mrchad9 wrote:But I don't know that I would consider Hood that challenging. Maybe if he did Hood, Adams, and Saint Helens in winter all within a week?
It's just a great break-in to technical winter climbing. Not necessarily challenging, if you take the Old Chute and conditions are easy.. but you don't have to take the Old Chute, and even if you do, it ices up enough up there that even the Old Chute can become an easy technical route. Hook up with a local Hood climber, and you can cut your teeth on real alpine climbing on the north side, or experience the tower-mazes of the east side, or try your hand at easy mixed on Devil's Kitchen's headwall, etc... and it's all a 2-4 hour approach, no single route requiring more than 8 hours (most closer to 4-5), none physically grueling, and with rescue easier and warmth closer than probably any other alpine peak in the United States.
A better training ground for alpine climbing, you will not find. IMHO.