Mt Shasta (14,162) Avalanche Gulch route by Brian Schultz Wednesday July 2, 2003
Tim left for home while I drove to Mt Shasta City from Lone Pine. The long and scenic route on Highway 395 through Nevada to Susanville, California and on other roads north of Lassen Volcanic National Park took the better part of the day. Mt Shasta looms over the city and I got there early enough to shop for groceries, eat dinner and check out the self issue permit system at the ranger station. Just like on Mt Whitney, it costs $15.00/person to climb Mt Shasta. I sped up the road to the Bunny Flats trailhead before dark and got ready for a night of sleeping in the car, which I knew meant very little sleep based on past experiences. There were several others in vehicles attempting to do the same. While getting my pack ready, an exhausted climber just returning from the summit walked up to the car next to me. He'd spent the entire day on the peak and I got a little worried because it was nearly dark. Perhaps I underestimated the effort involved in this peak because he began at 7:00 AM from a higher camp. From the parking lot it's five miles to the summit, but even with an elevation gain of 7,300 feet, it still didn't seem like it should take that long. I convinced myself he was a slow climber.
I slept off and on for several hours until the fast dropping temperature made sleep impossible. I finally got up for good around 3:30AM. The trail starts immediately to the right of the restrooms (elev. 6,860 ft) and I began by flashlight at 4:20. Intermittent banks of snow covered the trail through the woods but others' footprints were easy to follow and I reached the Sierra Club hut at 5:07. The 1.5 mile hike to 7,940 ft took less than an hour and I was happy with my initial progress. From then on the terrain was completely snow covered but a well traveled path led upward to Lake Helen. First light revealed another clear day and I smiled at my good fortune. I love this California weather.
Lake Helen, at 10,000 feet, was completely blanketed in snow but that hadn't stopped numerous backpackers from setting up camp there. A few souls were milling about when I arrived at 6:55. I took a break and watched a string of climbers heading up the steep gulch and after a 15 minute rest I followed suit. The snow had plenty of footsteps in it so I didn't put my crampons on yet, but my pace really slowed without them. When I neared the area called the Red Banks, a party of two was descending, one of them sick from the altitude. As the strong one short-roped the other down, he noticed my lack of crampons and asked why I wasn't wearing them. He politely informed me if I slipped there would be no stopping for a long distance. I looked behind and agreed, but with only 100 feet to get to the Red Banks I decided it'd be easier to put them on there.
I made it to the Red Banks, elevation 12,600 feet, at 8:53 AM. It took 30 minutes of fumbling with the crampons to get them on correctly but once I started up, I sailed right up the gully. I should have put them on earlier. As it was, I passed every one of the climbers I'd seen from below, then cramponed past a rock formation called the Thumb before topping out of the gully. A descending climber who'd summited warned me how unpleasant the next stretch was, named Misery Hill, but I charged right up it too, actually two hills, to a large but flat area below the summit. The melting snow on Misery Hill revealed why it's recommended to climb Shasta with a snow cover. The underlying scree is nasty.
I pushed on and finally reached the big rockpile of a summit where nobody removed their crampons despite the total lack of snow up there. I clunked my way up and happily topped out on the summit at 10:54. It was windy and cold but also sunny and clear. Lots of climbers were on the summit, obviously a popular fourteener even on a mid-week day. Some brought their skis and snowboards and I enjoyed the summit for forty five minutes before leaving at 11:39. When I got below the steepest area of the Red Banks, I yanked off the crampons, grabbed the ice axe, and did a few glissades. It was fun but I was mad at myself when I noticed how much snow worked into my fanny pack and wetted down my cameras. At the Sierra Hut, a large group of people on a benefit climb was milling about and I talked to a fellow for half an hour before heading down the last stretch to the trailhead and pulling into the parking lot at 3:00.
The elevation gain of 7,300 feet blew the record I just set on Whitney four days ago. I felt strong today. This was a fun day with beautiful weather and a great first experience with crampons.
Trailhead to summit- 6 hours 34 minutes
Summit to trailhead- 3 hours 21 minutes
Total day- 10 hours 40 minutes (including all breaks)