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Washingtonian wants to conquer Shasta!


Dchromey

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Hey just wondering if anybody from Washington is eyeing avalanche gulch this summer on mt shasta? I would like if i could hitch a ride to california if anyone is going. I got all the specific gear excluding snowshoes. I got crampons, mountaineering boots and the right clothes. Send me a message if you are interested in bringing me along

Thank you!

Darren

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I don't know why more people aren't interested in Shasta. The weather is much better than Rainier. The approaches are more open forest, so you don't have to stick to the trails if you don't want. The nearest town is higher elevation for better acclimatization.

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Thanks man! Shasta is a 14er but maybe the routes are a bit easier. Your not going over glaciers or crevasses like rainier.

 

I don't think Shasta is much easier than Rainier. There's still quite a few glaciers and crevasses on Shasta, but maybe the normal route has less. I think Shasta gets more freeze/thaw so you have a better chance for hard ice especially late season. I did the Hotlum/Wintun with a snowfield variation. It was boilerplate ice.

 

Pic of the NW side from a road trip back in November

 

Shasta3.jpg

 

 

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this pic only shows the very top of the route, from the bottom of misery hill up, which is the usual finish to avi gulch, casaval ridge, sargeants ridge, west face and cascade gulch. Avi gulch, the standard route, is well out of the frame of this photo.

 

I'll add another shout for Shasta being a pretty easy single day solo. I don't know if you ski, but if you, you should bring them. It turns a 3-4hr descent into 1 hr and makes finding a partner much, much easier. Good luck and have fun!

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thanks man for the confidence. i dont ski..now this may seem a bit corny but i want to get up and down the mountain with the body i am given with. Push my body to the limits. Eventually when i get older ill get into skiing, but for me as a 20 year old, i like to keep it interesting. id probably go down but stay another night on the night after summitting. I just dont like rushing down the mountain,i wanna slow things down

Darren

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Postholing is more interesting than skiing?

 

And here I could have saved myself all that money....

 

Skis are just stretched out crampons with the points cut off, no?

 

Skiers, STAY OFF our climbing routes.

 

And you are going to look funny trying to climb waterfall ice with those long skinny boards strapped to your feet.

 

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thanks man for the confidence. i dont ski..now this may seem a bit corny but i want to get up and down the mountain with the body i am given with. Push my body to the limits. Eventually when i get older ill get into skiing, but for me as a 20 year old, i like to keep it interesting. id probably go down but stay another night on the night after summitting. I just dont like rushing down the mountain,i wanna slow things down

Darren

 

You should camp at 10,000ft or something. I camped around 11k when I soloed the Hotlum Wintun. Good for sunset/sunrise viewing.

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IMG_11152.JPG

 

This pic is me on the ridge (Green Butte) climber's right of Avalanche Gulch. Due to weather, I didn't make it past Thumb Rock, but Avalanche Gulch was pretty straightforward.

 

I'd prefer to ski, but if you're looking for someone to climb with PM me. Depending on the dates, I'll be around.

 

 

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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.

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I don't know why more people aren't interested in Shasta. The weather is much better than Rainier. The approaches are more open forest, so you don't have to stick to the trails if you don't want. The nearest town is higher elevation for better acclimatization.

 

While only a little lower, Shasta isn't a tenth the mountain Rainer is, that's why they aren't as interested. Shasta's glaciers are unimpressive. That's not to say it isn't fun, in a regular route on Hood, Adams, or St Helens kind of way, and its a worthy stepping stone for folks learning that sort of alpine climbing, it just doesn't have the complexity or challenges that the Big R offers.

 

Oh, taking the train there? What a great idea, post a TR when you're back.

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