Why descents hurt more than climbs

Most walkers think of the uphill as the hard part, but it is the downhill that quietly wrecks knees, quads and confidence. Every step down requires your thigh muscles to lengthen under load — an eccentric contraction — and that is what leaves you stiff for days afterwards. Add a heavy pack and a loose, eroded path, and a long descent can turn a brilliant day in the hills into a slow, grim shuffle.

Trekking poles change that. Used well, they take a meaningful share of the load off your legs, give you two extra points of contact on loose ground, and let you descend with rhythm rather than trepidation. The catch is that many people buy a pair, set them to roughly the right length and then use them as though they are on the flat. Steep ground asks for a different technique.

Get the length right before you start down

The classic advice — elbow at 90 degrees with the tip on the ground — is a good starting point for gentle terrain, but it is not what you want on a sustained descent. When you are dropping steeply, you want more reach, because you will be planting the poles further ahead of your feet.

• Uphill: shorten the poles by 5–10cm so you can push down and back without shrugging your shoulders.
• Flat and rolling: the standard 90-degree setting works well.
• Steep descent: lengthen by 5–10cm, so the pole tip reaches the ground comfortably ahead of you without you leaning forward.
• Very steep or scrambly ground: collapse them and stow them. Poles hinder more than help when you need your hands on rock.

Adjust both poles equally to begin with, then fine-tune on the move. If your shoulders ache or your grip feels tight, the poles are probably too long. If you keep catching the tips in front of your toes and stumbling, they are too short.

The basic descending technique

The aim is to plant the pole before you commit your weight, letting it act as a brake and a third leg. Rather than stabbing the ground, place the tip deliberately and let the pole take load as your body passes over it.

• Reach ahead, not out to the side. A pole planted wide does almost nothing for your balance on a fall line.
• Plant, then step. The pole takes weight as your foot lands, sharing the load with your quads.
• Keep the grip loose. Your hand should rest on the grip with fingers relaxed; use the strap if you like, but never grip so hard that your forearm burns.
• Use both poles alternately if the ground is even and you want a natural walking rhythm — opposite pole to opposite foot.
• Use them together — planting both at once slightly ahead of you — for short, steep, loose sections where you want a braced, controlled descent.

On really loose scree or wet grass, the twin-plant method is a revelation. Both poles go in, you lower yourself down, and your legs become the third and fourth contact points rather than the only ones.

Reading the ground and adjusting as you go

The best descenders are constantly changing how they use their poles, often without thinking about it. A few situations worth recognising:

• Wet rock and roots: shorten your reach slightly, plant firmly and test the tip before weighting it. Rubber tips give better grip on rock; carbide tips bite better into soil and scree.
• Loose gravel: plant more gently and further ahead, and let the pole slide slightly rather than jamming. A jammed tip can trip you.
• Steps and eroded stances: place the tip on the step below, not the one beside you, so you have support for the whole drop.
• Long, even zigzags: this is where poles save the most energy. Settle into a rhythm, keep your stride short and let the poles carry the braking.
• Very steep, hands-needed ground: stow the poles on your pack, side-on and secure, so they do not swing and catch on rock.

Looking after your knees and your kit

Poles work best alongside good habits. Keep your steps small and your cadence steady — long strides downhill are the fastest route to sore knees. Keep your torso upright rather than leaning back, which puts more load through your quads, and let your poles do the bracing.

If you have a history of knee trouble, consider lengthening the poles a touch more and descending with a slight forward lean, using the poles as a handrail. Walking poles are not a substitute for strong legs, so build some downhill walking into your training and consider carrying a lighter pack on big descent days.

Finally, maintain the kit. Check the locking mechanisms before every trip, clean grit out of the lower sections, and replace worn tips and baskets before they fail on a wet, steep path. A pole that collapses mid-descent is worse than no pole at all.

Get the length right, plant before you step, and match your technique to the ground underfoot. Do that and steep descents stop being something you endure and start being a part of the day you look forward to.