aboston

I had alot of fun on an RMI guided summit of Rainier. Granted if you live withing driving distance of Rainier then you should be able to get enough experience on your own and just go up with friends. But if you live an airline ticket away things get more difficult. After you add up the cost of tickets, motels, rental car, and the value of your vacation time, the cost of the guide starts to seem a bit less objectionable. Plus, a lesson I certainly learned, you can go to rainier with friends and things can still get seriously F*up. At least with RMI, the ONLY reason you won't summmit is due to weather/conditions. When you go with friends there are many more variables to deal with (and usually more gear to buy). Granted, going with a guided group isn't the same as doing it on your own, but that's not always a bad thing. A guided group is more like a vacation, less to worry about, you just enjoy the experience and have a good time. Not every climb has to be the ultimate proof of your mountain badassness/judgement. I wouldn't hesitate to go up guided again if I was in the area for business or whatever and didn't want the hassel of planning a trip.