Anyone have advice on guided climbs?

[seth21]

Hello,

 

I recently moved to Hillsboro, Oregon from Georgia. In georgia, my outdoor niche was caving. Georgia had some great caves that were alot of fun and had a great deal of adrenaline/danger to it.

 

Up here with Mt. Hood often visible in the distance; mountaineering seems like another fun challenge to move onto.

 

I honestly know essentially nothing about proper equipment up here(I often caved in shorts!). I was considering a guided course like the website below:

http://www.nwsos.com/public/summit.html

 

I would do the 475$ course but that seems like alot of money; on the other hand it could be very well worth it especially considering they include equipment.

 

Anyone have advice or tried one of these courses?

[seth21]

 

 

Cave in north GA

[DPS]

My .02 cents. The cost sounds reasonable, but I would comparison shop at Timberline Mountain guides, Gresham Community College, The Mazamas, etc. Look not only at the price and what is included (rental gear), but also at the syllabus, the intstructor creditals, (all guides should be at minimum AMAGA aspirants and the head guide should be full AMGA Alpine Guide certified if you are going through a commerical outfit). The initial gear list can be a bit of a sticker shock. Rent and borrow what you can, and buy the remaining stuff used through this bbs.

[chris]

I agree with DPS.

Edited May 17, 2011 by chris