Mt. Shasta Trip Report
Mt. Shasta (14,179 ft / 4322 meters) has been on my list of objectives for a while now! I attempted the Mt. Shasta climb last summer (2017) but had to turn around due to bad weather and rockfall danger; we barely made it to 11,000 ft or just under the popular structure called “Red Banks”. That was an unusually warm day which made the ascent out of “50-50″ campsite arduous and painful since we were practically post-holing at 2AM; for comparison - this is usually the conditions you’ll find on your descent, and on a really warm day.
Fast forward to Memorial Day weekend in 2018 and I was driving up I-5 to attempt Mt. Shasta one more time and this time, the weather looked perfect temperature-wise and the big unknown would be the wind. Forecasts called for high winds at altitude above Lake Helen which is the usual campsite for most people attempting a two-day ascent via Avalanche Gulch route. I kept an eye on the weather and frequently checked NOAA and www.mountain-forecast.com; NOAA typically is extremely conservative and MF being liberal so I was hoping we’d end up right in the middle and a perfect to attempt the Summit on Monday morning.
After gear-check on Sunday morning, we made space in our respective packs for group gear (I got to carry part of the tent, fuel for cooking and a shovel in addition to my items), we departed for the Bunny Flat trailhead at about 9AM. The trailhead is at 6,950 ft, and is a short 11 mile drive from town.
Being a busy weekend, I had to circle around once but was extremely lucky to find a spot right near the bathrooms at the trailhead.
The plan was to go up Avalanche Gulch route.
It starts with a hike up to either “50-50” campsite (just under 10,000 ft) or to Lake Helen (10,400 ft) where we’d setup “high camp”. The latter is the more popular choice for people doing this route, and given the long weekend, and possibly windy conditions, we were ready to camp about a 1,000 feet lower. This would not only mean a less crowded site, but also one that’s not as contaminated (since you’re making water from melting snow, and not everyone is diligent about being clean on the mountain). However, this meant that we’d have an extra 1,000 ft to cover the next day on our way to the Summit; it wasn’t too much of a concern since I’m just coming off an Ironman two weeks ago and should be in decent shape to move rather quick. This initial section is a short ~3 mile hike with a quick stop at Horse Camp where we topped off our water.
The trail to horse camp in 1.7 miles, and was melted out so it was a rather casual walk up to there, and from there to high-camp was more about negotiating steeper and direct terrain in somewhat soft snow. It’s about 3,000 feet and with fully-loaded packs so expect this to be slow.
After setting up camp (below),
and covering some basic safety, and communication procedures (always good to level-set in a group), we talked about objectives for the day ahead of us: Safety first, and a shot at the Summit. A turn-around time of 11AM was established and I was confident we’d not have to come to time being the deciding factor but it’s always good to be clear about objectives. The rest of the evening was fairly low-key, and we enjoyed a simple dinner of rice and vegetable soup and an incredible show of alpenglow as the Sun set behind the mountains.
While the approach in the day was warm to the say the least, the temperatures dipped quickly as the Sun disappeared and we were in the tents trying hard to fall asleep at 8:30 PM (Sunset: 8:30 PM).
I didn’t sleep too well, and the wake-up time of 1:00 AM came quickly! Our target was to eat, and get ready to head out by 2:00 AM. I decided to skip the hot food so as to not stir my system too much, and ate a Clif bar and was ready to go. It was a well-lit night given that full moon was just a day away so headlamps were barely required!
We started just about on schedule (at 2:15 AM) with helmet, gaiters, ice-axe and crampons right from camp given that the temperatures were favorable, and ice was firm. For layers, I had merino wool bottoms and shell pants and a base layer, mid layer and a shell for the top. Puffy was always handy when we stopped for breaks so as to maintain body heat.
From here on, the climb was mostly just cutting switchbacks as we climbed up the gulch and stopping from time-to-time to admire the beautiful almost-full moon, and the lights of Mt. Shasta City in the distance. We took a break every hour to eat and drink so we could maintain a constant energy source. As we climbed, a steady stream of headlamps formed behind us (and a few groups in front of us; we were one of the first ones), and it was a cool sight to see a line of headlamps taking small, but steady steps making up this incredible, and potentially active Volcano. Yes, it’s still considered as an active Volcano and the last recorded eruption was in 1786. Apparently it averages 600 years per eruption so I suppose we’re good for a little bit but note that the USGS does categorize it as a “high threat” volcano.
As we climbed higher, the prominent “Red Banks” appeared closer (on our left), and the “Thumb Rock” to the right. This ascent from Lake Helen to the top of the Red Banks is probably the steepest bit, and while it’s not necessary to rope up, I did rope up with Tyler for a brief section as we made progress to the top. It’s also usually in this spot where you see one of the best Sunrises you’ll ever see where the rising Sun creates a magical shadow of the mountain on the Earth - it’s essentially a giant triangle-shaped shadow that you can see drawn out in the distance. It’s something I had seen in pictures, and read about in trip reports but you have to create your own memory of this beautiful sight that has happened for close to a half million year, and will continue to happen every single day.
Right at the top of the Red Banks (we’re at about 12,800 ft here) is where you see another magnificent feature of this mountain which are its seven glaciers! Depending on the weather, you carefully traverse this part and quickly find yourself at the bottom of another long climb called the Misery hill. I assume the name gives it away, but it’s just one more objective ahead of us as we get closer to the summit. At this time, the wind had gradually picked up as we gained in elevation and there were parts where we were getting hit in the face with strong wind, and blowing snow that came with it but still bearable enough for us to make steady progress.
As we climbed up Misery Hill, again switchbacking up the slope and making steady progress, we saw Shastina (highest satellite cone of Shasta, and at 12,330 ft) which features a nice crater at the top. I’ll have to come back to climb that someday!
The top of the Misery Hill and we’re at the summit plateau but we’re not done with the climbing yet! The ‘walk’ across this plateau is a gradual uphill grade. It’s at this part, and right before the climb up to the Summit pinnacle is where I smelled Sulfur. Tyler was quick to point out that we are indeed on a Volcano and the smell (and sights) of Volcanic activity adds additional points to the overall experience. From here, there’s a few short switchbacks that brought us up to the Summit (at 9:15 AM, exactly 7 hours after we left high camp; and covering about 3 miles, and over 4,000 ft) where we took some mandatory photos and signed the summit register :)
After a quick snack and water break, we left the summit within 10 minutes of arriving there, and started the most important part of the trip - the descent back to high camp.
The descent, as you’d imagine, is quicker and we made good progress down - retracing the steps and covering the same landmarks and features we had just crossed hours earlier. After downclimbing the steep parts of the gully after the Red Banks, the snow finally softened up enough and the conditions allowed for safe glissading all the way down to high camp; we were back at 12:45 PM (about half the time it took us as compared to going up). We spent about an hour here to eat and hydrate and then packed up camp for a 2 hour trek back to the trailhead. There was a couple of short glissading sections here as well but as we got closer to horse camp this time, we saw a lot of snow that we walked across just a day ago had melted and exposed the rock causeway - it made for a pretty uneventful walk, sprinkled in with some short bursts of excitement and high fives on a successful trip!
If you’re interested, here’s what John Muir wrote about his trip up to Mt. Shasta:
https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/snow_storm_on_mount_shasta.aspx
It sounds like he had quite an adventure - especially this part: “and that our only hope was in wearing away the afternoon and night among the fumaroles, where we should at least avoid freezing.”
