There is a clear view of our route to Helen Lake from the trailhead, as well as the climb from there up to Red Banks. Our destination for the day was Helen Lake, and our goal was to get there before the sun became too strong. We met at 7:00 am, put on our mountaineering boots, checked our gear one last time and shouldered our backpacks for the climb. There are pit toilets, wag bags (required beyond Horse Camp), and self-issue summit passes ($25 per person at the time of writing). The Avalanche Gulch route begins at the Bunny Flat Trailhead (6,920′). We all had some winter mountaineering experience, but none of us had summited Mount Shasta before. Ultimately, there were four of us: myself, John, Josh and Amie. Originally there were six of us, but as typically happens, as the date got closer, the team shrank. At a minimum, you should have experience traveling up and downhill with crampons and ice axe, self-arrest and glissade skills, and the ability to work together with your team.
You need to know how to navigate ever-changing conditions on snow and ice, on a mountain where the weather can be highly unpredictable. There are no signposts to guide you along the way. Climbing Mount Shasta requires winter mountaineering skills, avalanche awareness and sound judgement to know when it’s time to call it a day and live to climb the mountain another time. When to go: May – mid-JulyMake no mistake.
0 kommentar(er)
