I want to climb a large mtn within 5 Years, how do I get started??

Hello!

I am 25 year old male from the Northeast USA. I've set a goal for myself that by age 30, I would like to have climbed a legit mountain (not sure what exactly that means, but I am ambitious so I like to set tough targets). I'm an avid hiker and physically I'm in really good shape but I'm obviously not ready yet for actual mountaineering. I am looking for advice in a few areas:
1) What type of gear is necessary
2) What kind of training is necessary
3) Are there any good standards to use that indicate that I'm prepared to embark on an actual climb.

I know this is super vague and I probably sound dumb but I figured I'd just throw it out and figure it out from there. I'm a quick study and when I commit to something I become pretty obsessive about it. I feel like 5 years leaves me more than enough time to properly prepare myself both physically and mentally to climb a legit mountain. Any help would be supremely appreciated, thank you in advance!!!!!

It seems to me you should pick a mountain first. The gear and training vary depending on the goal.

How do you get started? By climbing a small mountain first, duh.

I wouldn't worry about the rest at first. I wouldn't even worry what type of mountain you want to hike at first. Just hike. At some point you'll want to figure more out, like what type of mountain. Some big mountains are just really, really long walks with heavy backpacks. How do you prepare for that? You do lots of shorter walks with smaller backpacks. Some small mountains are intense alpine experiences requiring many years of specific training with specific techniques/gear/etc.

But who cares about all that, seriously, just go climb smaller mountains. You'll have plenty of time while hiking to figure out the rest.

Oh and no my advice is not qualified. What's the equivalent of an armchair psychologist, but for climbers?

Why don't you start by winter hiking and camping in the Northeast, see if this sleeping outside in cold weather thing is for you. These are necessary basics for mountaineering.

From there, there's sort of a fork in the road in terms of what you want mountaineering to be for you.

Some people (often with a background of rock climbing) gravitate towards more technical ascents (two tools, vertical ice+rock). Their goal is to climb an interesting line as much as (or more than) the summit.

Others (often with a background in endurance sports or just ambitious rich guys) tend to go after non-technical high-altitude summits, often guided/expedition style. The easiest line is the norm, the summit is the goal.

The elite climbers combine elements of both and scale technical routes at 6000m+, but that's not for most of us gumbies with a 9-5.

Nothing wrong whichever way you go, but the most efficient approach would be different. If you like movies, watch Everest then Meru. See if anything speaks to you.

Take a mountaineering course from a guide service and most of your questions shall be answered. It's a good way to learn from knowledgeable climbers that teach climbing and mountaineering for a living.

Although it will be costly, you'll learn a lot.

I recommend starting with Mt Washington if you're in the northeast. Besides the elevation, it's an incredible training ground for larger peaks. Steep snow, hard hiking, ice (which you can go around if need be) and proper mountain weather. For example, today they observed 17 inches of snow, 138 mph gusts, and it's currently -21 F up there.....

But really the posters above are right on....and you'll definitely need some type of objective to know which type of training to focus on

First, find an active mountaineering/hiking/climbing club near you and jump in...Then, take a look at Aconcagua as a longer term goal to keep yourself motivated. The normal route is not technically difficult (ice ax and crampons to traverse a snow field above the last camp). Altitude, weather and wind are the biggest threats. You will find out how well you do up to almost 23K and it'll be a good intro to HAM to see if that's your cup o' tea, sahib. Start small, though, 13ers/14ers, etc. here Stateside...you'll get experience, get in shape, plus hook up with like-minded folks who might eventually be interested in a trip to something bigger.

Look at doing a guided seminar+summit on Mt Rainier. Although it is not similar in elevation to "big mountains", it's routes are quite long and have all of the elements that you would find on a 5-6000m peak. IMG and RMI gear their seminars toward people with zero mountaineering experience and they'll cover all of the things you are asking plus a lot more. AAI runs similar courses on Mt Baker which is a shorter less involved mountain, but the courses are arguably a lot better. They are all usually about a week long and will run you a couple grand, but IMO it's the best way to jump in, learn a lot, and meet other climbers at a similar skill level. It'll cut your wait time from 5 years to 5 months!

(Hint: RMI is always really booked up, but if you get on their wait list people will probably drop out. Also, if you get on Rainier, stick to one of the standard routes like the D.C. or Emmons. Don't hop on a more advanced one like the Kautz or Fhurer Finger. The services will probably let you join, but once you get up to the high camp the guides probably won't let you go further.)

Stephen D wrote:Oh and no my advice is not qualified. What's the equivalent of an armchair psychologist, but for climbers?

Mountainproject.com

best way is to just get out there and do it. Go backpacking, scramble up mountains, try different things and you will find a niche - maybe it involves snow - maybe not. Mainly it's scrambling or maybe it's mostly technical. Just find out what you like and then set small goals for each season

Go do a guided climbing school in Ecuador or Bolivia. As long as you are in shape, and are willing to learn you can climb a big (18,000+') peak anytime. Why wait 5 years, do it this year.

I wish I had started climbing big peaks when I was younger.

Step One: Buy Freedom of the Hills
Step Two: Read Freedom of the Hills
Step Three: Go learn what Freedom of the Hills means
Step Four: Repeat Steps Two and Three until your goal is achieved

Take a NOLs course, bud. Wind River Mountaineering. Apply for a scholarship.

Take your skills from NOLs and apply them to a few peak here in the states with people from a local Mountaineering guild.... which you should join immediately in order to start building skills and connections.

After that, head down to Ecuador. You should probably enlist some guild mates to come with you. It's safe and the people are friendly. Acclimatize on the various 14ers that surround Quito. You can get yourself to the top of all of them without a guide. Stay in Quito, which is at 3300m ish. Once you're acclimatized head over to Cayambe. It's 9000m and a very nice mountain compared to Cotopaxi and some of the others. And it is definitely a legit mountain. Definitely. It's tamer than Rainier and roughly 5000ft higher.

Fly into the states and land in Washington for a Rainier expedition. Get yourself to the top of Rainier within 4 days of landing. You'll be very nicely acclimatized. TA-da.

"when I commit to something I become pretty obsessive about it."

Yet, you haven't come back to this thread....

Allen Hart wrote:Take a NOLs course, bud.

NOLS - teaching you just enough to get yourself killed.

I did the Northern Cascades month long and it was incredible.

Allen Hart wrote:Take a NOLs course, bud. TA-da.

Yeah... Those NOLS guys that I see tearing up the Wyoming Range on sleds in my favorite place to ski sure seem like they learned a lot from the Wind River Mountaineering course. I can also pick them out when they come in the shop; they usually are starting to grow a rat tail/dreadlock, smell of petuoili oil & have mom's credit card.

DavisMeschke Guillotine wrote: Yeah... Those NOLS guys that I see tearing up the Wyoming Range on sleds in my favorite place to ski sure seem like they learned a lot from the Wind River Mountaineering course. I can also pick them out when they come in the shop; they usually are starting to grow a rat tail/dreadlock, smell of petuoili oil & have mom's credit card.

HOW DARE YOU!!!...... Its spelled patchouli.

DavisMeschke Guillotine wrote: Yeah... Those NOLS guys that I see tearing up the Wyoming Range on sleds in my favorite place to ski sure seem like they learned a lot from the Wind River Mountaineering course.

I think ur mistaking redneck for NOLS. . . they tend to be opposite ends of the spectrum from what I've seen...

...either that or ur just jealous you dont have a sled!

Morgan Patterson wrote: I think ur mistaking redneck for NOLS. . . they tend to be opposite ends of the spectrum from what I've seen... ...either that or ur just jealous you dont have a sled!

Believe me, I know a redneck when I see one. When I see that one tiny dread flopping around behind them in the wind, I know exactly who I'm dealing with. True, I do wish I had a sled sometimes... But I also love yelling, "YER FUCKIN' UP THE SKIN TRACK!"

DavisMeschke Guillotine wrote: Believe me, I know a redneck when I see one. When I see that one tiny dread flopping around behind them in the wind, I know exactly who I'm dealing with. True, I do wish I had a sled sometimes... But I also love yelling, "YER FUCKIN' UP THE SKIN TRACK!"

Sounds kinda like you're skinning in a sledding area or vise versa.. isnt it like one group gets one side of the pass and the other group gets the other in WY?

Sleds are awesome.