Hey all,
My girlfriend and I just graduated college and left our respective sports teams, and are looking to get into mountaineering as our new sport. We're both in excellent physical condition and spend a lot of time backpacking and hiking as it is, and she does quite a bit of rock climbing as well (while I only climb maybe a couple times a year, I'm trying to get into it more now that I have some more time).
The main problem is that we don't know a ton of good mountains to climb for beginners. Right now we live in Northern California, and we're planning on climbing Mt. Shasta next season because we've heard it's an easier and safer climb for beginners (and also because there seem to be pretty good guide services that will give you an introduction into safety and whatnot), but we're looking for others as well.
So my main question is what are some good mountains to climb on the West Coast/Pacific Northwest for people just getting into the sport?
Additionally, any advice on getting started would be awesome, and if we're making some kind of horrible doomed mistake in our approach, criticism is definitely welcome too!
Thanks!