Hey guys, I am practically brand new to mountain climbing. I am planning on taking a basic class or two with my wife in May 2013. I was hoping you guys can help me find some inexpensive gear. I can't afford to buy the guides picks for both myself and my wife, can you guys send me some links to some cheaper sites? I'd prefer right now, since money is an issue, to purchase minimum quality for the classes.
So just some info if anyone can offer any links or amazon searches. I live in Washington State, but pretty much plan on hiking Mount Rainier (my local mountain). Maybe camping at Camp Muir (I believe 10k ft). I would eventually like to start buying better gear piece by piece, but again, for now I just want the cheapest that meets the minimum requirements so we can take the class. Some expensive things like boots we will just rent. Here is a link to the required gear. http://www.rmiguides.com/mt-rainier/mou ... #equipment I pretty much only need some help with the upper and lower body.
When I was 12 or younger my mother and her bf took me to Mount Rainier to hike a little bit. We ended up deciding to go to camp Muir (10k ft). We did not have the proper gear, I think I was in jeans and some rubber snow boots and a jacket. I made it to 9k+ ft before I was too tired, mainly from getting a sunburn. I was the only child up that high, my mother was the only one smoking up there, and her bf was the only black guy. I am sure we looked pretty odd since everyone else was well geared. That is my only experience.