Best Beginner Mountains

Post general questions and discuss issues related to climbing.
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sgenise

 
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Best Beginner Mountains

by sgenise » Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:53 am

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!

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ExcitableBoy

 
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Re: Best Beginner Mountains

by ExcitableBoy » Fri Nov 06, 2015 4:17 pm

Being in Northern California puts you within a day's drive of some great mountaineering/climbing opportunities. Mt. Shasta is a great place to start, and if you like that type of climbing, there are a lot of similar peaks in the Oregon and Washington volcanoes. Someone from Oregon can give you better advice, but Mt. Hood, the Sisters, Broken Top are some peaks in Oregon that come to mind. Mt Adams, Glacier Peak, Mt Rainier, Mt Baker in Washington are all stellar choices.

Here are a couple of articles that may be of interest:

http://www.summitpost.org/alpinism-101- ... ion/756518

http://www.summitpost.org/so-you-want-t ... ier/507227

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powderjunkie

 
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Re: Best Beginner Mountains

by powderjunkie » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:00 pm

If you want peaks where you are climbing with axe/crampons but not roping up or crossing glaciers, I think Lassen is a good first peak to do. So is Brokeoff and Diller next to Lassen.

Then tackle Shasta after gaining some experience. Shasta can be very tame or down right scary and dangerous. Choose your day wisely. I get nervous when I hear people say it is a beginner's climb/mountain.

Good peaks around Tahoe would be Red Lake, Stevens, Round Top, where it is a little more than just hiking in the snow, but climbing steeper hard snow.

If you're more into gaining experience with alpine climbing, then turn your attention to the high sierra.

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seano

 
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Re: Best Beginner Mountains

by seano » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:18 pm

Sunny Buns wrote:Hood, Rainier, and Baker require ropes and knowledge of crevasse rescue - and a minimum party size of 3 is recommended - read Freedom of the Hills and get some training.

Glacier Peak probably requires ropes, although I've heard the west ridge may be glacier-free but would require knowledge of the location of glaciers versus snow fields before you could do it safely without ropes.

Glacier via the North Sauk trailhead is a walk-up. Hood requires knowing how to use crampons and an ice axe. Rainier via the standard routes requires knowing how to follow a trench in some snow. Baker is a matter of not stepping into big, obvious holes.

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ExcitableBoy

 
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Re: Best Beginner Mountains

by ExcitableBoy » Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:05 pm

seano wrote:Rainier via the standard routes requires knowing how to follow a trench in some snow. Baker is a matter of not stepping into big, obvious holes.

Climbers with vastly more experience than you with these mountains may beg to differ.

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JHH60

 
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Re: Best Beginner Mountains

by JHH60 » Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:25 pm

There are hundreds of peaks in the Sierra that can be climbed via class 1 or 2 routes (which is to say, require no technical climbing skills) that will be fun, and will help build mountain sense and route finding skills. You can read about them here on Summitpost or in guidebooks like Secor's "High Sierra." If you want to step up the level of adventure, you can start seeking out class 3 routes, which typically require actual climbing but where the risk is limited if you stay on route, so that experienced climbers don't normally rope up or use other technical climbing equipment. Class 3 in the Sierra can be quite exposed and getting off route can often put you in harder terrain, so it's a good idea to get experience in easier terrain before jumping into class 3. If you want to climb harder and more technical routes there is plenty of opportunity to do that in the Sierra, but relatively few peaks require class 4 and especially class 5 climbing to summit by their easiest route.
Last edited by JHH60 on Tue Nov 17, 2015 10:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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seano

 
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Re: Best Beginner Mountains

by seano » Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:30 pm

ExcitableBoy wrote:Climbers with vastly more experience than you with these mountains may beg to differ.

I'm fine with that. I'm just a clueless moron who hopes people think for themselves.


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