It started in a parking garage off I-10
Sherpa Steps started in a parking garage off I-10 because there are no mountains in Houston and the founders refused to accept that as a reason to fail at altitude. The first cohort was four people, a stack of weighted packs, and a 40-story stairwell they had permission to climb at 6am before the building filled. They timed every flight, logged every heart rate, and noticed something: the people who trained under load and in thin air arrived at altitude steadier than people who'd only run flat miles.
So they built a hypoxic tent room that simulates 4,000 meters, and they wrote a 12-week plan that moves from base fitness to loaded climbing to managed oxygen debt. The summit photos started coming back. Then they covered a wall. The wall is the whole pitch now.
Stairwell volume
We climb. Unloaded at first, then loaded — the closest thing Houston has to a mountain is a 40-story stairwell at 6am.
Trained under load
The pack you'll carry on the trail is the pack you train with. By the load phase, the weight is the point.
Managed oxygen debt
The altitude room teaches your body to work with less air, on a plan that keeps effort honest.
Climbed to short-of-breath at altitude more than once, then built a way to prepare for it at sea level. Times every flight, logs every heart rate.
Runs the hypoxic room and the managed-effort plans. Believes the blood adapts in the room so the legs can focus on the trail.
Owns the load phase — the pack, the plates, the eccentric work for the descents your knees will thank you for.
The stairwell is off I-10
1200 Alpine Way
Houston, TX 77001
Mon–Fri 5:30am–9pm
Sat 7am–2pm
Closed Sunday