trail surprised me.”
Hannah Boateng Annapurna Base Camp, departed October 2023.

Twelve weeks is the runway.

Tell us your departure date and we'll back-plan the training. No commitment yet — we'll be honest about whether twelve weeks is enough.

Enroll in the 12-week program
Enroll in the 12-week program