Backcountry Skiing at Shasta, in mid-June?!?
[2012 June.08 - Jun.10]
Skiers: Gary, J Dawg
What was supposed to be yet another weekend of climbing in Yosemite got cancelled because my random partner bailed on me. But in a turn of event, someone from SMG was organizing a ski trip at Shasta thanks to a recent storm that dumped a bunch of snow there. Are you kidding? Skiing powder in the middle of freakin' June? I figured it's either gonna be a pipe dream or an epic, so I signed up without hesitation and unpacked my skis from the closet.
Who says there ain't snow on Shasta in the middle of June?
Mount Shasta has always been on my mountaineering tick list, but never have I thought about climbing it and then skiing back down! I first laid eyes on this iconic mountain when driving from Vancouver to California almost a year ago. The peak was standing there all by itself with nothing around it, which made this 14er seem even taller than it already is. The most popular route is the Avalanche Gulch - one of the least technical climb up the giant volcano. Having said that, climbing this route is still no easy matter, as physical fitness, weather and proper acclimatization are key factors to a successful summit bid. The trailhead starts at Bunny Flat (~6900ft), most parties will do the climb in two days and set up camp at Helen Lake (10,400ft). If weather permits, climbers would leave camp the next day and summit (14,162ft). Our plan was to climb to Helen Lake and ski down to Bunny Flat on Saturday, then on Sunday, climb up to Red Banks (12,820ft) and ski down. It sounded ambitous, but that would allow us to carry a lighter pack and give us over 10,000ft of vertical skiing [and climbing] in one weekend.
Gary (the organizer) and I arrived at Bunny Flat on Friday night, and I was surprised to see at least 30 cars in the parking lot. Gary opted to sleep in his car while I bivy'ed between two cars with just my sleeping bag and pads (and ALL my layers). It was cool in the first 5 minutes, being underneath the stars and such, but that quickly turned into misery for the rest of the night as temperature plummeted. Without much sleep, we both got up at 5am, had some quick bites, packed our skis and headed up at 6am.
Bunny Flat parking lot was pretty full on Saturday morning
There wasn't much snow on the ground until we got to Horse Camp. It was still icy from the overnight freeze but the slope was gentle enough that skinning up was not too difficult. We climbed steadily past two moraines and caught up with a team of climbers who were planning to stay the night at Helen Lake. Forecast called for up to 90mph wind and we definitely got hit by gusts exceeding 60mph. The slope got steeper and I noticed Gary is already boot packing up with skis on his back. I tried to be a hero and continued skinning up. That's when I slipped and tumbled downhill for 20 feet or so. One of my skis popped off while I continued sliding for another 40 feet before stopping myself. One of the climbers was able to grab my pole but we all watched helplessly as my ski slid down the mountain. Feeling somewhat defeated, I put my crampons on and started heading down to the bottom of the bowl to find my ski. It stopped roughly 300 feet below where I fell, I packed it and decided to just hike back up - what a pain!
Morning light at Horse Camp
Gary skinning up toward Helen Lake
Gary was already waiting at Helen Lake while the other climbers were setting up tents. At least the hard work was over and we were ready to ski down. It was almost noon and the east facing slopes had definitely softened. We found sections of corn snow on which we carved with big smiles on our faces. It was so satisfying that I suggested climbing back up for a second run, which we did, and enjoyed the skiing thoroughly. On our way down we saw teams after teams of climbers hiking up - Helen Lake would not be a pretty sight tonight.
Climbers setting up tents at Helen Lake (not much of a lake there)
A cloud moved in and we waited for the whiteout to disperse
Gary skiing down some sweet corn snow :D
We got back to the car around 2pm and located a site to set up tent. We then drove to Mount Shasta City for some beer and burger before getting ready for the big climb in less than 12 hours. Our plan was to leave Bunny Flat no later than 1am, so we got our packs and gears ready to go before going to sleep. As a Nutella addict, I prep'ed four Nutella sandwiches along with a bunch of Clif Bars.
A couple setting up their baby-stroller on skis!
Getting ready for second day
We departed the next "morning" on schedule, and got up to Helen Lake by 4am. Despite our early start, the mountain was already littered with tiny specks of moving lights, like big-wallers on El Cap. In fact, Helen Lake was so crowded last night that people had to camp somewhere lower. By the time we got to Helen Lake, most of the climbers have already started up the route. I looked up and counted at least 50 climbers as they switchbacked up the gully. I have not seen so many people on a route since Matier - I was not impressed.
Tent city at Helen Lake, more tents down below
Those tiny dots were climbers, like ants on a rock!
Gary decided to stop at Helen Lake, probably because of the altitude, so I pushed on forward by myself. The occasional wind gusts made the climb a notch harder as the skis on my pack acted like sails. Not to mention the constant "down pour" of ice debris knocked down by climbers above. For the next hour or so, I passed guided parties that were moving too slow to even have a chance to summit, I saw an entire group turned around because one person could not make it, I saw people who tried to glissade down an icy slope, I saw people who hardly knew how to walk on crampons, I saw people not wearing helmet. It was a bit of a gong show, and I would not consider coming back to this route again.
A lone climber had decided to turn around
The wind got stronger and I decided to stop going higher (~11,800ft as indicated on my GPS). I built myself a platform while waiting for the sun to show up. I watched as the mountain got hammered by giant vortexes of snow, and witnessed an impressive display of jet streams contouring smaller peaks. I ran into the same climbers whom I met yesterday as they were coming down. They were the first group to leave camp but couldn't summit due to the dangerously strong wind. What a bummer! I put my skis on and dropped down the icy gully of pain, my legs were done by the time I got back to Helen Lake - 2 hours of work, 20 minutes of more work.
Chillin' on my "balcony", I did not even make it to Red Banks
That is not a cloud, it's a giant snow vortex of death!
Gary and I hanged around Helen Lake to wait for the sun to warm up the ground. Weather improved a bit and there were people still going up, especially skiers. The majority of climbers who started early had already turned back due to the wind, and no one was aware of anyone who actually made it to summit. The next 30 minutes was some chill skiing back to the base, while knowing that it would probably be the last run of the season. We got back to Bunny Flat before noon and drove back to The Goat Tavern for a second round of burger and beer. The service was slow, but I sure can't complain about having a beer in the patio with Shasta as the backdrop. I must say the good thing about our 1am alpine start was that you can go up and down the mountain and still have enough time to have a beer by noon!
