Recommendations for a beginner looking to do something solo in winter

I am turning 30 in early February and would like to climb a mountain to mark the occasion. I've been recommended St Helens via worm flows as a potential option. Advice? No go for a beginner? I posted to a different forum and got mixed messages. Some saying I'd be an idiot and putting myself in danger, others saying its no big deal (I guess all that could be true). 

I am not worried about the physical aspect, I consider myself in pretty good shape. I'm more worried about my lack of avalanche awareness and general mountaineering experience. I've done a couple climbs- up Mt Baldy (part of philmont) and the hike up to the Harding Icefield, so I have some experience, but those were both over a decade ago and with a bunch of people.

If MSH is a bad idea, any recommendations for me?

How is your skiing ability? IMHO in winter MSH is a ski peak. The day we did it we skied up but walked down some parts cause it was bullet proof. But that was over 30 years with leather boots are real three pin bindings. If you have never done any mtneering and have no any knowledge my suggestion would be to hire guide and do a long weekend course, might push off the time frame to spring.

I'm based on the east coast, so I'm not familiar with MSH and other objectives over there. However, many people die in the smaller mountains here and a majority of them thought they were just going for a relatively casual hike with zero technical terrain. The issue they run into is that they don't know what they don't know. They end up being unprepared in terms of weather, clothing, bivy gear, orienteering, water, fitness, etc. and it can cause serious injury or death plus requiring SAR to put themselves at risk to come find the injured person.

To me, your plan sounds like a big step up in terms of your personal skills. Your experience 10 years ago doesn't account for much. It is very easy to take a course, find a mentor, and work your way up to big mountains. Everyone's risk acceptance is different. Personally, I wouldn't jump right into MSH. Be honest with yourself and if this is out of your normal comfort zone, please don't put SAR and yourself at a risk simply because you're turning 30. This goal is easily achievable with competent partners and/or with a bit of time and certainly by the time you turn 31. Start the process now!

As Allen said MSH in winter is a ski peak. What are you trying to do hike, ice climb, ski?? It all really depends on what you want to do. I would also really consider a guide whatever you do.

Just looking to hike. I had a couple of people on another forum offer to come along, so I may take them up on that. I'm assuming guides don't work in winter.

Weather is going to be the major factor for anything solo in the winter.   Also,  your safety margin is greatly reduced due to short days and nighttime lows.   Some of the storms that hit MSH in the winter are pretty savage and can last days.   Keeping it closer to home and doing Mt. Washington up one of the gulleys might be a better bet since you can smash and grab the weather window.

I'm in the mid-atlantic but willing to travel anywhere in USA/Canada

To be honest, as the wether will be a crap shoot during the winter so it is going to be really hard to recommend anything other than something moderate "locally" where you could drive.

My suggestion would be wait until the summer when you have better weather. Do something like a course on Mt. Baker or Grand Teton that includes a summit attempt.

There is really not going to be anything in this region that would be worth flying out for if you are going to randomly pick a date in February and have a reasonable chance of success and safety with zero prior experience all by yourself.  Something like Mount Saint Helens is easily big enough to get really really lost on if visibility goes down for a few minutes or if your bootpack gets dusted over, and coupled with cold/bad weather, etc, things could go south really fast.  If you do anything of that nature, please make sure to have something like Gaia on your phone to make sure you can get back to your vehicle.  

You may just want to consider coming out in the summer when you would likely be able to consistently and safely get up and down these sorts of things.  Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams, or one of the Three Sisters (OR) would be reasonable. Hope this helps. Take care and be safe.  

Mt Washington is a good winter mountain for beginners.  Call Northeastern mountaineering or any another of the 50 companies that guides it.

If you’re set on winter, take a look at the Winter Lion’s Head route on Mt Washington in New Hampshire. It’s not technical; basically a winter hike with one short steep section. But it’s a big day and will feel like real winter on a real mountain, especially once you get above treeline.

The winter version of the trail is routed around avalanche terrain, so the biggest hazard will be the weather, specifically wind, cold, and visibilty. Route finding above treeline can be very hard if you can’t see very far. The key to staying safe is to have the right gear and be willing to turn around if the conditions are bad.

You can rent gear like double boots, crampons, parka, etc. from IME in North Conway. You can ask rangers at Pinkham Notch and Hermit Lake about conditions higher up. Give yourself a few days in the area to wait for good weather. There are plenty of other fun things to do like skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, etc. while you wait.

I agree with others that “big” mountains like Cascade volcanoes, Tetons, etc. are best tackled in the summer unless you’re already very comfortable with things like avalanche safety and moving safely and quickly over steep snow and ice.

While Mt Washington is low in elevation and accessible it’s not a “beginner winter hike.” It’s killed more people than you can imagine - 160 or so since record keeping began in the late 1800’s. Someone died of hypothermia in July (or was it August) this year. The highest wind speed recorded on earth is here at 231 MPH. A twisted ankle on a typical cold windy day above tree line could kill you in an hour if not prepared. Understanding how to white out navigate in near zero visibility is a required skill. 

if you do come up from the mid-Atlantic do yourself (and SAR) a favor and hire a guide. It’s probably not much more expensive than all the rental gear you’d need and the gear is included in the cost.

https://www.ime-usa.com/imcs/

Mark NH wrote:

While Mt Washington is low in elevation and accessible it’s not a “beginner winter hike.” It’s killed more people than you can imagine - 160 or so since record keeping began in the late 1800’s. Someone died of hypothermia in July (or was it August) this year. The highest wind speed recorded on earth is here at 231 MPH. A twisted ankle on a typical cold windy day above tree line could kill you in an hour if not prepared. Understanding how to white out navigate in near zero visibility is a required skill. 

if you do come up from the mid-Atlantic do yourself (and SAR) a favor and hire a guide. It’s probably not much more expensive than all the rental gear you’d need and the gear is included in the cost.

https://www.ime-usa.com/imcs/

Don't forget the hiker who just died last month on a smaller mountain nearby (Lafayette) trying to complete their 48 4000's. And the other one who just died this week on Willard cliffs. NH isn't a joke any time of the year, especially winter. That said, I'll be doing Jackson on Thursday if the weather holds out... I'm not sure where the OP is located, but Mount Pierce Mizpuh loop is relatively easy if you go with someone who knows the trails and you both are prepared, and the road is open.

Pike's Peak