trailbiscuit said:
Set up the parameters before you go. That's the easiest if you're leading a group. Also, try a "test" hike before you go, so you can better gauge what the limitations of the group are."
Very good advice. I was the newbie some years back. With no prior experience with winter camping/peak bagging, I decided to join my old college buddies on a trip to summit Mount Rainier. I bought all the equipment necessary and felt ready to go. That's when one of the afore-mentioned buddies announced that my presence would be "mandatory" on a trip to climb Gothics in the Dacks before we all headed out to Washington and Rainier.
What an eye-opener. I was in
no shape to be doing anything of the sort. I barely made it to the shelter at Lower Wolfjaw. I made a half-hearted attempt the next day to summit with my friends, but I turned myself around before we hit any steep pitches. My friends could see the shape I was in and did not kid me about what was still in store before the summit. I appreciated that. I went back to the lean-to; my buddies summited.
It was embarrassing for me. Humiliating. Especially when I realized that I'd have to go home and tell everyone that I would not, after all, be going to Rainier, and that I'd have to tell them all -- including my kids -- why.
But I think about what might have happened if I hadn't had that experience, what a complete drag it would have been to learn my lesson on the flank of Rainier, in the midst of serious climbers, not all of whom were going to be close friends of mine. I'm glad my buddy had the foresight to have me go on the practice trip. I recommend that plan to everyone contemplating bringing a newbie along, especially if it's a big trip involving serious monetary outlay and time commitment.
PS-- I've since gotten into reasonable shape and have summited several of the High Peaks in the Dacks with those same buddies. I don't always have the juice to summit. When I don't, I go back to camp and boil water for everyone and make tea to await the return of the summiting party. I'm jokingly referred to as "camp wife" on those occasions, but I don't mind. The stark beauty of winter camping can't be beat. And even if I don't summit, I've had an experience that probably 95 percent of the people I meet will never have.