need a little help folk;
New to the mixed mountaineering gig (couloir to be more precise) I live in Colorado and have been playing in the back country for yrs. Recently I've been stepping it up a notch. Couloir adventures (did (3) class 2+ lower class 3 - failed attempt (1) dragontail in RMNP) I'm addicted, but limited experience keeps me from going to the next step. I have the basic gear, Lowa boots, Venom axes, BD harness, crampons, helmet ect.

Question, can someone one tell me what a good basic needs - rope / safety gear setup might entail. such as length of rope, Dia., grade / carabiner / belay device / pickets (how many, 2?) specific to the colorado area.

again looking for the basic essentials

thanks

Without starting a semantic argument, "mixed climbing" has a certain meaning that implies climbing rock of fifth class difficulties, interspersed with snow and ice, typically with crampons and ice tools.

You cited Dragons Tail which guide books often call M2 but in reality it's 2-3 moves of 4th class (i.e., not quite qualifying for an M grade).

IMO, for strict couloirs, crampons and an axe are all you'll need for protection. Once you start moving into the easier M rated couoirs (Dreamweaver, Martha, Dutchman etc.) a small rack consisting of a set of nuts and a handful of cams (BD C4 sizes 0.5-2), two ice screws (I carry a 13 and a 16cm), 6-10 alpine draws, cordallette, nut tool and several extra misc. non/locking biners is a pretty basic rack that'll hold up well. A screamer is nice to have but pretty bulky and heavy.

A single rope in the >9mm range is fine for entry level stuff and most CO routes would be fine with a 50m but a 60m is nice to have on occasion.

Pickets are out of their element in CO for the most part but can be nice to have on steep snow climbs/traverses where falls could be disastrous (e.g., Broadway traverse into Kieners/Notch).

Good luck! A home equity line of credit is probably the best place to start.

No worries. like I said, new to the gig. Terminology is a work in process. Mt Toll, Queen's Way & Sky Pilot in IPW area is the extent of my adventures. Dragon's Tail was a complete wake-up call as I had no experience with anything like the crux. Long descent in slush. Seemed as though safety devices and a knowledgeable climber were the way to go. Freaking fun though.....
thank for the reply

Knowledge and a more skilled partner are your most needed items at this point.
When I got to a similar point, I read all I could about it, and took some classes since I couldn't find a good partner. That will be more useful than gear at this point.
A rope without a partner is useless. A rope with two inexperienced people on it is a suicide pact.

Other advice is to take a rock climbing class. All the skills for belaying, leading, protection, etc are exactly the same.
First learn how to belay top rope, then follow multi pitch, then lead sport, then finally lead trad multi. At that point you can lead couloirs. It is all the same things, except you just don't place as much gear, and is colder.