Challenging non-technical mountains?

November 5, 2019 7:01 AM

I'm looking for the most difficult mountain/terrain I can hike up/across, on a hobbyist budget and without technical/mountaineering experience.

I'm a relatively experienced hiker/backpacker with thousands of miles under my hipbelt. No high altitude experience yet (mostly <= 2000m US east coast mountains, in the Whites for example) so I would need acclimation time wherever I go. I've done extensive winter backpacking in fairly harsh NE weather (ie. zeroish F temps and wind making frostbite a real concern), requiring microspikes and/or snowshoes but never crampons + ice picks. I have no rock climbing experience or experience with technical mountaineering equipment (belaying etc). I will likely learn these things to significantly open up my opportunities in the future but obviously that will require a very long time to gain the necessary competency for the stakes involves. I may be an adrenaline junkie but I'm not one with a death wish.

Which mountains should I be looking at if I want to challenge myself the most? Mountains that require expensive permits sherpas infrastructure etc are out. I'll cap expenses at ~$5k USD (although obv less is preferred - maybe saving while gaining mountaineering skills would be the better value for the upper end). Duration of 3 weeks max. Bonus points for areas where the terrain is the main safety concern rather than civil unrest, geopolitical struggles, etc.

posted by ToddBurson to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (12 answers total)

What would you think of gaining experience in the US? You could look at 14ers and 13ers in Colorado, where there is a good community of peak baggers and information about routes. Look at 14ers.com, both website and app.

For more snow/ice mountaineering, I would look at the Pacific Northwest volcanoes, Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, and the Andes. The high volcanoes in Mexico are often suggested for getting higher altitude exposure without high technical requirements.

A good way to learn about mountains to start on would be to look at what trips are offered by guide services - the descriptions on the web sites are informative, even if you don't do a guided trip.

Are you open to guided trips? They can be great for learning skills.
posted by medusa at 7:10 AM on November 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

The Scottish Highlands might make a great training ground for building climbing experience or learning winter mountaineering skills in a relatively easily accessible environment. There are hundreds of peaks with a wide range of difficulty, everything from simple walks to technical ice climbing depending on where you go, which routes you choose and the time of year. None of them are very tall (max 1300m) but there are still plenty of serious challenges available. Each can be reached and done in a day and you can often chain multiple nearby peaks together in an outing. There is a big community of mountaineers here, plenty of advice, companions or more formal training to be found. In a 3 week trip you could pack in a lot.
posted by automatronic at 7:16 AM on November 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Longs Peak, Keyhole, summer. Long, high, weather, exposure. You could do Quandary, Grey's/torreys combo, and Humboldt as warm ups and still be *way* under budget.

Lightning, hypothermia, altitude sickness, and remoteness are serious constraints that are not very much of an issue out east.

You are going to need to acclimatize.
posted by j_curiouser at 7:28 AM on November 5, 2019

I haven't had a chance to climb Longs, but everything I've read suggests that for a summer climb you just need to be pretty fit, have acclimatized for at least a few days, and not be scared of heights. Not that it's easy - it's a long hike, and there's always the chance of bad weather or altitude sickness - but it doesn't seem like it would be a huge challenge for ToddBurson. Rather, it one to include on a trip to the Rockies.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:13 AM on November 5, 2019

White Mountain, near Bishop, CA, is possibly the least-technical fourteener out there. There's literally a road that you walk up to the top. (It's a pretty rough road, still scenic.) It's maybe 15 miles out and back from a locked gate that blocks off the road; start early and you can summit & return in a day trip. (You can camp at the gate too, if you want some time to acclimate a bit; I think the gate is around 11–12,000'.)
posted by saramour at 8:37 AM on November 5, 2019

So, it basically sounds like you're looking for "scrambles", or something that would fall into class 2 or 3 of the Yosemite rating system. Summit post is a pretty extensive site that should let you search areas or ranges for routes by class. The site has a pretty heavy focus on more hardcore mountaineering and class 5 technical stuff, but there is a community of scramblers there.

Old Rag in Virginia is one of the funner hikes I've been on; it'd probably be class 2.
posted by LionIndex at 8:57 AM on November 5, 2019

There's courses in the Tetons/Jackson Hole area that will have you rope up and do basic mountaineering / ice axe training I think. With the plethora of other options in the area, from the Tetons themselves to nearby Yellowstone, you shouldn't hurt for things to do.

I've never done them but a few of the peaks south of Grand Teton itself are also walk ups that will challenge hikers. I had a buddy that did, I think but don't quote me, Middle and South in that same range in one long, long day. I missed that trip and probably couldn't have hacked it anyway.

Sorry I can't give you more information as your experience in the Whites trumps my own. Good luck.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:41 AM on November 5, 2019

When you say non-technical, I assume you mean terrain that doesn't require the use of ropes, either due to fall danger (basically class 5 climbing) or due to crevasse danger. In my mind, that removes glacier travel, at least in the absence of a guide. It also probably removes anything with avalanche danger.

If that's all accurate, the rockies in July-September is a great bet. If you want to peak-bag, the 14ers are good targets, but if you want to get away from people, there are literally hundreds of Class 3 and 4 ridge scrambles on 12,000 and 13,000 peaks that will get you far away from the well-traveled paths. And given the amount of free camping on forest service and BLM land in the western US, it can be done on the cheap.
posted by craven_morhead at 11:57 AM on November 5, 2019

There are lots of fun, challenging climbs in the North Cascades that require seasonal study of the conditions but not necessarily rope and ice ax experience. Mt Baker can be climbed from sea level to 10,700 ft over a short weekend in midsummer.
Parts of the PCT in Washington are challenging just for their length, vertical distance required and changing weather, but again aren't technical.
Mt Adams and Glacier Peak are scrambles some seasons , but have technical routes as well.
There are also groups, like the mountaineers, that run classes on these mountains to give you skills, and those can be fun, rewarding and challenging as well.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:29 PM on November 5, 2019

Mt Whitney in California is probably a good fit - it's the tallest mountain the the lower 48 states and you basically just walk up to the top. There's no technical elements required. The only trouble is it's not that far from LA and is immensely popular. You need to get a permit to hike it and there's an annual permit lottery - the 2020 lottery opens Feb 1.

So I'd suggest picking some good 2020 dates and marking the lottery entry date on your calendar.

If you want a challenge, wake up just after midnight and try to do it as a day hike. It's only 17km but around 2000m of vertical.
posted by GuyZero at 3:23 PM on November 5, 2019

Humboldt in Colorado is a fourteener that I found relatively challenging but not technical. Actually, the Sangre de Cristo range might be what you're looking for--not all over 14, but some of the hikes (not even just summits!) are quite challenging.
posted by Anonymous at 4:46 AM on November 6, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks y'all. Within the US is absolutely fine and even preferred as it's way cheaper. Training classes or guided trips, within the US, to gain some rope skills would probably be a pretty good idea.

By "technical" I basically mean involving ropes or where avalanches or crevasses are a danger. I have used ice tools but am not super experienced with them and in most cases probably didn't need to use them but if I'm already carrying them just in case I might as well.
posted by ToddBurson at 10:04 AM on November 8, 2019