Hey all, I want to hear from anyone who's climbed on Alpamayo. Got the opportunity to attempt it this year, I'll be doing it guided. I've climbed Cayambe, Cotopaxi and attempted Lenin Peak (bad weather) and am super comfortable on glacier, rope teams and rappelling. Only thing is I haven't actually ice climbed before...

The (well known) guide has suggested with my prior skills but lack of ice climbing experience, we do a day of learning ice climbing techniques, anchors etc; climb Yanapaccha and then go for Alpamayo.

Am I biting off more than I can chew here? I don't want to be dragged up but being from Australia I also don't get much of a chance to ice climb, and feel pretty confident I'll be able to pick up the skills fast given prior experience. I've been wanting to progress my skills with climbing more technical peaks and learning to ice climb but am not sure if I'm jumping the gun... let me know!

Sorry for the low quality picture. This was taken a few weeks ago outside my apartment in Westminster, CO about 25 minutes northwest of Denver. I know the mountains are west of me but I cannot figure out which mountains I’m looking at specifically and how far away they are.

Any insight is very much appreciated!

Calling Mount Everest the tallest mountain is an arbitrary and arguably meaningless designation when considering other, more significant ways to measure height. The commonly used "height above sea level" is just a human-defined metric that ignores more meaningful geological realities.

1. If the goal is to find the point on Earth closest to space, Everest loses to Chimborazo in Ecuador, which is farther from Earth's core due to the planet’s equatorial bulge.

2. If we consider a mountain’s true height from base to peak, Everest loses to Mauna Kea, which, though mostly submerged, towers 10,211 meters from base to summit.

3. Even if we only look at mountains that are fully above sea level, Everest still loses to Denali, which has a greater base-to-peak height.

In short, Everest is only the tallest by an arbitrary standard—one that assumes sea level is the ultimate reference point, which makes little sense given that mountains exist in vastly different geological contexts. If anything, it’s less impressive than Chimborazo, Mauna Kea, or Denali, each of which is superior by a more physically meaningful metric.

Hi all, I'm a complete begineer to mountaineering (Although experienced in Hillwalking quite a bit). Me and a few friends were looking to do a mountaineering course followed by a few days of climbing in the alps either this summer or (Most likley) next, or maybe over a Halloween or Easter Holiday as we're all still in school

I was just wondering, does anyone have any places or companies that ran a course that they found to be especially good. I don't really mind if we hit summits or anything. Just want to learn skills and anything I need to know to then confidently take myself and maybe 1 or 2 others after a bit of experience up peaks the following season

I was looking at joinging the Austrian Alpine Club (UK) branch and availing of their Grants for a week long course. Money is tight so this would be ideal. Otherwise theres a 1 day course with the Chamonix Guides as well or the 2 day one that I was also looking at

FYI I live in Ireland. Budget would be in and around 500 ish, flexable though, as I still need to pay for flights etc

Thanks for your help

Hi there, I've been looking into climbing Shasta this spring/summer and seems like there are lots of options out there. Anyone have any suggestions or advice on choosing one? I've never done any sort of proper mountaineering and would love to find a course/class that teaches glacier travel skills and includes a summit attempt rather than a 3 day summit attempt with some basic skills thrown in. Any suggestions? Or outfitters to avoid?

i'm also open to doing a similar course up in Oregon if there's a better option than Shasta.

Thanks for any and all info ya'll are willing to share!

I’m currently planning to climb Mt. Rainier this August with a guide service, which will be my first major mountaineering adventure, despite a considerable amount of backpacking/hiking experience.

I know I need mountaineering boots, but I’m overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. Single vs double wall! Crampon compatibility!

While I could rent, I’d like to invest in a pair of boots, particularly so they can mold to my foot, and for future expeditions. That said, it seems like each boot is very narrowly designed; single walled boots will take me up Rainier, provided good weather, but are not recommended for climbing other mountains like Cotopaxi, etc. Is there one set of boots that will take me up everything from Rainier to, say, Denali, or am I doomed to suffer my wife’s glares as she sees the latest credit card charges and am forced to explain how, “THIS pair is different.”

Alternatively, is renting boots just the way to go?

Hello, does anyone have any experience or idea of ​​how it is to walk in the La Sportiva G Summit on longer tours? As far as I understand it, it is a mountaineering shoe that is also suitable for ice and mixed climbing. I would mainly use it for mountaineering and glacier hikes and occasionally for ice climbing. Is the shoe suitable for this or is it too stiff?

Need a good Wind cheater jacket. Have looked at the houdini but have seen many negative comments on it. Preferably under 100 euros/100dollars. I live in sweden. thanks.

I am planning on climbing Mount Washington NH through Huntington's Central Gully on whatever day was best for weather from March 9th to March 11th and wanted to know if anyone else was planning on doing the same and if so we could group up. I am going with just one other person and have some experience with mountaineering and ropes but can't hurt to have some more.

Hallo! I recently completed 41 st summit ascents of Kilimanjaro in January 01, 2025 you can simply ask me anything about climbing Kilimanjaro and It will be my joy to assist you, and I am eager and willing to share my experience with anyone, Thanks

I'm new to any kind of mountaineering and I'm attempting Mt. Hood the first week of May with a guide and I need to be getting a soft-shell kit. Do you think the Arc'Teryx Serratus pants/jacket would be too light? It looks like it's the replacement for the Gamma AR and Psiphon line, both which seem to have gotten really good reviews from people here, just with some thinner materials in certain spots.

Jacket: https://arcteryx.com/us/en/shop/mens/serratus-hoody-9570

Pant: https://arcteryx.com/us/en/shop/mens/serratus-pant-9527

Another option, because I can get a hell of a deal on them through the employee store is the MH Chockstone. These are a bit heavier then the Serratus:

Jacket: https://www.mountainhardwear.com/p/mens-chockstone-alpine-hooded-jacket-2077761.html?dwvar_2077761_color=842

Pant: https://www.mountainhardwear.com/p/mens-chockstone-alpine-pant-2091871.html?dwvar_2091871_color=347

I plan on using the kit for colder weather hiking/backpacking when not climbing, so it's not just going to be a single use thing. Any advice, thoughts, guidance is appreciated. Thank you!

Looking for crampon recommendations for mountain extremes. Will be ascending mountains snow packed and icy terrain and was wondering if there’s anything decent before I have to end up buying a new pair of boots.

I'm a total newb to climbing gear and taking my first glacier travel/rescue course. I got the recommendation to mark my gear with nail polish, but I apparently missed the part that I shouldn't mark soft goods like that.

I put two dots on the back of my harness, and a dot on each of my slings (4 in total, 2 120cm and 2 60cm). I hadn't considered the chemicals might affect it. Is it really that big of a deal?

Weird question, I know. I need a SAR helmet. It's not for high-speed, super-cool MRA team stuff. I'm just an ordinary, volunteer ground searcher. The only requirements of the SAR team are a solid plastic shell (i.e., no ultralight, exposed-foam climbing helmets) and a retention strap (i.e., no old-school construction hard hats). They only really get used for helicopter operations.

Here's the kicker: Though a seasoned hiker/backpacker, I'm very much a novice alpinist, so I'm taking a course through The Mountaineers this year. The course handbook indicates they require a helmet with either UIAA or EN certification.

I don't want to buy multiple helmets if I can avoid it, especially since the requirements here seem compatible. Like, it doesn't seem like I'm trying to shoehorn a bike helmet into climbing duty here. A lot of SAR helmets are EN 12492 compliant.

I can't tell why, but, despite this overlap in standards, there's not much overlap between helmets marketed toward SAR teams and helmets marketed toward the general climbing public. For SAR, it seems like all the cool kids use Kask Superplasmas, Petzl Vertexes ("Vertices?"), or Kong Mouses ("Mice?" Why do so many helmet model names have nonstandard plurals?).

The BD Half Dome is pretty popular with younger/broker members of the team. As a small business owner, I don't really want to give BD/Clarus Corp., Mammut/Telemos Capital Ltd., or any other private equity firm-owned company my money if I can give it to a smaller business (but I'm willing to be flexible if there's no great alternative). The Petzl Boreo seems to compete in this same category and appears well-liked. Petzl is also a massive company, but is ostensibly "family-owned," which is better than a PE firm, if you ask me. It has the happy side effect of being relatively inexpensive.

I'd like a helmet that's not going to deform too much or get damaged if I have to shove it in the mouth of my overnight pack in a hurry. I think that means I'm looking for a hybrid foam + shell helmet (feel free to challenge this assumption).

So, my questions are these: 1) Do any of you actually climb in, like, a Kask or a Kong? 2) Why do you suspect there's such little overlap between SAR models and ordinary climbing helmets? 3) Do you have a favorite helmet that seems to meet my requirements? and 4) Any tips for a dude learning the basics of alpine scrambling this year?

Thanks in advance!

I've had mine about two years and they've become unwearable they're so tight. They weren't this tight new. They've definitely gotten soaked during multi day trips in snow. I'm thinking they've shrunk like crazy after getting wet. Anyone else experience this?

I'm considering getting the tech version to avoid this potential issue. But I'm also a bit nervous about ordering the same exact size given my current experience. The trangos def fill an important niche in my kit.

And no, my feet haven't grown hahah. All my other shoes fit like normal.

I recently climbed Cotopaxi as my first mountain down in Ecuador. It was a nice experience and I didn’t find it too difficult. I’ve seen guiding services in the US are very very expensive but I also would rather not have to arrange a South America trip whenever I can to climb mountains. I met friends in Ecuador that said they climb Shasta regularly unguided and I was wondering how safe that is. What do you have to keep in mind when planning a trip like that and what could go wrong?

I feel like there has to be a better way. Problem is when I use bins I forget what I own.

Only a 3k ft ascent to 4400, so hardly mountaineering, but this gave me a thrill for one simple reason - summiting on one of the closest days of the year at sunset.

When I set off from the base, the real feel was -20° F with a strong driving wind. By the time I reached the summit there were 50mph wind gusts that surely brought the chill down to -40° or -50° F if had to guess. To be so exposed above treeline in such an inhospitable environment was absolutely thrilling.

My fingers were completely numb taking this photo and I quickly turned around to escape down to tree line.

This was no remarkable feat but it was a small taste of the serious conditions you can face in the alpine.

Hi. Living in Northern Germany but travel a lot for work. I did a stint in Norway and the Northeastern US where I climbed some +/- some 2k m peaks during the pandemic. I'm older and fatter now and I want to get back into shape. I'm running again and went to the gym maybe 5 times in the past year. How do I get back in shape for some long hikes and mountain climbs. Any recommendations?

Hello all! I am planning to go for the Mera Peak trek in July or August. I have never done any high altitude climbs or treks, nor anywhere near Nepal. The highest I have been to is about 1200m.

I realise this is going to be extremely daunting and difficult for me and after consulting with a few people who did the Mera Peak, they said it was possible as they had never been any higher than 1200m themselves, except for the flight of course.

They had a trekking company do everything for them from Kathmandu to Mera Peak and back. First, I must mention that I am on a tight budget and paying $1800 is not something I wish to do at the moment. Second, I wish to take my time and acclimatize slowly and properly.

I wish to go to Khare, the village next to Mera, solo. I did some research on the route and have an idea of where to go from where etc. What I am wondering is, the cost for lodges. I understand that on EBC treks, there are lodges that will let you stay for free if you buy food from there. Is this the same with Mera Peak route? If not, how much should I be looking at for the lodges?

I have a tent and I can cook. But by looking at the maps, the best place to camp would be next to lodges and I don't see the point of camping next to a lodge.

Hi, all! I’m new to hiking/climbing/being active at altitude. I live at sea level and came out to Colorado for about a week. For the past two days, I was in Denver. Plenty of hydration, no major symptoms. Adjusted fine. Yesterday, I went to about 9,000 ft and hiked about two hours with 1,000 gain. No problems.

Today, I did two hikes. The first was steep and went up to about 12,000. I had no problems, but it was only about three hours. Went back down to Denver for lunch and then did a pretty flat hike for another 2.5 hours at 9,000. It was pretty easy, maybe the easiest one; however, on that hike, I started having mild symptoms of gastrointestinal upset (to be more specific, sorry, the feeling of needing to diarhea, though, I didn’t actually go) and a mild headache that has lingered since coming back down to Denver for bed.

My understanding is that most people are not really going to feel altitude symptoms until they’re up there for at least four hours. (I know there can be exceptions, but that is what seems to be generally true) I still haven’t been that high for longer than four hours in one go, but was if you add my two hikes today together. I do have a bit of a history of this type of headache at sea level, but I also know both of these things are possible signs of AMS. Does anyone have any insights into whether my two hikes in one day with a break in the middle could “add up” to enough time at altitude to have a reaction? I think it’s possible I just happened to randomly get a headache and also ate something that didn’t agree with me, but it’s also possible I’m reacting to altitude. Thanks for any thoughts, as I have never read anything about how same day with a break counts for bodily response to altitude.

Heard it's a remote trek and it is a trekable mountain. It stand at 3826 meter. Was thinking of it coz I wanted trek that many people don't really do

I have stupid feet and therefore have special insoles I use in every shoe they are flexible at the toes and completely solid at the heel so can be a pain in the arse to put in shoes sometimes does anyone who has these boots let me know if it’s even possible to fit special insoles in these boots

Cheers dudes

My friend, who's never even been backpacking(severely inexperienced) is set on climbing Shasta in March. I need help convincing him not to. though he's pretty dead set on it already and is definitely underestimating Shasta by A LOT.

edit: thanks for your replies everyone! ummm still reading through all of them but they are all very helpful and I'll take these into account when talking to him next. thanks for all your help!

Looking to begin to plan a trip for this upcoming summer, and looking for a larger objective to climb that is non- technical. What climb do you think is more fun? Shasta via Avalanche Gulch or Adam’s via the south route. I have glacier experience but looking for something simpler that doesn’t require roping up.