medicsandy

I was in the same boat last summer. Totally new to climbing. My daughter and I hired a guide, just for the two of us, and went part way up Adams and had him school us in ice axes, crampons, self arrest, etc. He taught us how to pitch our tent and answered a million questions. It was worth the money to gain the knowledge. Consider hiring someone, even just for a day, to take you out and teach you some basic stuff.

Last summer was my first climb. When our guide met us before the climb to check our gear, one of the first things he did was take the leash off of my axe. For all of the great reasons listed above. I'd rather watch my axe go flying down the side of a mountain then having to be air lifted to a level one trauma center to have it dug out of some part of my body.

We also wanted to climb at our own pace and not go on the "cattle drive." That's why we hired our own guide. It wasn't as expensive as we'd thought it would be. Again, get in touch with me if you want some good sites for discounted and sale priced gear. rmiguides.com has a good gear list. print it off and go from there. whittakers sells off their rental equipment that is really gently used for great prices.

Ok, as a "newbie" myself, reading through your questions, I kept coming back to one question myself. Why wouldn't you want to climb with a guide? The things you learn are invaluable. They are lessons that can save your life. My daughter and I just decided to start climbing last year. Here's what we did and how we learned what to buy and what to take with us. We live in the flat lands of Ohio and didn't know anything about climbing. We decided to take on a mountain a little bit smaller then Rainier first, and one that has an easier climb. We chose Mt. Adams. We went with the mentality that it was our recon mission...one in which the summit wasn't important, learning our skills was. We hired a guide for the two of us, instead of going with a bigger group. We wanted to be able to ask as many questions as we had. We spent two days on Adams (no, we didn't summit). He answered a million questions on gear, food, altitude, etc. He took us out on a glacier and taught us various things on how to use our gear, self arrest, etc. We learned what kind of a tent we would prefer, what foods tasted good up high, things that made our packs too heavy, and things we wish we would have brought. We also learned what we had done wrong in our physical training at the gym and what we needed to work on more. We now know what to expect this year. We wouldn't have learned these things without the guide. We also read book after book. I think we own every book on mountaineering that amazon stocks! Knowledge is power. Read anything and everything you can get your hands on. After Adams, we went up and spent a few days on Rainier, going up to Muir and hiking around by panarama point. We had beautiful weather and loved every minute on Rainier. Our goal, like yours, is to summit Rainier. We are now training for that. Ok, to make a long story not much longer, remember that you can get a lot of your questions answered on line. Google is a wonderful source for altitude sickness. The various mountain guide services have required gear lists. We researched and bought the majority of our stuff online. We signed up with the various climbing stores emailings and have gotten some great coupons. I don't think we've paid retail for anything. If you'd like more info on the places we buy our stuff, get in touch with me. Again, consider a guide and good luck!

I plan on re-reading Mt Guide's post over and over. What great advise. I also WILL NOT go up there without my ice axe and crampons! We're planning on going the end of June. Because I do respect the mountain (any mountain), I get on here and ask these questions. Thank you so much for respecting the fact that I am new, and answering them! It mean a lot. Getting out there and learning and having a great time doing it, is what's most important to us. You are so right, summiting is secondary. Thanks Bug, for making me feel comfortable asking more questions on Adams, or anything for that matter. I'm sure that when the "little old grannies" were younger, they asked questions too. That's why they are still alive to climb! p.s. would love to hear all of your advise on glissading. I've never done it and am worried about going to fast, getting out of control, and breaking something!

so........what color's the dodge neon?

thanks Dan! now all the way up I'm going to be telling myself "hey, if little grandma's can do this, so can I!" I'll be 49, but not a grandma yet (not that I know of, anyway)!

Last summer was my first climbing experience. I climbed on Mt. Adams, only as far as the lunch counter. I'm going back this summer with 3 other people, all new to climbing. We'd like to attempt to summit Adams. My question is: can we climb Adams without being roped up? Thanks!

Thank you all so much for the replys. You've definately made things more clear. We were taught both catching a fall from someone else and also self arrest. We weren't going very fast. The one thing we were not warned about was the falling fast/crampon catching thing. I'm really glad I asked. We were taught to use our axe and also one pole. Again, glad I asked and thanks for helping out a beginner!

would you consider sending your next dump to my ex???

Last year I hired a guide for my first climb. Part way up we stopped on a snow field so he could teach me some basic techniques. He taught me that when I self arrest, after digging my ice axe in, I should kick my feet into the snow, as hard as I can. This was with crampons on. Now I'm reading and being told that if you are wearing crampons, you should raise your feet up to avoid the toe picks catching. Would love to hear what you have to say on this one, so I don't get hurt out there. Thanks!

Thanks for all the great info!

I'm new to climbing with only one climb on Mt. Adams. Am planning Rainier in July. Will a 3 season tent be ok, or do I need the 4 season one? Thanks! I keep reminding myself that no question is stupid!