Sig Olsen

I miss Shasta. I went up last year. I would love to go and set up camp near misery hill just to see what it would be like at night in those winds. Epic mountain for me, but a speed bump for others. I do not think you will be disappointed. There were tons of people there when I got there in the end of June 2012. I met someone on my way up and we stuck together to helen lake. He did not attempt to summit, but there were plenty others to go up with if I wanted too. There were only 3 or 4 others that got to the top after me and they came from the parking lot. Tip - make sure you have proper glissading pants. I glissaded from the red banks back to camp at 10,700. 2500 ft in less than 30 minutes.

I absolutely love my Scarpa Phantom Guides. Feel like regular hiking boots. But they are my first pair. I am very hard to please when it comes to footwear also.

The tent was great on Shasta with min 30mph winds. Didnt move. Tying out makes it solid. Im 6'1 195 lbs and fit nicely in there. VERY tall in the middle. I didnt buy this for anyone but me. I kept most gear inside. I could have cooked inside, but that is never recommended - more important with liquid gas stoves because of spilled fuel risk. Harmful gases are negligible with iso fuels. I didnt keep poles or crampons in, but I could have. Ill be taking this to Rainier next year. extremely small packed and poles break down very small also. I was surpised how little it moved. So much that when I got out I figured the wind wasnt blowing and it was blowing over 30 at night. Just fwiw.

Thanks and that does sound fun Jason.

Moving out of Florida is out of the cards. All of my family is here and would rather fly away when I can. I am looking for harder more challenging climbs. I like a 2 or 3 full days to summit like Shasta. I just cant see myself flying to do a day climb. Plus I don't like mountain hopping. 1 mountain per trip unless it would be primer mountain to the real mountain of the trip I guess. I do not have a solid climbing partner so I know my options are limited. Thanks again for all input. Siggy.

Not sure what's next mountain-wise. Probably the alpine ascent 8 day school/summit for rainier next year

Thanks 111 and DPS. I like both options. I am considering the 8 day alpine ascents rainier training/summit course for next year. Seems that's the best plan and if I have extra time and money mt Adams looks like a great option to add in. Thanks again for input. Siggy.

Summited Mt. Shasta in 2 days via avalanche gulch. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd say each day was a 7 or 8 in difficulty. Now prefer snow/ ice travel so I can glissade down. I will be flying out from Florida. Would prefer it be a 14'er. Great if there were some place close that I could start working towards technical climbing. My prior climbs: Mt Mitchell - north carolina from black mountain campground. Class 3 Longs Peak, Colorado RMNP via keyhole route class 3& class 4 It did take 3 attempts. I realized it never would be easier so I summited the last time. Mt. Shasta via avalanche gulch in 2 days. Camped at Helen Lake. I probably will not be able to get away before January again for mountain climbing. So figure my window of climbing any time after January 2013. Thanks again everyone for any input.

Trailhead Helen lake Summit Summit Summit And cut from ice axe:

How do I add photos?

Trip: Mt. Shasta - Avalanche Gulch Date: 6/27/2012 Trip Report: First off, thanks to everyone for all the advice and support. Arrived at bunny flat trailhead Tuesday June 26th and slept in the rental van. Headed up with a guy named Al that I meet in the parking lot. We both liked the idea of hiking up with someone. Basically snow free up past the horse camp. Running water coming out of the pipe there was nice and cold. As the trail went steep it was covered in snow the rest of the way. I took the gully left of Helen lake. Reportedly I should have went up the right side which is much less direct. Only one campsite was snow free. I didn't get that one :-( Al wasn't feeling well so he didn't head up the next morning. I left my campsite at 5 am to give it a shot. Wasn't very long before I noticed I had to zig zag up or I would throw up. Winds howled probably 25-45 throughout the day. Winds picked up soon as I got above the red banks. Up to misery hill it seemed like mostly wind blown ice. Up to the summit the winds were about as strong as I ever care to be in with that exposure. At about 12-12:30 I had rested for a couple minutes at the summit when a guy was disoriented and needed someone to show him where to go. That was a real eye opener. With about 6 oz of water I was ready to blaze down. Got him on trail and then found a fast rhythm. Picked up pack at misery hill and luckily saw a few people roped up going down. Speed up to catch them. Found stepping in snow was dangerous but much faster than stepping on hard trail. Blazed past a couple groups until getting to red banks around the heart. Glissaded all the way to Helen lake almost in 25 minutes from red banks. Figured it was as good as any place to learn how to glissade :-)back at campsite around 1:30. Yep so 7.5 hours up and 1 hour down. Stayed at Helen that night. Heading down the next day I noticed so much more snow melted in just 2 days. Gear Notes: Thanks to Dane and everyone for gear recommendations. Scarpa phantom guides are amazing. Even on regular trail walking. The primaloft jackets worked great for layering. Sunscreen! I am sooo burnt. Picked up some aloe ice at 5th season and it really works. Boot warmer packs will be coming next time. Boots were cold even in my sleeping bag during the night. One note, this was my first snow mountain and all new gear mentioned. Approach Notes: Zig zag the snow for easier travel. Glissade down. Much faster and easier. You can cut your leg with your ice axe glissading if you're not careful. 2 gashes on my leg about 8 inches.

Where can I get the home stove? I only see the backpacking version for sale.

I agree with tyson. I think if I was going to do a month hike with no source of power, I may consider it. I am not sure I would need my phone charged if I was in the woods for 30 days since I would be away from a cell tower surely. But, it does open up options regarding my delorme gps... Great idea. Why can't I get one for my house?

Neat. The video and product are well made.

Thanks Luzak.