Good intro alpine climbing

[rizzle]

I recently moved to Seattle and was looking to broaden my climbing experiences with some forays into the alpine and multipitch world. I'm pretty green as far as trad experience goes but have led up to 5.9 and followed a bit harder. Any recommendations for some good beginner climbs?

[genepires]

crag till you are very proficient. lead in the mountains a couple number grades smaller than your crag grade. If you can easily lead 5.8 at the crags, then stick to 5.6 in the mountains.

So if you are not a proficient leader, then climb 4th class routes in the mountains. Plenty of options there. You may still decide to rope up for 4th class.

the tooth, south face, comes to mind at 5.6 and close to your home

guye peak (not improb traverse line) has 4th class routes on it. also at snoq pass.

ingalls peak, s face, is a sweet 5.6

 

Strong rock climbing skills is a paramount to climbing in the mountains. If you are weak there, then build that up before going into technical terrain, even 4th class. And when I say rock climbing, I mean trad climbing and place gear.

Edited March 23, 2013 by genepires

[bstach]

+1 on what Gene said. Also post up in the partners section for a more experienced climber to take you out. This can shorten the learning curve quite a bit.

[curtveld]

Not clear from your post if you have much experience being in the mountains.

 

If not, there is a whole world of stuff you will need to learn to be safe and comfortable in alpine or alpine rock:

- Snow and glacier travel

- Back-country camping

- Mountain weather

Lots of resources to learn this stuff, including books, courses, guide services and even the search function for this website!