I climbed Mount Shasta!

[ckissick]

Update: I haven't had a chance to try Avalanche gulch again, due to bad weather every weekend since my first attempt. It's snowed pretty much every weekend since, with good weather during the week. Stormy weather this time of year creates conditions that are too icy on Red banks at dawn, since it gets slushy during the day and freezing at night. In fact, about three weeks ago, several climbers fell on Red Banks, killing one climber and critically injuring a few others. They couldn't get a grip with their crampons.

And now the snow on Red Banks will be gone before I have a chance to go again. And that's because I have Covid and need to regain my strength. So the plan now is to hike 14,252' White Mountain Peak east of the Sierra. It's just a hike, but not an easy one. It's a 15 mile hike with 3500 feet of elevation gain. It will be a good test of how my body responds to the altitude. I haven't been above 14,000' since the '80s.

After White Mountain, I'll go back to Shasta and use a different route than Avalanche Gulch. Probably Clear Creek, since it's the easiest.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by ckissick

It will be a good test of how my body responds to the altitude. I

I don't want to sound like your mother... But are you sure this is a good idea??? Why not leave it a month for the body to completely get back to normal.

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I don't want to sound like your mother... But are you sure this is a good idea??? Why not leave it a month for the body to completely get back to normal.

I feel pretty good. White Mountain is very tame and I can turn around at any time. My mom likes the idea.

[Bill Douglas]

Moms always know best, have fun!

[ckissick]

I finally found time to climb White Mountain Peak, at 14,252 feet. To get acclimated, on the day before White Mountain Peak I did a rock climb of Crystal Crag at Mammoth Lakes, an easy 4-pitch lead climb to a 10,300 foot summit, rated at 5.6. I climbed Crystal Crag on a different, non-vertical route in the snow in March, so it was fun to return in the summer.

White Mountain is no more than a hike on a trail. But it's a tough hike, at 15 miles round trip and 3500 feet of climbing. The altitude makes it tougher than usual. It all went well, but then I had a little adventure on the way down.

The weather was good, but thunder storms were forecast starting at about 5 PM. No problem. I reached the summit at 10 AM. However, clouds started to develop while on the summit, so we hurried back down. (I had met two Frenchmen on the trail so we hiked together.) When we got to the bottom of the steeper slope, we met a Russian woman going up. We told her to turn around, as a storm was fast approaching and it would take at least two more hours to get to the top. I hurried on ahead of the others.

About an hour later, it started hailing. By then I was very close to Barcroft Station at 12,500 feet. It's a scientific research facility. I increased the pace another notch, since I knew that hail was made in thunder heads. I was maybe 10 minutes away from possible shelter when a crack of thunder hit directly above me. I never saw any lightning, though. I hurried down the trail as the thunder and hail grew more intense. I finally reached the research station, but there didn't seem to be anybody there, and there were no roof overhangs to duck under. There was a large Quonset hut, so I tried the door. It was unlocked. Relief! The other three soon appeared so I waved them in. We waited out the storm in a cold, narrow hallway with plywood walls and a concrete floor. The storm grew very very intense, lasting about an hour. The Russian woman thanked us for convincing her to turn around. When I finally deemed it safe to continue, we went outside into 1 to 2 inches of hail, and had a nice 2-mile walk to the cars.

Crystal Crag, with the approx route shown as a thin black line.


White Mountain Peak - It looked like Mars up there. Very surreal scenery.

[ckissick]

Now I hope to get back to Shasta later this month. I feel good about it, since I did well above 14,000 feet.

[aigel]

Nice job on White Mountain! It is on my bucket list. It is funny that it is only a few hundred feet lower than Whitney and so much easier to access. Maybe should tackle it Labor Day Weekend!? I hiked Whitney twice, once the day hike and once as the terminus of the JMT through hike. Back to White Mountain ... I thought you could actually mountain bike some of it? That was my plan to ascend the flatter bits with the MTB. What do you think?

With your inspiration, I also put together plans with a hiking buddy to do Shasta next year. We'll go with one of the outfitters that train you ahead of time and then also guide you. Any recommendations?

[ckissick]

White Mountain would be great on a mountain bike. There's a road all the way to the top. It's a very rough road that only a specially outfitted jeep could negotiate, with an experienced driver. There's a stone building at the summit with electronic equipment, so it needs to be accessed from time to time.

First, you have to drive along a bumpy, rocky, 16-mile long dirt road to get to the locked gate, where you park and then camp for the night. The "road" to the summit is very, very rocky with some big rocks. It's ride-able, but you might take spill or two. I think a lot of people ride to the top. I'd like to try it sometime.

As for Shasta, I've never used a guide there, but if I did, I would use the local outfit, Shasta Mountain Guides. The Avalanche Gulch route is by far the most popular, but there are other, even more technical routes. Check out all the options:

https://shastaguides.com/

[Rapewta]

Very cool!

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by ckissick

I finally found time to climb White Mountain Peak, at 14,252 feet. To get acclimated, on the day before White Mountain Peak I did a rock climb of Crystal Crag at Mammoth Lakes, an easy 4-pitch lead climb to a 10,300 foot summit, rated at 5.6.

I'm thinking easy is in the eye of the beholder.

Thanks for the great stories of your alpine adventures.

[ckissick]

I'm heading back up to Shasta tomorrow to try for the summit on Saturday. Yesterday the weather forecast called for sunny and low wind. Today the forecast calls for light snow and 35 mph winds. Looks like another alpine adventure.

[herr_oberst]

Safe Travels, Charlie.

[ckissick]

I'm back. I made it to the summit! I used the Clear Creek route, described in a guide book as the easiest route. Yeah, right. After hiking 3 miles to base camp at 8200 feet, I spent the night there and left for the top the next morning at 5:30. It took me 5-1/2 hours to climb 6000 feet in the remaining 3 miles. It's a relentless, steady, steep climb, inclined at about 45 degrees for much of the way. Think Mt. Doom. Easy, it was not.

Going down was brutal: it seemed like it would never end. Very steep with loose scree. You have to watch every step, but I only fell once. Flat on my back like a cartoon character stepping on a banana peel. I got back to camp at 5:30 PM, completely wiped out. I dropped my pack in the dirt, plopped down on my sleeping bag, and didn't move for an hour. Everyone at base camp agreed that it was hardest climb they ever did.

The weather was perfect for a change. Cool with a welcome breeze. It was about 40 at the summit and very pleasant.

[ckissick]

The goal:


Yeah, it was pretty steep.


I thought I was on Mt. Doom.


Nice view from the top.

[herr_oberst]

Tip your Sherpa!

Nice work, Charlie. Glad you made it up and back safely. Looks like the weather held. Thx for the pix!