I don't know if this is the right place to ask or if it would be better in the Cali section, but I'm a newbie so figured I would start out here.   
  
Anyway, I'm heading to CA in a month to see a friend and just thought Shasta would be a nice excursion.  I don't really know a thing about the mountain except that avalanche gulch is the pace line.  My google-fu must be off because I know there has to be more info out there than just the routes and elev.   
  
I haven't climbed in a few years, but I learned the ropes on Eldorado and Baker and used a guide up Kautz.  Not a pro by any means.  The friend is a total beginner though - nothing but hiking.   
  
Thoughts? 
  
-justin