How did you get into Mountaineering?

[BigNick21]

What's your storys? I want to hear how you all got hooked on mountains.

[Dave B]

To get pictures that scare my mom and impress all my friends back in Florida.

[greenonion]

Helps to keep my ligaments legitimately stretched.

But seriously... Hiked up Unc in the 70s as a teenager. It chose me. I followed. Easy story ever since.

[12ersRule]

I'm not into mountaineering. I just bag peaks, the lowest form of mountain entertainment.

Peak bagging is the pickleball of mountain recreation.

[docinco]

bignick, do you by any chance share DNA with JBrow?

[jaymz]

First time I saw Pikes Peak poke out on the horizon on a road trip to CO at age 20, I was hooked. Moved to Denver at age 25 thinking I was going to snowboard all winter and twiddle my thumbs all summer. But then I found out about the concept of 14ers shortly after, and found my new passion.
A hike up Chief Mt after a heavy snowstorm gave me the bug for snow climbing, which I then found out was also a thing.
Training for snow climbing introduced me to ice climbing.
Conditioning my body for all of these things led me to discovering trail running.
Funny enough, I never really took to rock climbing, though I appreciate it and don't mind getting out and doing it on occasion. It's fun to look back and see how one activity blossomed into a whole year-round mountain-related lifestyle.

[zootloopz]

2015: first class 3 peak - katahdin in maine
2016: hiked whitney while thru-hiking the PCT
2017: hit decalibron and elbert for my first CO 14ers while hiking the Colorado Trail
2018: bagged some munroes while hiking across Scotland on the TGOC
2019: bagged 11 CO 14ers including the crestone traverse while working remotely over 3 weeks
2020: bagged 22 more CO 14ers including diente to wilson and capitol while working remotely over 7 weeks
2021: left my job and hiked/climbed ~90 CO peaks above 13k while working on the 14ers and Cents and Bicents (+38/48 of the NH 4000ers)
2022: finished the 14ers, Centennials, and the 4 great traverses
2023: TBD

[Rollie Free]

It's something within most humans, I think, to see a high place and ponder getting to the top.

I hadn't heard of them but stumbled across an article about 14ers in 2010.
I researched it and decided to take myself and my three boys on Massive. The route description said it was an easy walk-up. Cool, I can walk and do easy at the same time.
No training and I was on the heavy side. The big, hard hero in me strapped on an old canvas outside frame backpack and carried all the water and snacks.
I remember the first part on the main trail was steep and my oxygen intake alarm went off. I had no idea. We did make it past 13 k and were taking about 10 steps and resting. Could see the top and people celebrating but it was like those dreams where you can't move.
One of my sons did go on and get close. He came back and said he felt like Golam on the class two, almost three rubble.
One thing I did heed was to be off the mountain peak before noon. We turned back. Later, on the way down, lighting was hitting up high and the mountain shook. Got the turn around part right.
Like several things in my life, initial difficulty and failure didn't discourage me but made me more determined.
The next year we came back out and.....failed again. Lost and beat.
Bur after that it's been a bit obsessive.

[SchralpTheGnar]

Define mountaineering

[BigNick21]

I guess I use it as a loose term for climbing any mountain.

[nyker]

was really just an extension of hiking and seeing the land wherever I went

[JROSKA]

Condensed version for me is:

Moved out here in 08 from WI as a “flat lander” in the purest sense. Had virtually zero mountain experience.

In my first winter here, 09, promptly wrecked my shoulder skiing and decided that any future attempts to “find myself in the mountains” would need to be a bit slower paced than skiing.

During the recovery from shoulder surgery, a physical therapist suggested climbing 14ers. I was amazed to learn that you can simply walk up or scramble to most Colorado 14er summits.

In 10, chose Mt Democrat as my first, Quandary as my second and hated both. Belford was my 3rd and that’s when I finally started to feel like I’d found a new hobby. I’ve managed to plug away at the 14er checklist (at least 2 per summer) each year since then.

I agree with another comment that what I do is just “peak bagging”, it is NOT mountaineering. I’ve noticed that whenever I broach into true mountaineering, I start to not like the mountains very much. Which kind of tells me that I am not a mountaineer.