I climbed Mount Shasta!

[ckissick]

(Or maybe I didn't.) Let's find out. I first drove up to the trail head at Bunny Flat. But not until I had this view of the mountain from Mount Shasta City. The mountain is 14,127 feet tall. It looks a lot taller. Looking up at it from my car, I said to myself, WTF am I thinking?

[ckissick]

The trail head at Bunny Flat. Looks pleasant enough.

[ckissick]

But there's still this view. Those clouds were moving right along.

[ckissick]

The trail up was nice. So was the Sierra Club hut at Horse Camp, at 8000 feet. It was built in 1923.






I set up camp for the first night at Horse Camp.

[ckissick]

The plan was to hike up to Helen Lake at 10,400 feet on Saturday, and camp there. The route is called Avalanche Gulch and looks like this.

[ckissick]

But when talking to people coming down, we heard stories of 100 mph winds at the summit, and 50 mph at Helen Lake. The forecast was for 30 mph winds at the summit. The first thing I learned was that the weather forecasts for Shasta are worthless. The mountain is very tall and all alone with no other high terrain around it. So it makes its own weather and it can't be predicted.

I (foolishly) don't have a 4-season tent that can take 50 mph winds, so I decided to spend another night at Horse Camp and get up early and make a push for the summit on Sunday when the wind was supposed to die down. That would make it a 6000 foot climb in 3.6 miles. Ouch.

[ckissick]

I got up at 2:30 and was ready to go at 3:30. I started up Avalanche Gulch with a head lamp. It was nice and warm, only about 40 degrees, with no wind. I got this unforgettable view of the moon setting at dawn.

[Dantilla]

Your first picture shows lenticular clouds.
They indicate strong winds.

Any pilot knows to stay far away from lenticular clouds, or the airplane will get swatted like a bug

[ckissick]

I made it to Helen Lake at 7 AM. It was much colder up there, but still no wind.

Here's where I wanted to camp.

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

Your first picture shows lenticular clouds.
They indicate strong winds.

Any pilot knows to stay far away from lenticular clouds, or the airplane will get swatted like a bug

High winds? Good eye.

My next step was to go up Red Banks. It's a very steep 2000-foot climb to the ridge, toward the right, in the far distance. It requires crampons, ice axe, and good self-arrest skills. The lack of sleep and the long slog up Avalanche Gulch left me pretty fatigued. The crusty snow was also hard to navigate.

[Dantilla]

Keep the story coming!

[ckissick]

It was at this time when people who had left earlier from Helen Lake started returning to Helen Lake. They reported 80 mph winds and had to turn back. They were getting blasted with rock and ice. Not as bad as 100 mph, but that's when I decided to bail.

I hung around and waited for the sun to come up and soften the snow a bit for the descent. I was disappointed, but then I considered this a learning experience. I'd never been on Shasta before, and no amount of Youtube videos can prepare you properly. The main thing is to bring a sturdy tent and camp at Helen Lake. From there it's only 3500 feet to the summit. If the altitude doesn't get me, it shouldn't be too hard. And, of course, I have to get lucky with the weather.

I've climbed Mount Whitney, and that's a piece of cake compared to Shasta in these conditions. It's a beast! But I love a challenge. I can't wait to get back.

[ckissick]

Did I mention that Horse Camp to the summit is 6000 feet vertical in 3.6 miles? It takes a decent climber about 6 hours to get to the top. It took me 3 hours to get to Helen Lake, and that's pretty much standard. But two weeks ago a guy ran to the summit from Horse Camp in 1 hour, 30 minutes. On a route that requires crampons and an ice axe! It's unbelievable.

[Steve Carlton]

Thanks for sharing the experience, Charlie!

[Superman]

Don't get me started. Altitude sickness is a real thing and 14K feet is high elevation. Airplanes can't fly that high without oxygen and those pilots are sitting in comfortable seats.

I was coming down Mt. Adams (about 12K+ feet elevation) after a failed (equipment failure...crampon strap) summit attempt when three runners blasted past me running up the mountain in crossfit shoes and running shorts. Two tall lanky guys and a short asian girl. They blew past me again a couple of hours later after summiting. I was able to confirm their summit because they stopped to ask a question about directions.

At those elevations, you need to make good decisions.

Thank you for the story and pictures. Good for you, Sir. Most folks wouldn't have gotten out of their cars. They wouldn't be at the trail head in the first place.

[Bill Douglas]

Good skills!

[herr_oberst]

Great story! Great pictures! Sorry you didn't take the summit, but you'll get her next time.

[ckissick]

I forgot to mention one guy who came down after actually summitting on Sunday in those hurricane force winds. His face was still marked by the rocks and ice, even with a face covering. And he said the wind-assault on his his eyes was so bad he could barely see, and that was when he was down at 8000 feet. He should have at least had goggles. We thought he had poor judgement. I bailed because I wanted to enjoy the climb. Not survive it.

Even though I failed, I still feel energized by the experience and am excited to try again ASAP. It's that same feeling many here have when a track day is approaching.

[masraum]

Wow, very cool and thoroughly impressive.

Good call on enjoying the climb vs surviving the climb.

[gregpark]

Shasta is a big ass mountain. I circled it on my motorcycle a few years ago and it was an all day affair. Did you see any Lemurians?