(Part 2) Top products from r/Mountaineering

My personal recommendation if you are new to mountaineering you will enjoy and get more out of a trip out in the Rockies. More chances for route finding opportunities and a more gradual transition into snow travel and the ability to do more mountains in the same amount of time!. I've done Shasta, Rainier, Glacier NP, Grand Teton NP, and CO 14ers for a frame of reference. You could

1.) Pick up the bible of moutaineering in Glacier NP and pick as many mountains and routes as your heart desires. MAP One itinerary: fly into Kalispell, drive into Glacier NP (the best NP imo) to Logan Pass and start with one of the best mountain vistas I've ever witnessed on Reynolds Mountain the first day, there's so many to choose from but Chief Mountain for the 2nd day, Allen and/or Wynn the 3rd, big day including Iceberg Peak, Ahern and Swiftcurrent for the fourth.

2.) MAP Fly into Colorado Springs, drive out to Lake City and do Uncompaghre and Wetterhorn the first day; Red Cloud, Sunshine, and Handies the second day; Ellingwood, Blanca and optional Little Bear the third day and; the Crestone Peak and Needle the fourth day with a not too far drive back to Colorado Springs.


I would choose the second one because I would save GNP for a trip when you have more time.

You’re probably looking at high winds at best and white out at worst if it turns.

As soon as you leave Muir you’re in glacial terrain. The guides keep a trade route pretty well established throughout the summer and that’s what makes it easy for people to just run up behind them but their last runs usually end before Oct so their routes are probably out by now. The route can change frequently so having route finding skills is a must unless you piggy-back some climbers that know what they’re doing (which again, I don’t recommend). There’s a reason Rainier is a training ground for US climbers. It’s a long day, can get technical, and I’ve seen people who thought they were in good shape turn around before DC. I think climbers that grow up in the Swiss alps would think Rainier is pretty mild but I wouldn’t discount it. You can drive to the visitor center but getting to Muir is like 5k ft of hiking itself, most people need 2 days to summit.

If you’re serious about climbing it I’d recommend getting this guide and asking yourself if it’s within your skill set. I’d also recommend calling RMI or IMG and see if they’re willing to share route info with you. Gonna need a solo permit too so look into that if going solo.

Mount Rainier Climbing Guide 3E: A Climbing Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/159485842X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KtnXDbKC35YQY

Avalanches and Snow Safety by Colin Fraser

Pretty old now, but I'm finding it very well written. Probably a bit outdated in terms of information and suggested practices, but who cares... read it along with "modern" avalanche training or something. It covers a lot of snow theory, has heaps of awesome old stories, and makes you think about snow, avalanches, and scientific progress in general, from a different perspective. Never stop learning!

https://www.amazon.com/Avalanches-snow-safety-Colin-Fraser/dp/0684147947

Can't speak for Denali - as I haven't done it or anything nearly as big (~16,000 feet is the highest I've gone) but it's on my radar for the not so distant future. I live in Colorado and it sounds like you are also a Colorado local. You should check out this guide book - Colorado Snow Climbs. There are a lot of fantastic climbs out here that will make for great practice for Denali. These are also a ton less crowded than the front/sawatch range 14ers - even in winter/spring.

There are too many wonderful non-technical ascents to name. You may be interested in these books:

Washington Scrambles - if you buy this one, make sure it's the 2nd edition that I linked. lots of stuff here, including some multi-day traverses.

Climbing Washington's Mountains - I really like this one. A great mix of technical and non-technical summits.

Make sure you do your research and double-check routes and conditions on nwhikers.net, cascadeclimbers.com, and summitpost before going out on any trip you read about in a book, though!

Some summits off the top of my head: Sahale, Ruth, Hinman and Daniel, St. Helens and Adams, Three-Fingers, McGregor, Echo and Observation Rocks (near Rainier), Gothic Peak, The Brothers (Olympics), Hidden Lake Peaks (do the ridge from the lookout to Sibley Creek and down to the trail).

The 2018 Accidents in North American Climbing put out by the American Alpine Club goes over quickly, efficiently, and effectively protecting 4th class and low 5th class climbs.

I've roped up for an easy and comfortable 5.easy slab route in Yosemite, and I'm not ashamed to say that. From the slings left from previous rappels, other people have too.

Insert something about old and bold climbers here.

I love Platypus and/or Nalgene soft bottles. Fill 'em when you need 'em, roll 'em up when you don't.

https://www.amazon.com/Platypus-2-Liter-Ultralight-Collapsible-Bottle/dp/B000J2KEGY/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=platypus+soft+bottle&qid=1563996588&s=gateway&sr=8-4

​

https://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-Wide-Mouth-Cantene-32-Ounce/dp/B001J4NDXW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nalgene+soft+bottle&qid=1563996615&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Not sure of the podcast but it sounds pretty close to this story - https://www.amazon.com/Exposed-Tragedy-Triumph-Mountain-Climbing/dp/1555664598

Plus one to this suggestion. Evernew is another great brand:

https://www.amazon.com/EVERNEW-Water-Carry-Hydration-Pack/dp/B001ASLWSK

If WA isn’t out of the question- pick up a copy of Cascade Alpine Guide far too many mixed ice and rock routes out here to narrow down to just one, but the “Beckey Bible” is a good resource to start planning a mountaineering trip to the cascades.

> I'd love to find a good Denali book.

https://www.amazon.com/Mount-McKinley-Conquest-Bradford-Washburn/dp/0810936119

I would argue that there is no pair of people more qualified to write a book on Denali than Washburn and Roberts. They are both absolute legends of the range.

I really liked Snow In the Kingdom by Ed Webster. It tells about his experiences on a few different Everest expeditions .

A good textbook would be Alpine Climbing: Techniques to Take You Higher by Cosley & Houston. It's targeted to that middle ground between pitching out a climb and going without any protection. (I'd also suggest understanding the basics of technical climbing as a pre-req, such as the climbing and anchoring books by John Long.)

If I personally wanted to protect a summer scramble, the specifics would depend on the route but I'd be thinking harness, helmet, 30-40 m half or single rope, a few 'biners, some sewn slings, and a few stoppers and small cams. (Everything listed after the rope would likely remain unused except for specific cases e.g. a rappel.)

I'd recommend checking out above the clouds by anatoli boukreev

There's a really good series of cartoon books about lightweight backpacking and mountaineering by a few guys from NOLS which really helped me adjust what I thought was "necessary".

Mountaineering

Ultralight

General Backpacking

I had a really solid mountaineer once tell me that the key to success on the mountains is camping like a champion. If you're poorly rested, poorly fed or angry with your partners because of a crappy camp setup, you're less likely to achieve your goals.

I mostly do ski mountaineering with some summer stuff thrown in for kicks (I'm in the Canadian rockies so "Summer" is relative). Typically I'll have my ski touring day pack 35L+ and my wife carries a 45L+ bag (she tends to carry but not wear more layers) on any trip where I'm based out of a base camp or hut. We'll drag our gear in on a pull sled or we'll both bring our 65 or 85L bags (depending on trip length) to camp, then ditch em.

https://www.amazon.com/Mount-Rainier-Climbing-Guide-2nd/dp/0898869560

This book was a good read about this: https://www.amazon.com/Altitude-Illness-Prevention-Treatment-Mountaineers/dp/0898866855/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505943371&sr=8-1&keywords=altitude+sickness+book
. However, this was printed quite a while ago and there wasn't much research done on AMS at that time. There still isn't much research on the topic to be brutally honest.
I was prescribed 500 mg twice a day (12 hours) if I needed it, but that was for me, and my doctor just prescribed the standard dosage amount. Basically I told him how much I needed, he determined that I didn't have any contraindications. Many people are now taking it as a prophylactic, I don't know much about that side of it since I've never actually taken any.

I'm with hypothermic2, find a doc who knows, research the guides and see how much they ask people to bring. If all else fails, descend. Descending is the only known "cure" for altitude sickness at this point.