u/climb_stuff

Tiny bit of context: Howdy everybody, I'm a dude who played sports in high school, did absolutely nothing in my 20s, and then when I got really bad sciatica around 30 figured I should probably not recline on a couch my entire life. For whatever reason, despite living in Austin, TX, at the time, mountaineering captured my imagination and got my ass up.

At that point in time (about four years ago), we semi-accidentally became pregnant with our second (and final - snipped now) kid, and it was unrealistic to spend the time and money required to break into mountaineering, so I sorta pivoted to trail-running. I actually did climb Mt. Borah here in Idaho, although just via the basic hiking route (absolutely loved the scramble up Chicken Out Ridge), but after that I trained for a 50k (the Wy'East Wonder near Mt. Hood) and then in October 2025 ran a 50-miler (mostly flat) in England.

As I started to plan my next ultra, my parents bought a house in our neighborhood, and I realized things had changed: the mountains were a true possibility now, so instead of picking a 100k or 100-miler for 2027, I realized I could actually plan to start climbing things and begin to forge a path forward in alpinism.

Today, we (wife, kids 4 and 2) live in Boise, ID. So not a ton of mountaineering right here, but if you drive a half or full day you've got a heck of a lot of options.

My Current Plan

• Currently: I've got other stuff going on (writing two novels; long story, ha), trying to focus on being a great dad and husband, doing my job semi-ok, but I'm trying to get to a bouldering gym 2x per week, keeping up decent fitness with trail runs, etc.
• Fall 2026: I've got a tentative two-day trip with the Sawtooth Mountain Guides in the Sawtooths doing some big-slab climbing and summitting one of the peaks there that involves semi-tricky scrambling. Obviously no glacier stuff here, no crevasse, no self-arresting, no avalanche training etc., but still think this could be valuable. For sure open to other ideas here. I probably don't have more than a 2-3 day window for the fall.
• Summer 2027: This is the big first decision. I was planning on trying to sign up for the American Alpine Institute's 6-day intro to mountaineering course that goes to Baker. Do y'all think this is a good first step? Seems like it covers the basics, and gets me to a glacier. Also open to ideas here. Probably have 5-7 days max I can do.
• Beyond: I feel like the next 5-7 years should basically spent in my backyard extended (PNW + Tetons + Sawtooths), continuing to boulder and rock climb, looking to do one or two guided trips a year, hopefully find a partner or group I can sync up with regularly. Maybe try some different types of climbing, try an ice climb, stuff like that. Do stuff like: Hood, Baker, Rainier, Three Sisters, etc. Basically use it to simultaneously gain experience and explore different types of climbing to see what is most enjoyable for me. During this process the lodestar can shift and become clearer. As I figure out the answer to "what type of climbing do I love?" then I can shift that ultimate goal, and when that goal coalesces then I spend my 40s selecting specific objectives that act as very intentional steps up to that lodestar. Kids will get older, and later in my 30s and my 40s I'll be able to detach from the family for longer expeditions and guided stuff.
• The lodestar: peak-bagging is not (I don't think) something that interests me, nor is achieving high-altitude stuff just for the sake of high-altitude (e.g. seven summits, 14 8000m peaks, etc. et al). For whatever reason, I feel drawn (at this very early stage, I know) to really specific, mixed-skill routes and mountains. Climbing Ama Dablam, for example just feels like something that I could point this entire project toward in 20 years (mid-50s, still fit enough but actually have the experience built up); or something like the Cassin Ridge on Denali.

I'd love thoughts, feedback based on your experience, suggestions, anything of the sort. Sorry this was so long; if nothing else, it was not low-effort. Huge thing I think is trying to find some community around Boise which probably just involves putting myself out there at the rock climbing gym and doing some of these guided trips.

TL;DR

I'm a 36yo ultra runner getting into mountaineering for the first time, based in Boise, and my loose plan is outlined above. What looks good, what looks bad, based on your experience?

Hey all, outside of a couple baby Colorado mountains and Mt. Borah in Idaho I’ve not done much in the way of alpine climbing or mountaineering. I am planning on doing a Baker intro course or something similar next summer, and am looking to go to the Sawtooths in September with a guide to do some slab stuff, but I was wondering too about ice climbing, which looks super fun. Does anyone know of any ice climbing in (or near) Idaho?

I’m an ultra runner previously but for some enchanting and (to my wife) insane reason have been drawn to the mountains and other types of climbing recently.

Howdy, everybody. New here and just wanted to say help from Boise, ID!

About five years ago, on a trip to Sedona (pre-kids) with my wife, something about alpinism captured my imagination. I honestly don’t even remember what the trigger was. I was 31, and after playing multiple sports in high school I had done so little in my 20s physically that I was starting to suffer from pretty insane sciatica on my left side. I’d tried a few times to get into running or something like that (living in Austin at the time) but nothing kept. I don’t know what sparked in Sedona, but I remember ordering Training for the New Alpinism. Watching Meru.

Then we got pregnant with kid number one, and on a van trip with my wife we saw the PNW — Rainier, Mt. Hood, the Tetons. I started to dream, we moved to Boise, but pretty quickly we had kid number two (officially done with kids!) and I realized mountaineering just wasn’t in the cards for the near-term future.

Still driven by the mountains, I did the logistically easiest thing: trail running. In the last four years I went from the couch to a 50k around Mt. Hood and then a 50-miler in England.

But the time has come. We have a bit more flexibility, and next year I am trying to do an intro to mountaineering course at Mt. Baker. Later this year planning a guided trip to the Sawtooths for some big slabs as well.

I’m just happy and thankful to be here. There’s so much else to this story — overcoming addiction, radically redefining my faith, confronting the insanity of fatherhood. But this is good for now.

Any advice or anything is welcome. I’m in solid fitness but have NO technical skills, and definitely somewhat daunted by the money aspect of the sport, and I know nobody into it here in town.

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.