Hi all, I thought I'd post an intro, as I'll be asking a bunch of NooB questions. I'm returning to Mountaineering after a short 30 year absence, and even back then I was NooB. 30 years ago I was a member of the Sheriff's SAR for mountains and deserts. We did some pretty technical recovery/rescue stuff, but my knowledge base from that is mere memories now. Anyway, I've decided to start back into some winter mountaineering (peak bagging) and maybe some rock climbing. I do backpack a lot, so, at least I have some solid basic skills. I'm kinda fortunate in that I can buy whatever gear I need AND obtain whatever training I want. The rest is up to this old body not falling too far apart. To that end, I'm looking at the 6 day course offered by AAI. Opinions and advice are greatly appreciated. I'll be picking your brains on gear, etc later.

AAI 6-day is a good course. You'll get a good idea as to basic gear from them. If you're looking for hiking and peakbagging buddies, there are several meetup groups out there that take the mountains very seriously. Other groups include Sierra Club (if you can deal with their politics) and California Mountaineering Club.

I finally broke down and got microspikes because I was tired of sharpening my crampons after "mixed" routes in the peninsular ranges.

Welcome back!