Starting mountaineering without a guide?

Hi, this might not be the right section, but I’d like to know if it’s possible to start mountaineering with another person without necessarily hiring a guide. We’ve done quite a bit of hiking but not mountaineering—we’ll just do a half-day glacier course. After that, we were thinking of starting with La Grande Motte and the Pointe de la Traversière, which were recommended to us. Honestly, for things like roping up and knots, I’ll learn at home with lots of videos and a book.

hi there, what you're planning to do borders on recklessness! Do you realize that? 🤪 You don’t go on a mountaineering expedition without an experienced guide. That’s all there is to it. After that, if you want to run into trouble, well, that’s your call. Just be careful—mountain rescue services are going to be paid soon.

Honestly, I’ve talked to several people about it, and they all advised us to do some easy climbs, like the Grande Motte or the Pointe de la Traversière, especially since we’ll have only done an afternoon of glacier hiking (which covers most of what’s needed for a mountain with climbing—something we’ve already done).

hey, Grande Motte—I passed underneath it once on my way down to Tignes, visibility was bad. If you wanna climb it, you gotta start really early in the morning. Then, let’s say Grande Motte is an easy climb, not too technical. But if you wanna do other climbs, it might get technical. But hey, you do you.

Hi there, If you’ve done or are planning to do a glacier training course, you can tackle this ascent without any problem—it’s an easy level. Crampons are all you need. That said, it doesn’t mean there aren’t risks, especially avalanche risks. Watch out: the key is the weather. To minimize risks, only set out in good weather! !

Thanks anyway—we’d only asked for simple things, and yes, we’d been recommended that: Pointe de la Traversière and the Dôme de Chasseforêt.