First, both mountains and ambush tactics heavily favour missile weapons. The traditional type would be slingers. Mountain folk have traditionally used slings to defend their herds against predators and to hunt small game. I'd suggest only having the warriors charge in for melee, and have the rest of the people use slings to soften the target and keep them disorganized. Since slings are cheap and efficient and useful during peacetime there is really no reason not to use them.

Similarly rock slides are a traditional and effective ambush opener in mountainous terrain. No real reason people fighting for their lives would skip using them.

As for the "honor demands face-to-face combat" I'd copy the Roman legionnaires. The equipment was not really that much better than what the "barbarians" used, but tactically the legions were suberb in both defense and assault. The assault part being the one you are interested in.

Carry throwing spears (pila) or darts (plumbata), throw the missiles on assault to break the enemy formation. Then lead with your large shields and smash the enemy defense apart. Then kill the enemy with repeated stabs of your trusty short sword while keeping more or less in formation.

I doubt your tribe could match the discipline and training of professional soldiers, but both the tactics and the equipment go back to the time when the Romans were just one tribe fighting other tribes on a mountainous area. So you should be able to copy them pretty much as is. And copying the Romans on matters of warfare rarely gets you too much wrong.

You could also copy actual mountain tribes, but like I said the terrain and tactics favors rock slides, traps, and missile weapons, which doesn't seem to be what you want.

First, both mountains and ambush tactics heavily favour missile weapons. The traditional type would be slingers. Mountain folk have traditionally used slings to defend their herds against predators and to hunt small game. I'd suggest only having the warriors charge in for melee, and have the rest of the people use slings to soften the target and keep them disorganized. Since slings are cheap and efficient and useful during peacetime there is really no reason not to use them.

Similarly rock slides are a traditional and effective ambush opener in mountainous terrain. No real reason people fighting for their lives would skip using them.

As for the "honor demands face-to-face combat" I'd copy the Roman legionnaires. The equipment was not really that much better than what the "barbarians" used, but tactically the legions were suberb in both defense and assault. The assault part being the one you are interested in.

Carry throwing spears (pila) or darts (plumbata), throw the missiles on assault to break the enemy formation. Then lead with your large shields and smash the enemy defense apart. Then kill the enemy with repeated stabs of your trusty short sword while keeping more or less in formation.

I doubt your tribe could match the discipline and training of professional soldiers, but both the tactics and the equipment go back to the time when the Romans were just one tribe fighting other tribes on a mountainous area (grossly misleading; read comments). So you should be able to copy them pretty much as is. And copying the Romans on matters of warfare rarely gets you too much wrong.

You could also copy actual mountain tribes, but like I said the terrain and tactics favors rock slides, traps, and missile weapons, which doesn't seem to be what you want.