Just as I expected, using a guided mountaineering service was a complete waste of money, time, and effort. I paid over THREE GRAND with the expectation that I would have a chance to summit as long as conditions were favorable (spoiler: they were and I still got turned around). This was the first time that I ever done a guided climb and will be the last. I was hesitant to sign up in the first place after reading mixed reviews online. Well, I should have listened to my instincts because they were right like always.

The so-called "experts" unreasonably prevented me from summitting when I was perfectly capable of doing so. Keep in mind that I have soloed TONS of big mountains where you don't have to jump through bureaucratic red tape beforehand, so it's not like I'm some out-of-shape jerry from the Midwest with no mountaineering résumé to his name.

Did I just get unlucky or are guided services always like this? It's fucking dogshit that I have to write off my ambitions of conquering Kilimanjaro, Chimborazo, Himalayan mountains, and other big peaks that require guides. Whatever. I'll just keep knocking out other bragworthy mountains that you can solo on your own damn terms. Fuck guides.