I lead climbig trips for the CMC for over 10 years and quit doing it because of the lack of willingness of participants to work as a group. The last climb I lead, in another group just behind us, one of their members died. That really hit home to me. All that day, in spite of pre-agreed on method to avoid rockfall danger (kicking rocks on each other) one member "did his own thing". Because CMC is an organized group the liability issue of being leader was the deciding factor for me.

I have been in a few epic situations with injuries and the whole picture changes when things go bad. I am pretty old-school. prefer strong leader from the get-go, not just have a leader "emerge" from the group as time goes on.

The original post is about a group of two. Couples who backpack together have a long history of sharing tasks and co-leadership. This is entirely different than going with another for the first time. If I go out with a new person I like to work out most of the concepts and emergency procedures BEFORE we head out.

As for inconviences of tenting together- my husband is a champion snorer. I wear ear plugs. In the past there were not so many light single-person tents available, so it was normal for everyone to tent together. I never recall feeling the slightest discomfort sleeping next to another memeber of the group, even if I hardly knew him (or her). I can see why you may prefer to have the tent all to yourself, but in climbing, we really minimized our camp gear becasue we had to carry so much climbing gear. When you climb the summit is such as strong "goal" that any discomfort during camping is hardly thought of.