Winter Ascent on Shasta- Cassaval Ridge?

[TheNumberNine]

Anyone done this route? I'm thinking about it for this Jan/Feb if conditions/weather allow... It looks SICK!

[mneagle]

My wife and I made a winter attempt several years ago in January. It was a heavy snow year, so there was more post-holing and less rock scrambling. There were a few interesting traverses but it was mostly straight forward to ~12,500 feet without any need for a rope. At that point, a mildly windy day quickly turned into a wind tunnel. We put on all the clothes we had and got into our zero degree bags and bivy sacks on a small ledge, just barely wide enough to fit us. The winds apparently reached 100mph gusts and the temperature dropped to -80 with wind chill. My wife's toes froze and blistered and I lost the skin off the tip of my nose and could barely feel my fingers for a few days. We managed to melt some snow and get something warm into our stomachs which was critical. The next morning things cleared up and we staggered down.

 

Conclsuion: good route but don't underestimate the mountain in winter. I doubt I would ever do a winter climb without a tent in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

[TheNumberNine]

My wife and I made a winter attempt several years ago in January. It was a heavy snow year, so there was more post-holing and less rock scrambling. There were a few interesting traverses but it was mostly straight forward to ~12,500 feet without any need for a rope. At that point, a mildly windy day quickly turned into a wind tunnel. We put on all the clothes we had and got into our zero degree bags and bivy sacks on a small ledge, just barely wide enough to fit us. The winds apparently reached 100mph gusts and the temperature dropped to -80 with wind chill. My wife's toes froze and blistered and I lost the skin off the tip of my nose and could barely feel my fingers for a few days. We managed to melt some snow and get something warm into our stomachs which was critical. The next morning things cleared up and we staggered down.

 

Conclsuion: good route but don't underestimate the mountain in winter. I doubt I would ever do a winter climb without a tent in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOW!

 

 

That sounds intense... If I went to Shasta in the Winter I'd probably go Denali equipped... mitts, overboots, insulated pants, big puffer (the whole shebang)... Definitely a tent too... Safety first!!

 

Would you recommend bringing a couple pickets? Any use for running belays on that route?

[mneagle]

No gear needed up to 12,500 feet. I don't recall even using crampons. We didn't get to the steep spot where some people apparently rope up and place some now or ice pro. From what I recall, we had a few pickets intending on lpacing a deadmanfor that section based on what I had heard from other people.

[B Deleted_Beck]

 

 

WOW!

 

 

That sounds intense... If I went to Shasta in the Winter I'd probably go Denali equipped... mitts, overboots, insulated pants, big puffer (the whole shebang)... Definitely a tent too... Safety first!!

 

Would you recommend bringing a couple pickets? Any use for running belays on that route?

 

i fully intend to do shasta this winter, and i fully intend to go equipped for The Day After Tomorrow.

 

you do not want to get stuck downclimbing in 60-100mph winds with zero visibility and rime ice building up all over you.

[B Deleted_Beck]

My wife and I made a winter attempt several years ago in January. It was a heavy snow year, so there was more post-holing and less rock scrambling. There were a few interesting traverses but it was mostly straight forward to ~12,500 feet without any need for a rope. At that point, a mildly windy day quickly turned into a wind tunnel. We put on all the clothes we had and got into our zero degree bags and bivy sacks on a small ledge, just barely wide enough to fit us. The winds apparently reached 100mph gusts and the temperature dropped to -80 with wind chill. My wife's toes froze and blistered and I lost the skin off the tip of my nose and could barely feel my fingers for a few days. We managed to melt some snow and get something warm into our stomachs which was critical. The next morning things cleared up and we staggered down.

 

Conclsuion: good route but don't underestimate the mountain in winter. I doubt I would ever do a winter climb without a tent in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

what did you guys have for clothes/boots?

[B Deleted_Beck]

http://www.summitpost.org/against-all-hope-life-partnership-and-loss-on-mt-shasta/626323

 

gotta be prepared for the things you can't control.

[TheNumberNine]

http://www.summitpost.org/against-all-hope-life-partnership-and-loss-on-mt-shasta/626323

 

gotta be prepared for the things you can't control.

 

 

Dude.. that is so brutal and really too bad... With the mountains come danger...

[mneagle]

We wore synthetic polypro underware, fleeces, puffball jackets, gore Tex parkas, good hats/gloves (my hands froze trying to melt snow) and plastic boots. Our sleeping bags were zero degree down bags and the bivy sacks were gore Tex. Had we had any less I think we could have died or at least lost some body parts. It's a good thing I learned to climb before the whole "fast and light" thing became popular.

 

The most difficult thing I had to do was melt snow in the howling wind, as the water in our water bottles froze solid while we searched for a ledge to bivy on. I wrapped my sleeping pad around my pocket rocket and hugged it against my body for shelter. It went out about 100 times and I lost a lot of body heat but once we has something warm to drink out survival seemed more likely.

Edited July 21, 2011 by mneagle

[TheNumberNine]

My buddy and I are talking February for this climb....You guys have given me a lot to think about... Winter sounds intense but a summit tag would be pretty epic if we could do it. I'm going to hit the hardware store soon for some bamboo sticks for wands. I'm thinking 25 or 30 would do nicely. My climbing partner is also in the GPS industry so we'd definitely bring along a GPS for white out conditions.

 

 

What's the policy on carrying dex? Sounds like it could be a good thing to have on any climb where altitude be a serious issue. A friend of mine was involved in a rescue on Everest a few years back and he said dex was a complete game changer in getting the climber on their feet and down the mountain.

 

Can you get a prescription injector from your doctor?

[B Deleted_Beck]

i assume it's available by prescription... but i really wouldn't worry about it for shasta unless someone in your team has had problems before. HACE at 14,000' isn't unheard of, but only because of the internet. it's extremely rare.