I'm not trolling for rants, but I'm looking for honest opinions about the value of joining the Mountaineers club and taking their basic climbing course. I've been mountaineering ...scrambling and some glacier climbing (summiting Mt. Olympus and Mt. Hood along with many minor crags in the Olympics and North Cascades) since my boy scout days, but I recently have become interested in climbing up things of the 5.x variety. What I see as a plus for going with the Mountaineers is that I imagine they teach basic, proven rock climbing technique, and I can also learn on the peaks that have I have always wanted to climb (Mt. Cruiser and Mt. Constance). It seems like there is a lot to learn, and climbing is one of the riskier sports (if done wrong, and Accidents in NA Mountaineering demostrate)...I want to learn (roping skills, placing protection, etc) from someone who I can have a level of trust that teaches a more conservative technique. The Mountaineers would provide this, no?
