Flew out to N. Calif. for a little time away. Arrived in Eureka, Ca. around 10AM on 9 June and then rented a car and drove to Redding and then onto Mt. Shasta City. Checked into a hotel then walked across the street and dined on some delicious Mexican food. Shortly after eating, my body began to remind me that we were still on EST so I called it a night. Was up early and after having some breakfast we headed to an outdoor shop to rent our climbing equipment. It was way too late to start the summit attempt so we drove up Everitt Memorial Hwy. to the Bunny Flat trailhead at the base of Mt. Shasta and hiked the 45min up to Horse Camp.
We knew we’d be traversing this area in total darkness early the next morning and wanted to familiarize ourselves with the route. After having done this we headed back to the car and drove the 20min back to the hotel. Spent the rest of the day walking around the beautiful town of Shasta and after dinner we called it an early night again. We arose at 4:30AM, grabbed our gear and headed out the door. Drove to Bunny Flat and retraced our steps to Horse Camp. We stopped briefly to put on our crampons and proceeded up the south face of the stratovolcano on Avalanche Gulch. After about 3 hours we arrived at Helen Lake (~10,200ft) and paused to eat some semi-frozen sandwiches.
At this point it was a little tough going but not too difficult. After leaving Helen Lake the terrain became steeper and the climb more difficult. After another 3.5 hours and traversing one of the steepest sections on this route we reached Red Banks a ridge that runs roughly east to west. We paused here for a moment to catch our breath and were in the company of about 5 or 6 fellow climbers out of an original 20 or so that I counted on the mountain that day – the rest had turned back for various reasons - all of whom were from California and most were making a second attempt at summiting. It had begun to snow lightly and was extremely cold. The view from atop Red Banks was great especially to the south and east.
We spent about 5min at the top of Red Banks catching our breath then we began the climb up Misery Hill. This section was very long but we thought we could see the summit so we trudged onward. After awhile we rose above the clouds that were lightly dumping snow below us at Red Banks and though it was windy the sun was fierce. Eventually we came to the realization that what we thought was the summit was not. At this point I began to feel nauseated and extremely fatigued. After about 2hr on Misery Hill we stopped and finished eating our mostly frozen sandwiches that we had begun eating earlier. After this I caught my second wind and we climbed the last 200m of a very steep section and were on the summit.
Spent about 10min at the summit then noticed a front coming in from the west and started down. We got about 30min from the summit and the snow began to fall. At first lightly and then became progressively worse. By the time we got back to Red Banks visibility was about 10ft. It was a little scary negotiating this section with high winds and blinding snow so we took it very slowly making sure our crampons were securely embedded in the snow before we took another step. It began to lightening with huge claps of thunder and the wind began to blow even harder. We decided at this point to glissade. I knew we were roughly in the middle of the gulch and in no danger of sliding off a cliff but we did have to be cognizant of rocky outcroppings and starting an avalanche of snow and rocks. I'm unsure of the speeds we reached but at various times we were sliding extremely fast! Eventually we made it far enough down the mountain to where we were below and away from the storm and we began to walk again. Both feet were bloody b/c my socks had slipped down and exposed my heels and ankles. This was extremely uncomfortable and grew more so the longer I walked. Finally we made it back to Horse Camp. We rested for awhile and took off our crampons and hiked the 40min back to the trailhead and the comfort of the car.
It was a great adventure and I enjoyed it thoroughly!
We knew we’d be traversing this area in total darkness early the next morning and wanted to familiarize ourselves with the route. After having done this we headed back to the car and drove the 20min back to the hotel. Spent the rest of the day walking around the beautiful town of Shasta and after dinner we called it an early night again. We arose at 4:30AM, grabbed our gear and headed out the door. Drove to Bunny Flat and retraced our steps to Horse Camp. We stopped briefly to put on our crampons and proceeded up the south face of the stratovolcano on Avalanche Gulch. After about 3 hours we arrived at Helen Lake (~10,200ft) and paused to eat some semi-frozen sandwiches.
At this point it was a little tough going but not too difficult. After leaving Helen Lake the terrain became steeper and the climb more difficult. After another 3.5 hours and traversing one of the steepest sections on this route we reached Red Banks a ridge that runs roughly east to west. We paused here for a moment to catch our breath and were in the company of about 5 or 6 fellow climbers out of an original 20 or so that I counted on the mountain that day – the rest had turned back for various reasons - all of whom were from California and most were making a second attempt at summiting. It had begun to snow lightly and was extremely cold. The view from atop Red Banks was great especially to the south and east.
We spent about 5min at the top of Red Banks catching our breath then we began the climb up Misery Hill. This section was very long but we thought we could see the summit so we trudged onward. After awhile we rose above the clouds that were lightly dumping snow below us at Red Banks and though it was windy the sun was fierce. Eventually we came to the realization that what we thought was the summit was not. At this point I began to feel nauseated and extremely fatigued. After about 2hr on Misery Hill we stopped and finished eating our mostly frozen sandwiches that we had begun eating earlier. After this I caught my second wind and we climbed the last 200m of a very steep section and were on the summit.
Spent about 10min at the summit then noticed a front coming in from the west and started down. We got about 30min from the summit and the snow began to fall. At first lightly and then became progressively worse. By the time we got back to Red Banks visibility was about 10ft. It was a little scary negotiating this section with high winds and blinding snow so we took it very slowly making sure our crampons were securely embedded in the snow before we took another step. It began to lightening with huge claps of thunder and the wind began to blow even harder. We decided at this point to glissade. I knew we were roughly in the middle of the gulch and in no danger of sliding off a cliff but we did have to be cognizant of rocky outcroppings and starting an avalanche of snow and rocks. I'm unsure of the speeds we reached but at various times we were sliding extremely fast! Eventually we made it far enough down the mountain to where we were below and away from the storm and we began to walk again. Both feet were bloody b/c my socks had slipped down and exposed my heels and ankles. This was extremely uncomfortable and grew more so the longer I walked. Finally we made it back to Horse Camp. We rested for awhile and took off our crampons and hiked the 40min back to the trailhead and the comfort of the car.
It was a great adventure and I enjoyed it thoroughly!
posted by kelsso | 8:05 AM
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