Climbing/mountaineering for one year - Advice

I'm relatively new to this forum, but I'd be grateful if I could get some advice on taking a year off to go hit some mountains and some classic rock climbing spots. Here are some of the spots I'd love to hit (knowing I won't hit all of them):

• *Climbing**

- Red Rocks
- Joshua Tree
- Zion
- Indian Creek
- Yosemite
- RRG/NRG
- The Sierras

• *Mountaineering**

- Alaska
- Colorado
- The Sierras

My idea is to start in March/April and climb for a year. My questions are:
- I'll be traveling by myself. Are there specific times to hit each of these spots to maximize likelihood of meeting climbing partners?
- Is combining climbing and mountaineering in a single year a bit aggressive? Another idea I have is to just have a single expedition in the trip (say, a trip to Alaska in June), and then climb around it. Given the level of cardio training required for any serious mountaineering expeditions, I'd be curious if folks have any views on how to combine both.
- Given the length of the trip, is it worth getting a car, or should I plan on just going and camping at each place? I'm leaning towards a car, but I'm curious to hear others' opinions here.

Any and all thoughts here are much appreciated.

Thanks!

If you setup in vegas 4(5) of the 9 objectives above are all within day/WE striking distance...
Red Rock= your here
Zion=2 hr drive
Sierras(2)=3-5hr drive
JT=2-3hr drive

IC and Yosemite are only long weekend trips away...

Then fly to other goals(rrg/nrg, coloRADo, Alaska) from our airport(international) that has relatively cheap flights to .... everywhere

You're going to have better luck finding partners if you go to those areas in the right seasons (primarily spring and fall for the rock climbing).

Having a car is always easier.

Thanks to both of you for the advice. A couple of additional questions:
- Spring and fall. Does it matter in what order one does them (like, go to J-Tree in May, Zion in June, etc.)
- Where's best to head for the summer?

For the summer in California and most of the southwest, head to altitude. High Sierra, Tuolumne, etc to climb in reasonable temperatures.

In the summer go to Incredible Hulk.

SantiagoS wrote:...- The Sierras ...Thanks!

Throw darts at the Secor guide an have a blast.

These are great. Any thoughts from folks in how to find partners in some of these areas?

Thanks to everyone.

kevin deweese wrote:In the summer go to Incredible Hulk.

http://www.mountainproject.com/v/beeline/106871980
the easiest listed climb on the hulk. I checked out the dudes page and I am assuming you are being sarcastic

Alaska isn't a place where you'll be able to show up and find a partner IMO. Most people show up there with their team set and have certain objectives in mind, so adding another isn't easy. I guess that if you're real personable you could pull it off, but not worth the money to show up by yourself and hope for a partner (unless you plan on going solo).

I'd suggest that you stick to the popular areas in the lower 48 and find a compatible partner to head to AK with at the end of your year.

If you're starting and ending in new york here would be my suggestion:

Spend the early spring in NV basecamping, and take a few weekend trips to the valley. Spend the summer in the sierras and tuolumne. around the end of august start making your way east to Colorado, hitting UT for some desert climbing and spend around a month in in Colorado and Utah until the middle of october. in the middle of oct go down to Jtree and southern Arizona(cochise stronghold, Mt. Lemmon, etc.) and climb there until the end of december. Then, drive east, possibly stopping in TX if you want to, and spend some time climbing in the south.

Start with 'Bama in early Jan, and spend a week or 2 there then go to NC until the middle/end of feb. drive west to Chattanooga and spend a week there then up to knoxville and spend a week there. Then spend the rest of your time in the RRG and NRG.

If you are looking for partners in Chattanooga, spend the night at the crashpad hostel and you're sure to find at least half a dozen partners. Plus you will be fairly close to Twall. Also, when you get to the south, pick up a copy of the Dixie craggers atlas, it will serve you well if you don't mind a little bit of sandbagging fun.

Definitely worth considering the North Cascades in WA for alpine climbing/mountaineering. Hit it in late July/August for best weather results. Some very spectacular glacier climbs, alpine 5th class, scrambles. Approaches are demanding, but so beautiful. Forbidden Peak is a favorite of mine. Dragontail, Washington Pass, Shuksan, Baker, Triumph, Goode, many more. And then there are the Pickets if you like getting intimate with wet bushes on steep slopes.