Newbie wants a 29er for HILLY trails

It is solely up to you if you can pedal a single speed of any type.

You could put together a 16 lb single speed that will outclimb anything.

The simple answer is to shift your current bike into the middle ring and the second or third smallest cog. If you can climb your trails with that, then you can ride SS.

Suspension corrected frame geometry assume that when you replace your rigid fork with a suspension fork, the geometry, i.e., the head/seat angles and fork trail, will remain the the same. This assumes your suspension fork will be a typical fork for your frame type, i.e. XC forks for a XC frame.

That doesn't mean you can't throw on a suspension fork on a non-suspension-corrected frame, but the angles might change and there also might be a clearance issue with the head and down tubes with the fork crown.

You don't need to run a tall gear to run a singlespeed. Find the gearing that works best for you where you ride. Just go for a ride and find one gear that you feel comfortable in and that will be your new ratio. Of course if you are riding a 26" bike now you will need to take the larger wheel size into account. There are equations that o do not have memorized which will help you figure it out .

theres some decent frames on ebay. bike island has a frame with an rst fork for 350 shipped. i believe they have it in geared and single speed variations. a friend of mine has the geared version and its pretty decent for the money.

you could always get the geared frame and run a chain tensioner and have the opportunity to run gears if you get tired of it.

'Suspension-corrected' means that the frame is designed for a longer suspension fork. One that isn't suspension-corrected is designed for a short (basically, as short as it can be) rigid fork. Putting a long fork on a non-corrected frame will make the angles more slack/raise the BB, while a non-corrected fork on a corrected frame will make the angles steeper/lower the BB. Either will probably leave you unhappy.

I think you need a 1x9. With only one ring up front, you can run a short-cage rear derailleur which is up and away from the rocks. And with full cable housing, you should get a full season of riding with little cable maintenance.

Plus, I think it's easier to learn how to tune a derailleur than it is to ride an SS in the steeps

I ride a rigid Vassago Jabberwocky SS, steep, technical terrain-typical Northeast, with 32x22 gearing. I prefer to spin an easier gear at a faster pace so it works well for me. You'll have to experiment, but I encourage the rigid ss, especially if you have another geared bike. It will definitely make you a better and stronger rider, but more importantly it will be loads of fun!