Hi,
I'd like to do a glacier climb in the Northwest, partly as preparation for the Mexican Volcanoes later in the year, and I'm trying to decide whether to do Rainier ($1200), or save money and do baker or shuksan instead ($750). The climb will be in late may. I know that Rainier is higher and more technical, but if baker or shuksan can provide a sufficient preparation, then I prefer to save the money (also the Northern Cascades look amazing). My only experience is basic mountaineering courses (rope work, selfarrest, no glacier skills), ice climbing, and Colorado 14ers.
Other notes: Regarding fitness level, I'm training for a 15k run in March, and that will the farthest I've ever run. The highest I've climbed in one day is 3000 feet (on Mt Bierstadt and Mt. Evans).
Thanks for providing input and opinions. Let me know if there's a better forum for this question, by the way.
Thanks