In June I climbed Mt. Shasta via Avalanche Gulch. It was my first time doing any type of "mountaineering," rather than just backpacking. I enjoyed it enough that I'm thinking it would be fun to tackle some of the SoCal mountains in winter such as Baldy and San Jacinto.
I need some advice on boots and crampons. For Shasta I rented, and I don't remember what I was using. I do remember I wasn't using plastics and the crampons were 12 point steel. The only boots I currently own are Vasque Breeze (Gor-Tex), and I'm guessing they probably aren't rigid enough to use with crampons. I'm trying not to break the bank, but I realize good gear can be expensive.