Thats pretty much where I am... Stuck in limbo between tough alpine scrambles and real technical climbing. A good friend of mine knew a lot more about mountaineering than I did and brought me in at first but through some research (read quite a few books and countless TR's)I caught up with him and we have been progressing together, kinda self taught (through the recorded knowledge of others of course). We would usually do a little homework on peaks and routes and just give it a go and if it got too hairy we'd turn back to return another day with more experience. Eventually I got tired of walking up the south side of everything, and he got engaged, so without some proper instruction or an equally devoted companion for support, I haven't been able to make the jump to technical climbing. I'm very glad for the experience I've gained routefinding, steep snow travel, crampon/ice axe use, what I personally need to pack for multi-days etc, physical fitness etc. which will hopefully prove invaluable by allowing me to focus more on the climbing and more technical aspects of future climbs. Lately I've been soaking up all of the information I possibly can about rock and alpine tech stuff and this thread has given me a few ideas on how to make the next step. As I have learned from skiing, mountaineering, hell even the apprenticeship I completed at work, that for me, there is no substitute for a solid mentor with a wealth of applied experience to draw off of.