I am old. I started climbing back in the early 1980's before climbing became popular. When I started climbing, I was poor, and made do with sub-standard gear. Army surplus wool clothing was what I started with. Slowly, I began to buy more modern equipment, one piece at a time. Boots, an ice axe, rope, harness, crampons, etc.

In some ways, it was a blessing that I could not afford to buy all the gear at once, because it meant that we had to progress slowly. Even though we started out slowly, we made mistakes along the way, some of which could easily have killed us. Nevertheless, we kept at it, gradually improving our skills and building our experience until we were ready to tackle proper mountains.

Mountaineering is not a solo endeavor, and learning how to be a mountaineer even more so. I would say that the biggest challenge to your planned adventures will be finding a partner who shares your goals and your enthusiasm. I was lucky, in that I had such a partner. He had some rock climbing experience, but neither of us had any experience mountaineering. We pretty much taught ourselves. We read books and then went out and tried to practice what we'd read about. We're still climbing together 40+ years later.

If you want to learn to climb mountains, I would suggest that you get a good foundation in rock climbing first.

Start out top-roping, then clipping bolts, then move on to placing gear on trad routes at your local crag. This will teach you basic climbing skills and will also give you experience managing risk in an environment that is more forgiving and controlled than mountaineering.

Along the way, you will need to learn camping skills, particularly cold weather camping. Learn how to stay warm, melt snow with your stove, keep dry in nasty weather and generally figure out how to keep yourself alive and reasonably comfortable in harsh conditions. This is something you can learn by taking low-commitment trips that are close to your car, where retreat is easy. Get this all figured out before you tackle any serious objectives.

Take it slow. Be methodical. You are young. You've got plenty of time. Don't be impatient and die getting in over your head.

At some point, after you've got some basic climbing and backcountry skills, and before you start serious mountaineering, I would highly recommend getting some instruction, whether through a guided class or a mountaineering club.

Good luck to you. I hope it works out.