Planning a potential 2 - 3 week trip starting mid-December to the Sierra's. In good shape but am new to mountaineering (first 14er will be this weekend in Colorado). Looking to do Mt Tyndall / Williams / Whitney if weather allows. Open to other peaks with preference towards low to moderate technical difficulty. Would love to find more experienced partners to climb with and learn from. Let me know if interested / have advice on spots to check out.

Welcome, Austin.

December is not the time of year to begin your mountaineering adventures. In fact, only the extremely hardy people will venture into the Sierra in December -- Snow survey people are about the only ones. Travel is almost humanly impossible in December -- snow shoes and x-c skiis are pretty much what is required.

June through September are best for getting your first experiences in the Sierra.

Thanks for the reply Steve, i'll look and see what I can find as we get closer to December. Second option was Ecuador's volcanoes (Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, etc). Cheers.

I am with Steve with this one...

Better off Ecuador...

Then again be careful on its volcanoes.

Probably want to monitor volcanic activity in that area of your choosing before making a trip up to the calderas.

What's that peak in Mexico that people here like to climb? I think Harvey would be able to tell you about it. You might connect with a guide to help you out.

Not sure if this is one of those but Picacho del Diablo, highest mountain on Baja California peninsula, between Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean at 10,154ft. 15.5 mile round trip, 16,450ft net elevation change. Good article in Men's Journal September 2018 issue.

Another: Pico de Orizaba, highest peak in Mexico: 5,636 m (18,491 ft)

Been there, done that , and the chopper run, too.