[w_alloy]

Wacki I disagree with your whole perspective on this. I grew up in Alaska and have done a ton of camping, multi day canoe trips, climbing, etc. On some of these trips we ha a guide and good equipment, but the vast majority were impromptou "hey lets go climb back into that range stay up there for a few days and ski everything we can find and who gives a [censored] if we dont have the right gear or really know what we are doing" trips. These are always the most fun.

A large percentage of the fun, for me at least, comes from having to figure out everything for yourself, and making due with what you have. I feel with all the best gear, and with reading books and lots of guides, that it feels a lot more like you are just following directions, kind of like an assignment, which isnt any fun. I don't have a problem with books and expensive gear in and of themselves, but I think the vast majority of people focus too much on these things and lose a lot of the individual experience.

For these reasons and others, I think inexperience can add a very positive challenge to overcome and at the very least will not take away from the trip. It will make his decisions a lot more real, which seems important to him from the original post.

Also, I don't think safety is a big issue. Even with almost no "outdoor" experience, you have to do something really dumb to put yourself in real danger if you are just hanging out in the same area and aren't too far from other people.