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Commercially guided or not, Denali is still a hard mountain. Long days with a heavy sled and pack, constantly changing weather, and altitude make this mountain a serious endeavor regardless of experience level.

I wouldn't even consider attempting it without a guide (commercial or otherwise), despite my experience level. I'm confident enough in my skills to be able to lead a smaller (14,000 ft) alpine peak. But this is the big leagues, I didn't want to play with my safety.

Also, there's something to be said of the experience that a guided expedition can bring. I can legitimately say that I've made friends for life with the guides and the other members of our group. Furthermore, it has brought my skills up to the next level, allowing me to be a more confident climber.

What about my experience tells you I'm not an alpinist? Also, how does one get into this club without first making attempts like this trip? Does being a true alpinist mean that I needed to solo Denali in a weekend? Maybe I should have consulted with Conrad Anker while I was there.

There's a fine line between alpinist and expedition climbs on mountains like Denali. Light and fast is fine, but you'll still need a ton of gear for this trip.

Let's discuss "Beta" for a moment. I thought that beta for alpine climbs covers various logistical information such as equipment, food, water, and climb difficulty. Fine, here's my shot:

• We carried about 23 days worth of food, two of which was cached at base camp
  
• Food primarily consisted of high carb (breads, pasta), high protein (chicken, tuna, salmon), and various sports bars. Candy bars were also plentiful. Freeze dried meals were reserved for high camp.
  
• We each carried about 10 pounds of lunch and snack foods. Daily group meals were separated into 10 to 20 pound bags.
  
• The approach took us about 15 days to get to camp 4, but could have been one or two days less. The descent took about two days, I wouldn't recommend less.
  
• This is not an overly technical mountain. Glacier travel and crevasse rescue are must have skills. Previous experience with rope travel is crucial. Sled experience would be nice, but not needed. Also, good crampon technique will save your legs past camp 2.
  
• Fixed line travel is short, but can be tough in poor weather conditions. There are two sections, one at about 15,000 ft that ends around 16,200 and has a 50 to 55 degree icy slope. The other is just before Washburn's Thumb, I gather that there are lines here simply for safety. Ascenders were provided, but necessary.
  
• There are pickets along the route after 16,000 ft. The terrain makes a running belay a must.
  
• Might be obvious, but water was plentiful if you had the time to boil it. We generally had two pots going in the morning and evening. I preferred to carry three litres of water (one hot, two cold). The park service now requires that groups either carry a stove or that each climber has a litre of hot water on summit days. We did both.
  
  I recommend Alaska Climbing from Supertopo. It's got great route breakdowns for much of the Alaska range.
  
  Key pieces of equipment:
  
  
• Ice axe, I prefer a straight 60 cm axe. My wife likes her Petzl Summit at 52 cm. I prefer an adze on mine, but a hammer would be useful if you are pounding in pickets
  
• Rope for glacier travel, I believe that we had 9.8mm. Each rope team had four people, with about 20 to 30 feet between them. The guides each had a sizable rescue coil as well
  
• Prusiks, but unlikely that you'll use them if you aren't leading. Self rescue would be tough with the weight of the pack and sled
  
• Crampons, mostly used above 11,000 feet
  
• Sled, the air services might provide these. Be sure that it has a cordelette to tie your gear down.
  
• Durrable duffle, perhaps a bit waterproof. This will be on your sled.
  
• Snowshoes for lower glacier travel. I prefer these http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/snowshoes/ascent/lightning-ascent/product
  
• Expedition harness, a climbing harness would be too uncomfortable. Something like the Black Diamond Alpine Bod.
  
• A decent rack. As a client I carried 4 lockers, 4 non-lockers, three slings/runners, and an ascender. Guides carried about 10 lockers, 5 non-lockers, belay device (one had a grigri), one or two ice screws, and ascenders. We also had about 7 pickets, with slings. One non-locker for each would suffice for a running belay.
  
• Shovels, nice light and sturdy shovels. We had about 4. We also had a grain scoop and a small snow shovel for light work.
  
• Tents, the sturdier the better. Gusts were around 40 mph at 17,000 feet.
  
• Games and books, these are key for your sanity. Be prepared to lend your book out.
  
• Music is good for the group.
  
• Sat phone and radios. The sat phone is key for communication with the outside world. The radio is helpful for a larger group, there is also a weather forecast every day at 8:00pm.
  
• Solar charger, there's quite a bit of sunlight (nearly 24 hours).
  
• The park service provided a CMC (Clean mountain can). This is your toilet (for number 2), you'll get over it quickly. But, we brought a larger luxury version with a seat...it was excellent. We also brought our own bags, but the park service has these as well.
  
• Pee bottle, I prefer a 90+ ounce collapsible one. Many people had smaller bottles and became jealous of mine.
  
• Headlamp might be needed if going in early April. But, there's plenty of light in the later months...especially after the solstice
  
• Cold weather gear. You'll have to do your own research and look at your personal gear. i tend to run very hot when moving. I carried soft shell pants and jacket, belay parka, work gloves, light glove liners, hard shell pants and jacket (gore-tex), heavy gloves, expedition mitts, balaclava, a few buffs. Figure out your kit, it's key. If you are with a service, they should consult with you about your gear.
  
• Glacier glasses and ski-goggles. Being a contact wearer, I also have prescription glacier glasses.
  
• If you wear contacts, bring extra! Also, keep your solution and contacts warm. In the event that you can't wear them, make sure that your glacier glasses and ski goggles work with your prescription glasses.
  
• Toilet paper, one for guys and two for ladies. We were stretching it by the end of the trip...but we made it.
  
• At least a 20 below sleeping bag.
  
• Diamox for altitude, stay away from dexamethasone if you can. I acclimated well, so I didn't need mine.
  
• Dayquil or Nyquil, helps if you get sick and can help you sleep. I also had Advil for general pain.
  
• Duct-tape is my personal secret for blister prevention.
  
• Overboots. Forty Below makes some, but they aren't very durable.
  
• Mountaineering Boots. I have the La Sportiva Spantiks. They aren't the most durable boot, but they worked well. My wife has the Scarpa Phantom 6000, which she loves.
  
• Gaiters, I didn't wear mine much, but I can see where one could need them.
  
• Crevasse probe, like a Black Diamond QuickDraw Probe. Also, bamboo wands for marking various things (camps, trail, cache, etc...)
  
• Black garbage bags and ziplock bags. I huge sturdy bag for inside your pack, oldest trick in the book. Extra garbage bags were used and traded quite a bit. Ziplock bags are always useful.
  
  I'm sure there's more, but this is all that comes to mind at the moment.

So spent a fair bit of time (4 weeks) wandering the Khumbu (Everest) Area a few years ago. I didn't climb any technical peaks, but I got up to 5800m on Chukkung Tse (it was a fairly easy walk to the top).

If you are a competent hiker/route finder/traveler, I would recommend going alone. There were some people who I met along the trail that had guides, they seemed hit or miss. Some were awesome and would help the clients do whatever they wanted, some were a bit too controlling for my tastes.

For costs I took a ~$5 bus to Jiri and walked into the Khumbu, very nice, cheap, tons of very friendly Nepalis and virtually no other trekkers, but not feasible if you've got limited time and/or a lot of gear. Daily costs were around maybe $10 a day. If you find a group of people you can negotiate prices (if the 6 of us eat here will you give us the room for free). Cost to fly in or out of Lukla ran about $200 one way I think, I flew out instead of walking out.

As for climbing, most of the 6000m+ peaks are called "Trekking" peaks. The most common one to climb is Island peak. From what I've been told it was super cool to climb those, but you NEED a guide. There are a lot more permitting issues than for a simple trekker like myself. You'll have to go through a local company. My suggestion if you are set on climbing one of those peaks is to hang out in Thamel (tourist region of Kathmandu) and find westerners who have dealt with local companies. You'll save a boat load of cash over booking through a western agency and you'll get to meet the people in charge before you put down money. If you get a bad vibe, just walk away. For guide companies, I would first suggest Ang Rita Trekking: http://www.angritatreks.com/. The manager, Mingma, helped organize the trek my parents met in the late 70s and became a family friend and helped me tremendously when I was there. It's also cool because he was born in the Khumbu and his son is now a guide. I never did an actual trek with them, but I can vouch they've been a stand up organization for 35+ years.

For the Everest Area the best guide book by far is Trekking in the Everest Region By Jamie McGuinness. Especially if you are just trekking on your own this guide is invaluable.

PM me if you have any questions

There's other much more experienced than me here in this subreddit, but I'll post the two books that are always recommended for training tips and for learning more about mountaineering:

Training for the New Alpinism

Freedom of the Hills

Besides gaining experience from the bigger mountains, it's also a good idea to do some rock climbing, to gain experience with handling rope, knots, anchors, secure climbing etc.

Going to an indoor climbing center or heading out with some local rock climbing club if you have that nearby would be a great way to gain experience with those skills.

For gear, here's one interesting site I've found useful, Weigh my Rack: http://blog.weighmyrack.com/how-to-pick-the-best-carabiner-shape-for-rock-climbing/

I'm an EMT-B and WFR trained my WMI of NOLS. Though spendy, the course taught me everything I needed to know to pass my National Registry test. I work as a Professional Ski Patroller, and the emphasis on remoteness, self-sufficiency, and improvisation have proven the most useful in my professional setting and my off the clock backcountry excursions. Though I doubt I'll ever have to improvise a traction splint at work, the great emphasis on doing lots with little has helped me greatly in the field when patients present atypically, or when backup is a long way distant.

Another great aspect of the WMI program, is the length. It's 28 days of EMS, with not much else. Unlike taking your EMT through the local community college, I was surrounded by raft guides, skiers, and climbers, rather than meathead wannabe firefighters. (WFR only courses are cheaper, run about a week, and are often offered by WMI/WMA through large state universities such as the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of Washington, to name two).

I've also taken a Wilderness First Aid class, but it offered little more than what I learned in the First Aid Merit Badge as a boy. I highly recommend the WFR class, at a minimum. The curriculum covers much of what can go wrong in the backcountry, with an emphasis on patient care with only what climbers, skiers, and expedition hikers routinely carry. I greatly enjoyed my WMI of NOLS course, though friends work for WMA and SOLO and the syllabi and emphasis are pretty much the same throughout.

To work professionally, or for many SAR teams, you'll likely need an EMT-B (EMT-1 in some states) or be a registered first responder. Some great armchair resources include Paul Auerbach's Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine and the NOLS Wilderness Medicine: 4th Edition .

For a book on one route, Doug Scott's book about the Ogre has a lot of history of the mountain, the area, then tells the story of the first ascent's expedition in detail (he and Chris Bonington were the summit team). https://www.amazon.com/Ogre-Biography-mountain-dramatic-ascent-ebook/dp/B0779F4RRG/

I also really enjoyed the mountain profile of Jannu in Alpinist magazine 57 https://shop.holpublications.com/products/alpinist-magazine-issue-57?variant=29425193844824 Jannu's north face is one of the great faces of the world and this digs into it in detail.

Edit: Also, 50 Favorite Climbs is a great book with profiles of some more challenging routes than a lot of the "classic climb" compilations along with profiles of a ton of badass climbers. The author interviews 50 of the top climbers of the day about their climbing history and he writes a profile of their favorite route in North America. It's a cool mix of rock, ice, and alpine. Goes in sort of the same category as books like Beckey's 100 Favorite Climbs and the old 50 Classic Climbs of North America. All three of those might be good for you. https://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Favorite-Climbs-North-America/dp/0898867282 https://www.amazon.com/Beckeys-Favorite-North-American-Climbs-ebook/dp/B00GCDYVPE https://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Classic-Climbs-North-America/dp/0871568845/

If the climb were tomorrow you could probably do it with a guide. You should definitely push yourself to be in shape but it sounds like you already have a reasonable fitness base.

Check out http://www.amazon.com/Training-New-Alpinism-Climber-Athlete/dp/193834023X if you really want to get into climbing shape.

There isn't really a way for you to get used to altitude without having taller mountains nearby but you might be able to go a few days early and hike around the area to acclimate.

$15,000 sounds quite expensive. Some equipment will be provided with the guided trip and you can find most other equipment on sale or gently used.

Depending on how long you plan to stick around before/after, I would think you could do it for ~$5,000. Airfare + some cheap lodging & food + personal gear + guide fee.

Probably less if you are willing to camp instead of get a hotel, shop at a grocery store and cook on a camp stove instead of going to restaurants, be picky in your purchases and buy what you need not what is newest or fanciest, join some forums and try to find someone else in the program to bum a ride with or a local to do a few acclimatization hikes.

Hopefully someone else can think of mountains closer to home for you to train.

While I'm sure someone will jump in with their favorite, I've read through this one:

https://smile.amazon.com/Climbing-Self-Rescue-Improvising-Mountaineers/dp/089886772X?sa-no-redirect=1

Your library might even have a copy. Also, look for a copy of Freedom of the Hills. 8th is the latest, but 6th & 7th are not all that old.

For navigation, eventually you'll want to be able to pinpoint & track yourself along a bare hillside, no trail.

Simple comfort & awareness, especially, I have found consists of a lot of trial and error. Learning when to switch layers to stay warm but not sweaty. How to pack a heavy pack. Where to find water. Knowing when you're getting dehydrated. Plenty of this can be learned on ordinary hilly trails, no massive peaks required.

I know some of these skills will be quite difficult to work on living in the city, but they're a super important place to start, and you don't need to hire a fancy guide to teach you. Plus, if you do take a class like you linked, you'll get a lot more out of it if you've already learned a lot of the fundamentals yourself. Be the guy who already knows how to tie every knot, knows exactly where he is on the map, and is comfortable in the environment. Don't be that guy who is too busy learning how to tie munters and clove hitches to pay attention to crevasse rescue practice.

For technical alpine rock you need to train both your climbing ability and your cardiovascular system. Getting to the trango towers and other high altitude rock destinations require stellar cardiovascular strength on top of being a strong rock climber. Pick up the book [Training for the New Alpinism](https://www.amazon.com/Training-New-Alpinism-Climber-Athlete/dp/193834023X), this is some of the most in depth information you can get on how to train specifically for alpine climbing. Also if you feel inclined check out the r/alpinism training club which is posted on this sub every monday, we talk about our routines, benchmarks, questions, and ideas for training. I find that the rock-specific training isn't talked about much in this book, so maybe look into some other books or apps (crimpd is a free training app with some interesting workouts) to improve your rock skills.

Alpine climbing is about self reliance and no text book will make you a competent climber. We must always strive to learn all we can and make our own judgment calls.

Freedom of the Hills is a particularly awful book published by an organizations who's teachings have always been out of date. A friend and I were discussing how learning from it almost got him killed in his early days rock climbing.

http://www.amazon.com/Ways-Sky-Historical-American-Mountaineering/dp/0930410831 is a fascinating read focusing on what people have done in the mountains of North America and how they did it. The section on the mountaineers (publishers of Freedom of the Hills) is particularly interesting... they were founded by en ex military preacher who used to take large groups of Seattleites up mount rainier with a bugle and a team of "experienced climbers" following behind ready to tackle anyone who slipped.

Twight's book is okay but only if you want to climb like Twight. I simply don't enjoy living off power gu and nutritional supplements.

I think Peter Croft's short instructional book is amongst the best i've run across. It won't teach you everything but it contains a straight forward description of the simple systems and equipment used by one of the worlds master climbers:
http://www.amazon.com/Lightweight-Alpine-Climbing-Peter-Specialist/dp/0811728412/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269474063&sr=1-1

A bit late here... Please don't concentrate only on gear! Rainier is a VERY dangerous big mountain and don't let the fact that there are hundreds of people going up it at any time fool you into thinking otherwise. One of our team mates punched through a crevasse waist deep while following a trail that dozens of people went over before us that same day. Practice self arrest, crevasse rescue, rope work, team dynamics, route finding, etc. Next time you walk on the street, just pretend for a few feet that the ground could collapse under you at any second and you fall to your death unless you're prepared. 95% chance you will great weather, nothing will go wrong, and you will have the best experience of your life in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Please be prepared for the other 5%.

Some great resources:
http://www.amazon.com/Glacier-Mountaineering-Illustrated-Travel-Crevasse/dp/0762748621/ref=pd_sim_b_2

http://www.summitpost.org/mount-rainier/150291

Feel free to PM me and I would be happy to talk to you about our trip (unguided) and talk to you as much about gear as you can stand since I'm a gear whore.

Edit: sorry for the mean sounding post... more people than usual in the mountains this year and every incident weighs fairly heavily when you read about people dying while doing the same thing that you do.

Well, in Calgary, the best thing you're going to get is either Nose Hill, or the Bow building.

But the area around here has all kinds of stuff. The question is how far do you want to go? Day-trip from Calgary, there are plenty of great alpine climbs that people enjoy, though the downside does exist of most of the rock being chossy limestone.
If you were to meet up with a buddy here and go on a trip from here, there is some truly spectacular non-limestone a little further west as well (the Bugaboos, Roger's Pass area).

The book for the area is called Selected Alpine Climbs in the Canadian Rockies, and would be very useful if you plan to spend some time out this way.
Summitpost also has a collection of routes and info to read up.
Dow Williams has a great site with a lot more stuff for you.

I'm not sure what's good without knowing what you like, but there is plenty to choose from. Hopefully those give you a start.

I don't know about one application all day and being good, but I use dermatone. The coating seems to protect and stay really well. I''ll do a quick re-application at the longer breaks on a climb and haven't had trouble with burning (or even tanning, staying nice and pasty white). All day long on a glacier or snow field at elevation and I don't think anything will protect you with one application.

The exception to the conventional batteries is charging with a Micro-USB port and bringing a small usb battery pack or solar panel battery combo. I switched to an all usb charging setup this year and love it. All of my climbing gadgetry can be charged with one 6,000mah battery pack:

Cameras (Sony DSC-RX100M ii and GoPro),

Headlamp (ReVolt),

Water purifier (Steripen Freedom model),

iPod (audio books),

SmartPhone/SatPhone,

Satelite Beacon/PLB (DeLorme inReach SE),

GPS Watch (Suunto Ambit 2),

2 Way Radios

.

Findings (so far):

Inexpensive solar/battery was almost useless as a solar panel.

This Jockery thing put out 2.1amps and worked awesome but it sometimes shut off after 10min when charging consumption was low like on an iPod Nano. This is my sweet-spot solution of choice depending on how long I'm out.

A Goal Zero Nomad 20 panel and Sherpa 50 are awesome for base camps but pricy.

We all have extra AC->USB wall warts and laptops to charge off of too when not going on extended trips so it is nice to keep that stuff charged up without having to pull batteries out and charge them or worse, replace disposables.

Pick up a copy of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills read through it.

Sign up for a mountaineering course. Start climbing and hiking and make friends. Use said friends to help you learn progressively more. Join a local Alpine/climbing/mountaineering club/organization.

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: Trekking in the Everest Region


|Country|Link|Charity Links|
|:-----------|:------------|:------------|
|USA|smile.amazon.com|EFF|
|UK|www.amazon.co.uk|Macmillan|
|Spain|www.amazon.es||
|France|www.amazon.fr||
|Germany|www.amazon.de||
|Japan|www.amazon.co.jp||
|Canada|www.amazon.ca||
|Italy|www.amazon.it||
|India|www.amazon.in||




To help add charity links, please have a look at this thread.

This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting). The thread for feature requests can be found here.

I learned a lot from this book: https://www.amazon.com/Glacier-Mountaineering-Illustrated-Travel-Crevasse/dp/0762748621 (despite the silly cover)

As I remember it covers considerably more than the freedom of the hills.

Personally I went outside and found a tree branch to practice hauling on. A gym will work but I found it easier to learn/practice without a bunch of other people around gawking.

Ya, I grew up in Colorado so climbing has always been a part of me. If you're looking to get into mountaineering I recommend you pick up this book, it taught me everything I didn't already know plus its nice to have around.

If you want a good resource that provides more info than you will be able to digest, pick up a copy of Training for the New Alpinisim

Training for the New Alpinism by Steve House and Scott Johnston

Read the Mountaineering Bible

1. The technical nature of the climb varies with the route. We did the traditional "Disappointment Cleaver" route which is somewhat non technical. We had to set protection on the way down and we briefly considered rappelling down an ice fall on the Emmons Shoulder. Beyond that, it's a lot of dodging crevasses and gasping for air. My partner and I are planning on doing the Kautz Glacier route next year, and that is currently completely shut down due to icefall atm. 2 weeks ago it was a 3 pitch technical ice climb though.
   
   
2. Weather depends on visibility, the condition of the route and most importantly, the WIND. It is always windy on Rainier!! During our failed attempt last year it was cranking in upwards of 80mph on the Cleaver: bad news. The distance, like everything else depends on the condition of the glaciers. It's fairly long right now due to heavy crevasse conditions on the Emmons and Upper Nisqually.
   
   
3. We left on Sunday morning around 8am with about 35-40 lbs on our backs. Gear mostly consisted of cold weather layering and ropes/harnesses/ATC/biners etc.
   
   
4. Generally on alpine climbs my partner and I run with 2 pickets a piece, and we set protection when one of us asks, or we are just feeling prudent. Better safe and slow, than fast and dead. You can always pick up a picket on the way down and webbing is cheap to leave in place for the next climber.
   
   EDIT Freedom of the Hills is a MUST.