Mountaineering

CabbyArrantIs anybody on here into Mountaineering or Alpine Climbing? I’m looking to get into it if anyone has a recommendation on good schools and courses for it. I’ve got a decent amount of climbing experience so I’m not too intimidated by it. It just seems more places just want to sell you a guided trip than teach you the skills. I’d like to become self sufficient enough to handle objectives like Rainier without having to hire a guide.

You tour already? You only mentioned climbing.

I have no experience with courses but I have a fair amount of mountaineering experience and a whole lot of alpine climbing experience. The West Coast has a number of quality introductory-level mountaineering-type mountains. Rainier, as you said, is one. Shasta is another. Rainier is really the only one you "need" to rope up on due to crevasse danger in a normal year.

Skill #1 is learning to self-arrest. You'll also of course want to be proficient in walking in crampons, which is more learned than taught. If you communicate clearly with a good guide what your expectations are, he should be willing to teach you what you want to learn. In a group setting you likely will not get what you want. If you do not have friends who are already proficient then I'd recommend hiring a guide for a full day. Not necessarily to summit a mountain, but instead to learn skills. A day will likely not be enough, but it will teach you a lot, and also let you know what you still need to learn.

First you should get a book (Freedom of the Hills is classic) or study videos to get the basic theory of things like self-arrest, glacier travel, and z pulleys. Then I would highly recommend climbing something with a guide to learn and reinforce skills. I did a two day on Baker which wasn't crazy expensive and you learn so much through osmosis if nothing else. Another option is a one day crevasse rescue class or similar, which will be cheaper but you don't get to climb a mountain during it. Ask around in your area, there should be guides that cater to people trying to learn rather than have a glamping experience on a glacier. I've done Rainier a couple times unguided and its a good goal, just make sure you are prepared

iFlipI have no experience with courses but I have a fair amount of mountaineering experience and a whole lot of alpine climbing experience. The West Coast has a number of quality introductory-level mountaineering-type mountains. Rainier, as you said, is one. Shasta is another. Rainier is really the only one you "need" to rope up on due to crevasse danger in a normal year.

Skill #1 is learning to self-arrest. You'll also of course want to be proficient in walking in crampons, which is more learned than taught. If you communicate clearly with a good guide what your expectations are, he should be willing to teach you what you want to learn. In a group setting you likely will not get what you want. If you do not have friends who are already proficient then I'd recommend hiring a guide for a full day. Not necessarily to summit a mountain, but instead to learn skills. A day will likely not be enough, but it will teach you a lot, and also let you know what you still need to learn.

I’m pretty comfortable in crampons already (did some guided glacier traverses in Iceland). I was looking at going to climb rainier with a company like RMI but those type of trips seem more like tours than a practical course in mountaineering. I still live in the Midwest so friends and places to practice this are pretty sparse.

Where do you live OP ? You said you want to climb Rainier, are you in the PNW? Lots of good resources out here.

I'd love to get into it but hard for me nit having friends to do it with. I more than get that anyone can get into anything and meet people if they want ir, just obviously a little harder from the start.

One of the mechanics at crystal has been touing and climbing a lot of the mtns in the pnw. I'm hoping to noob my way along for a trip in the spring.

Nols

I found that getting into it quires extensive networking and forming a longstanding relationship with someone who knows their stuff. Classes are a good starting point, but it seems like to learn it to any point of competence you need to be consistently getting out with someone you know well. I found that part extremely difficult and failed to get into it beyond a few experiences. Might try again though.

**This post was edited on Sep 21st 2021 at 11:53:45pm