Reddit reviews Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills

https://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-Mountaineers/dp/1680510045

You should pick up a copy of Freedom of the Hills.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680510045/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SeUWBbTQDT8PX

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is a must-have.

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680510045/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_77PlDbB369K90

Trad Climber's Bible (How To Climb Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762783729/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_U8PlDbW6VBDK9

https://coloradomountainschool.com/product/multi-pitch-rock-climbing/

https://www.cmc.org/Classes/CMCClassesandSchools.aspx

https://denvermountainguiding.com/rock-climbing

C denotes a style of aid climbing know as "clean aid". Basically it means that you can ascend the route without a hammer (i.e. you're not going to need pitons, bashies, etc.). In fact, a lot of routes, like the one your asking about, is technically C0. Seriously though, two books that are worth the time for any aspiring aid climber:

Freedom of the Hills

Big Walls

Some suggestions for things you can do in Toronto to prepare:

• Buy the book Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills which will give you a basic understanding of the skills, gear, and systems used in the mountains, including a lot of the lingo you'll hear.
  
  
• Buy the book Training for the Uphill Athlete which will give you a good understanding of how to train for the mountains. They also have an older book Training for the New Alpinism, but it has a slight bias towards technical climbing. Both are very similar and both would teach you what you need to know. The stick figure version is do a LOT of very easy trail running (slow enough to converse in full sentences) and work on general strength (lots of core work). Gradually increase the amount you are doing and then start to mix in things like carrying a heavy pack up a steep hike or stairs in the months leading up to your climb. Their website uphillathlete.com has a lot of good info, and premade training plans if you just want to drop $50 and be told what to do.
  
  
• Train lots based on the above.
  
  
• Get really good at backpacking. You'll want to be very comfortable doing an overnight trip with minimal gear. This isn't strictly necessary since some routes can be done car-to-car, but many mountains will involve at least one night camping on the mountain so being good at overnight backpacking trips will really open up a lot more options.
  
  Once you are "mountain fit" and have the basic book learning done, there are a couple of ways to actually get on to a mountain. One way is to take a multi-day course offered by a guiding company that includes an ascent of a mountain. This will cost in the ball park of $1000 for the course itself, plus travel to get to the mountain. This teaches you many of the skills you need and gets you onto big routes quickly, but costs more.
  
  The other way to is learn the basic skills of crampon usage, self belay, self arrest, camping in the snow, etc. by finding people willing to show you. A common source of those people are climbing clubs (the Mountaineers in Seattle, Mountain Ascent Association in California, I'm sure there are plenty in Canada). This also gives you a way to meet people to climb mountains with in the future. You could also take a 1-2 day skills course from a guide company, these will generally be cheaper (~$200-400) but probably won't involve a summit climb and you'll still have to figure out how to find people to climb mountains with in the future. Then once you have those basic skills you start small and easy and build up your skillset yourself over multiple trips to the mountains. This takes way longer to get to big impressive mountains, but many people get more satisfaction out of climbing a mountain if they aren't relying on a guide to get them there safely. You could probably do a lot of this early learning in the Whites as mentioned elsewhere in this thread before moving on to the ranges with bigger routes.
  
  One thing I like to do is pick a goal mountain that you really want to do. I personally love climbing climbing the Cascade volcanos so my first goal mountain was Mt. Rainier. Lots of stuff in the Rockies, both in the US and Canada, the Sierra in California, Coastal range in Canada. Just find a mountain that inspires you. Hard to give recommendations since there are just so many options if you include all of the US and Canada and its largely personal preference of what you are looking for.
  
  If going with the first option of taking a mountaineering course, often you can find one that includes your goal mountain and you are done, move on to a bigger goal mountain. :)
  
  If going the second route, research the common/easiest route up that mountain and see what skills you need to climb it. Then find some routes that teach you the skills you need but don't have but are still within your comfort level and go climb them. Rinse and repeat. I think the hardest part here is finding people that are just a little more advanced than you are to do these routes with and learn from them. As you do more climbs your network of people to climb with will grow.

If you live in the Seattle area, and can get in this year, sign up for a scrambling class with The Mountaineers. You'll learn everything you need to know about beginning mountaineering. Including wilderness first aid, navigation, appropriate gear, rock scrambling and snow traversing techniques. If you're not close enough to one of their branches to take a class(or can't spare the money right now, can't get in this year, etc.), definitely get Freedom of the Hills. In it is everything you'll need to know to get into mountaineering. And, as others have said, you'll need gear such as mountaineering boots(doesn't have to be the heave duty ones used on Rainer, Denali, etc), ice axe(and know how to use it! walking in balance, arresting, etc), and a helmet. If you're in the Seattle/Western WA area I can recommend some beginner scrambles to get your toes wet too.

For mountaineering a good start would be to pick up a used copy of Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills. Here's a link to the current 9th edition. I have the 7th edition from when I started climbing. Used copies of the 7th are going for under $2.

Pick up a copy of Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills. Some of the chapters you can skip, but if you want to go into the mountains in the winter, this book is indispensable. It will answer every question you have in addition to the ones you don't even know to ask, but really should be asking (I can think of several already). It really is a phenomenal resource, and in winter conditions in the mountains, you should not be relying on what people online are telling you to bring. That's how people die out there.

Also, you should take an avalanche safety course if you plan on going anywhere that has a snow pack, or at least read Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain. It doesn't need to be deep snow to be dangerous--a thin snow pack is actually the most dangerous and most likely to avalanche, and crazy steep slopes are NOT the most dangerous. It's the mild 30-40 degree slopes that are most likely to kill you, even if you are 100 yards away from them on flat ground. One thing you start noticing when you go out in the winter in the same places you went in the summer is that the winter routes are NOT in the same place as the summer trails, mostly because summer trails are in avalanche danger zones. You NEED to know how to read the terrain in a very different way than you would in the summer.

You may want to check out the "Dummies" or "Idiot's" books. Not to say you are either, just that they really are good books... it's unfortunate that there's a stigma attached to them. You might want to go to B&N or your local library and just read through them rather than ask someone to buy them.

Camping for Dummies

https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dummies-Michael-Hodgson/dp/076455221X

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Backpacking and Hiking

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Backpacking-Lifestyle-Paperback/dp/1592579604

The Backpacker's Handbook has been recommended, but I haven't read it myself.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/007175489X

The Complete Walker; I read this 30 years ago(?) A great reference.

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Walker-IV-Colin-Fletcher/dp/0375703233

And of course Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills

https://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-Mountaineers/dp/1680510045

M:FotH is a comprehensive tome, which may be a bit advanced for someone who is starting out with some car camping. As the name implies, it's aimed towards mountaineers, with sections on rock climbing, belaying, first aid, mountain safety... as a beginner you might pick up some invaluable information, but most of it may be far beyond what you need, it might be a bit overwhelming. Though you may be the type that just loves to soak up everything you, in which case it's a great reference.

If you want to check it out, the Kindle version of the 8th edition has a "Look Inside" which lists the sections and chapters, and has a bit of the first chapter. The latest 9th ed doesn't have the "Look Inside" yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-Mountaineers-ebook/dp/B0049P1ZTC

As far as improving your headgame goes, leading easy but long runouts is super helpful, as well as falling onto (well-placed) gear. Alpine multipitch is an admirable goal, but it is a far cry from what most people think of as trad climbing. You should be confident on long runouts, with potential no-fall zones. There are a lot of skills that are important for alpine climbing that often are not learned in a typical trad climbing mentor relationship, such as self-rescue, alpine route finding, and depending on your goals, snow climbing skills. There are several ways to learn these skills such as books or hiring a guide. Ultimately, your safety is much more dependent on yourself when alpine climbing. I say this not to scare you away from alpine climbing, as it has been responsible for some of the most amazing memories I have, but it has also been responsible for some of the scariest.

Some books that you might find beneficial:

Climbing Self-Rescue - Just what it says in the title.

Vertical Mind - I found this book useful for improving my head space.

Training for the New Alpinism - Probably the best book to help a climber transition into the backcountry.

[Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills] (https://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-Mountaineers/dp/1680510045/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=freedom+of+the+hills&qid=1562736585&s=gateway&sr=8-1) - This book is excellent, but probably isn't extremely helpful until you are climbing more serious alpine routes.

As far as advice, just get as much mileage on lead outdoors as you can, with 1-2 indoor bouldering sessions per week. If it doesn't impact your bouldering, you could add a couple strength sessions as well. If you want to get into alpine climbing, or even just multipitch climbing, practice your systems at the top of single pitch routes. Belay your partner from the top, practice building an anchor at the top off of the bolts, set up simple pulley systems. Just spending 15 minutes per session will help you get muscle memory down for when it really matters.

Edit: As you get into more alpine climbing, you should increase the strength training and cardio. Climbing efficiently after four hours walking with a pack full of gear and food is harder than it sounds. Increasing your physical strength will reduce the mental load a lot, allowing you to think more clearly and be more confident.