Hotlum Headwall on Shasta- have you climbed it?

[crazy_t]

Looking for general beta. Thinking about doing that or a neighboring route towards the end of the month. I'd appreciate any advice!

Edited May 9, 2007 by crazy_t

[ivan]

been years - it's easy and hardly worth the big-ass drive down there, imo - rainier routes are cooler for big volcano slogs

[rhyang]

Did you do the ice routes to the right / left of the headwall, or the loose 5.8 headwall itself ? No, I haven't done it either, just read that it's chossy.

 

Shasta has had a poor year for snow. There's a pic on shastaavalanche.org from a few days ago taken from the northwest - looks like there are a lot of ice patches on the glaciers already. I read that someone recently made it up to 13000' on the Hotlum-Bolam before turning around due to high winds.

[ivan]

left side - i just remember it was short and ho-hum'ish

[rhyang]

Left side is about 50-ish degrees max and 5-6 pitches when in condition (blue ice). Earlier in the season it's just snow. The time to do it is late August-September. This year could be different...

 

Haven't done the right gully - I'm told it's steeper, shorter, and often thin or melted out at the bottom.

[Couloir]

Shasta has had a poor year for snow.

It's very noticeable. The Heart (when the clouds are gone) in AG has been exposed for several weeks. I don't remember ever seeing it before late-June.