Generally when I tell people I climbed a mountain, they think it’s pretty cool, but they often don’t really react very strongly.  Usually when I tell people I’ve climbed a 14,000 foot peak they remark they would never do anything like that, or say something along the lines of that’s pretty cool.  When I told people I was planning to climb Mt Shasta, everyone who had seen the mountain looked at me with a sense of disbelief!

Mt Shasta is a 14,000 foot snowcapped (most of the time) volcano in the far north of California.  Clearly visible from I-5 as you drive north towards Oregon, this ultra prominent peak looms over drivers as they pass just by its base, while the summit soars 2 miles above their heads.

Less famous than its northern compatriot Mt Rainier, Shasta is only slightly smaller, but it is far less known, especially outside northern California.  That means that this mountain gets far fewer visitors, fewer climbers, and has less demand for access (which is nice because it makes it cheaper!).

As I hopefully make my way towards accomplishing my life long goal of climbing the earth’s 7 Summits, the highest peak on each continent, my goal has been to expand my skill and comfort level each year.  This year, I hoped to summit a major snow-covered peak, learn snow travel skills, and become more comfortable with real mountaineering, setting me up to attempt even larger, more technical, mountains.

For me, this climb was definitely intimidating.  I felt more anxiety for this expedition than any other outdoor adventure I have tried before, and to hopefully find success, I decided to go with a professional guiding service.  I choose Shasta Mountain Guides, one of the most reputable guiding companies operating on Shasta.  With professionals to provide instruction and get me down safely, I felt confident going outside my comfort zone!

I’ll tell you right now (and spoil the ending) I did not successfully summit Shasta.  Conditions deteriorated on our summit attempt and we were forced down.  But I’ll be back, and I’m already planning attempt number two! 

About Mt Shasta:

Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors, especially in high elevation places like Shasta!

Located in far northern California, Mt Shasta is a 14,179 foot high volcano.  As a part of the Cascade Range, Shasta is very similar though much less famous than its northern counterparts, especially Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens, and Mt Hood.  Shasta is the second most southern major peak of the Cascades, with only Lassen Peak further.

One of the southernmost big volcanoes of the Cascades, Shasta does not maintain the big glaciers that you’ll find on peaks like Rainier all summer.  While it’s only a couple of hundred feet shorter than Rainier (the highest peak in the Cascade Range and the entire Pacific Northwest), Shasta is much further south, which means less snowfall, warmer temps, and drier conditions.

Driving along I-5, it’s almost impossible to miss this peak!  From the south, you’ll catch glimpses of the mountain from 100 miles away or more on clear days, the peak slowly growing in stature through your windshield.  From the north, you’ll see it as you descend from the northern mountain passes that guard the Oregon-California border.  And finally, as you pass through the town of Mt Shasta at an elevation of 3,600 feet, the summit will be roughly 2 miles vertically above your head, seemingly just an arms reach away!

For a multitude of reasons, Shasta is known as an excellent introductory peak for aspiring mountaineers.  It is far enough south to be spared from the wicked storms that lash the Pacific Northwest.  The weather is warmer and generally more consistent than peaks like Mt Rainier.  It is easily accessible from cities like San Francisco and Sacramento.  And, the climbing is technical enough to challenge most mountaineers, but routes range from technical glacial traverses to steep hikes perfect for beginners!

Preparation:

Training:

Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!

Shasta is a really big mountain, and definitely needs to be prepared for if you want to be successful and not hate every second you’re climbing!  The planned summit day called for about 5,600 feet of climbing (which would have been a personal best for me) following an approach hike into basecamp which climbs 2,000 feet during which we would be carrying 40-50 pounds in our packs.

My worry wasn’t so much the summit day as it was the approach hike.  On a summit push, adrenaline will lessen the soreness you feel, the prospect of an all downhill return trip makes pushing hard easier, and we wouldn’t be carrying much more than I take on long day hikes.

On the other hand, I know from experience that carrying a heavy pack totally changes the game.  From previous backpacking trips, I had found that my legs, hips, core, and shoulders all struggled under heavy loads far more than on day hikes, and even though I was in good shape with a light daypack, carrying a fully loaded backpacking pack was a real challenge.

To address this, I focused my training on carrying heavy loads, and added weight and resistance to normal workouts I had done previously.  In addition, I emphasized core workouts to aid in the stabilization of heavy loads of gear.

I’m not going to list my exact workout routine because I’m not really qualified to give exercise advice, my exact routine wasn’t perfect, and no one should exactly copy someone else’s routine, but I’ll lay out the general work I did.

Once or twice per week I would do a leg and core workout.  I used weights for some exercises as well as pure body weight for others.  Increasing leg strength is an obvious thing to do, but I also focused on hips (something that has given me trouble before when backpacking), and core.

Make sure you have our ultimate road trip playlist if you’re driving to Mt Shasta!

Once per week I climbed 40+ flights of stairs in my apartment complex wearing a backpack filled with extra weight, usually water.  Basically I was doing a stairmaster but on real stairs!  The added weight definitely made a difference.  I usually carried about 25 pounds of water in my pack, though in hindsight I would actually increase that number significantly to better simulate the real conditions.  I would recommend actually doing real stairs over a stairmaster because you’ll work on the downhill, something that really matters on a long hike or climb!

In addition, I tried to hike twice a week.  This didn’t always happen, but for almost 2 months before the climb, most weekends I got out for two hikes.  I slowly built up the distance and vert, and I hiked with a much heavier backpack than I normally would have.  I generally carried between 10 and 20 extra pounds.  Again, I would increase this weight in hindsight.

Gear:

While Mt Shasta isn’t a technical rock climb, there was a large amount of gear that we needed to carry up the mountain.  My guiding service had a gear list on their website that was very explanatory, so I knew well ahead of time what I would need to purchase.  

One gear choice I made that went against the grain in my group was to hike to basecamp in trail runners rather than mountaineering boots. Everyone chose to hike in the boots, thereby avoiding having to carry the extra weight. I chose to wear my trail runners because I have had issues with my feet in the past from wearing stiff boots, and mountaineering boots are deliberately extremely stiff. It was annoying having to carry the boots on my back, but by the end of the trip, others were jealous I had comfortable shoes to wear!

There were also things I needed that I likely wouldn’t be using again after Shasta, and I was able to rent a number of specific items.  In addition to basic clothing, hygienic items, core backpacking gear, and food, here is a list of specific alpine climbing gear we needed.

Shell jacket (keep you dry from rain, snow, water, etc.)

Shell pants (same idea)

Mountaineering boots (needed to use crampons, rented)

Crampons (spikes used for walking on snow and ice, rented)

Ice ax (many uses, most importantly for stopping yourself on a fall, rented)

Climbing helmet (rented)

Waterproof winter gloves

Expedition backpack (large capacity pack designed for heavy loads, rented)

Climbing harness (provided by guiding company)

All of my gear was rented from The Fifth Season in downtown Mt Shasta. 

In addition to our personal gear, there was a set of group gear provided by the guides.  First of all, we were each given tents.  Another climber and myself were given 1 person individual tents because we were there alone, but a pair who were together carried up a larger multi person tent.

After we were each given a tent, a pile of group gear was then split up and we were each given a pile to carry up.  This consisted of food, cooking utensils, pots and pans, and stove fuel.  

Once all of that was either in the pack or strapped onto the outside, we began the journey to basecamp! 

The Journey:

An Uncertain Start:

The weekend before I was to climb Shasta brought blue skies and calm air to the Shasta area.  All seemed well, and it looked to be a nearly perfect weekend for being on the mountain.  However, the week prior, a storm had moved through the area and left a thick layer of ice on top of the snow.

Tragedy struck when a member of a guided climbing group slipped and fell.  The group, consisting of one guide and a few clients, began sliding down the steep snow slope.  Standard protocol calls for using an ice ax to slow yourself down to stop a slide.  Basically, you roll over and use your body weight to force the pick of the ax into the snow causing it to grab on the snow and slow you down.

However, because of the thick layer of ice, the group was not able to stop.  Their axes were not able to penetrate the thick layer of ice above the snow.  There was reportedly evidence of attempted self arrests as the group tried in vain to stop their slide, but they were unable to.  After a slide of around 2,000 vertical feet, the group finally came to a stop.  They were airlifted off the mountain, but unfortunately, the guide of the group did pass away.

This all happened less than a week before I was scheduled to begin my climb of Shasta, and with the death, the poor conditions, and an uncertain weekend forecast, I wasn’t sure if the climb would even be attempted and was half expecting a call canceling the whole thing.  The call never came though, and the climb was on!

Getting There:

After a half day of work on a Thursday, I left San Jose and drove up to Mt Shasta.  The drive is almost exactly 300 miles, so I think without any traffic it should only take about 4 hours.  I did hit some traffic, and by the time I arrived in downtown Mt Shasta, it had been nearly 5 hours.  After getting dinner, I checked into a hotel and got to bed early.

That morning, I got up early and drove back downtown to the guiding office and checked in at about 8.  I still needed to pick up my rental gear, so after checking in with the guides, I headed over to The Fifth Season across the street to get fitted for my boots, and got all my gear checked out.

Once everyone in our group of 4 was checked in we gathered around with our guides, and after introductions, we tore our packs apart.  Once everything was strewn about the yard, we went through a checklist of everything we had and needed. 

The guides read through the mandatory list of gear we had to have, and we guests found each item and put it into the keep pile.  Anything left over that was not necessary was left to reduce the weight we had to carry.  After repacking, and making some tough cuts to save weight, we packed into cars and headed to the trailhead!

I hitched a ride with a fellow climber since the road to the trailhead was a long, rough, gravel and dirt road.  After about an hour of driving, 40 minutes or so being on rough roads, we arrived at the Clear Creek Trailhead to begin the hike to basecamp!

To Basecamp:

The hike from the Clear Creek Trailhead to basecamp is only about 3 miles, but in those 3 miles the trail gains about 2,000 vertical feet.  This was the part of the trip I was dreading the most, and upon putting my pack on and feeling the strain, I was really dreading it!

Once we started though, most of my fears dissipated.  I realized that I must hike pretty fast when I’m on my own, because we moved at a nearly glacial pace and no one really remarked on it!  It was seriously one foot in front of the other, barely feeling like we were moving most of the time!

Our guides wanted to make sure we didn’t wear ourselves out on the hike into camp, and since we only had 3 miles and it was still early in the day, there really was no hurry.  I found that on our summit day we moved at an even slower pace, so I think it’s just how they do things on climbs like this.  It makes sense because honestly I never was even breathing hard on the entire trip; it was nice!

After an initial hike through a fairly dense subalpine pine forest, we emerged onto an open natural ramp heading up a ridge towards the peak.  Once the forest cleared a bit, we were able to look up towards the peak, and out over the ridge to the valley and hills beyond.  We could also now see Mud Creek Falls dropping into the valley below!

We stopped for a snack and water break here as it had been about an hour since we began.  Stopping every hour would become a theme throughout the entire trip.

After a short break, we continued up the ramp.  The trail here was actually quite steep, but due to our slow pace it passed quickly and without much difficulty.  At the top, we veered left and began traversing across an open rocky flat.  On the far side, we stopped at a stream just below basecamp.

The stream was fed by the snowfields and glaciers above us.  We could actually see where the water came out from below the snowfield, and we drank straight from the stream!  Generally, never drink mountain water (no matter how clear) unless you can see where it comes from.  Basically, ask yourself if it’s possible there’s a dead animal upstream from you.  If there’s a chance, filter or boil it before drinking.

However, this stream was directly from the snowfield above it, and is the main water source for all climbers ascending this route.  It was really good too!

At Basecamp:

As we filled our water bottles the guides secured a campsite on the other side of the creek, and once we were ready, they came back to escort us to camp.  Setting up camp took about an hour.  There were 5 tents between the 6 people in our party (2 climbers who were together sharing a larger tent) which we set up among a stand of gnarled pines, clinging to life at the very highest point they could.  We were at the treeline, and above us was nothing but snow and rock all the way to the summit!

Once camp was set up, we spent an hour or so learning and practicing basic alpine snow travel techniques and safety procedures in a snowfield near the stream.  We practiced using an ice ax, both while hiking and while falling.  We practiced footwork for using crampons in steep snow and ice, and we went over the basics of how we would be roped together at times on the climb.

After the quick intro to alpinism, we headed back to our tent village where one of the guides had begun preparing dinner.  The first course was a very nice potato leek soup which was followed by a main course of rice and tofu (not my favorite but I was hungry and that was my only option)!

After eating, we had our pre-climb talk and gear organization session.  We packed our bags while it was still light out and talked about how the following day would go.  We were told our wake up would be between 1 and 2 am, and we would begin climbing an hour after waking up.  

We talked about the weather forecast for the next day, which looked like high winds and storms would roll in during the afternoon.  We talked about how we would be forced to turn around if we moved too slowly or couldn’t make it to the summit by our turnaround time, no matter how close we were.

After the talk, we got ready for bed and began resting up for the following early wake up.  I enjoyed the pyramidal sunset shadow cast by the peak for miles to the east, and after a couple of texts (we somehow had service at camp) I went to bed and rested for a few fitful hours!

Summit Attempt:

The guides came tapping on the tent just before 2 am, and before long I was dressed with 2 pairs of pants, a long sleeve shirt, and two jackets!  It wasn’t that cold, but we would be sitting around for awhile and it’s better to be comfortable!  I would be carrying all those layers for the climb as well.

After a quick breakfast of oatmeal and optional coffee, we packed up and began the climb!  It was pitch black to start, and we were totally reliant on our headlamps to see anything.  We stowed our heavy down jackets for the actual hiking, but we would put them back on every time we stopped for a break.

Even at basecamp at 3 am it was breezy.  It is very rare that mountains get less windy as you get higher.  It is also very rare that mountains get less windy as the day goes on.  Those two facts taken into consideration, I had a bad feeling about our likelihood of summiting from the beginning.  It seemed unlikely that conditions would get better as we got higher, and we still had a long way up to go!  We could also see the white silhouettes of clouds around the summit, again not great!

The first hour of hiking went by quickly as we climbed through the dark.  We were on loose rock and scree the entire time, and while it wasn’t the best material to be hiking on as every step forward led to a half step slide back, we took it slow and made good progress.

After an hour we took our first break.  We would take breaks every hour the entire way up to the summit.  Our goal was to eat at least 200 calories every hour (we would be burning even more than that) to maintain our energy levels all the way to the summit.  It was also important to drink plenty of water; you dehydrate quicker at elevation!

As we departed from our first rest stop, the sky was beginning to brighten as the sun approached the eastern horizon.  After our first stop is when my fears of not summiting really came into focus.

We were not even at 10,000 feet, still 4,000+ to go, and the wind was already reaching gale force.  We were having to stop and shield our eyes as it whipped small rocks and dust into our faces.  I was knocked off balance multiple times when an unexpected gust caught me off guard.  Conditions were not looking good.

We continued climbing to around 10,400 feet and took our second break after just under 2 hours of hiking.  The sun was now rising on a stunning beautiful day, and while my spirits were low, the beauty in front of me made it a little easier to take.  You can only be so upset when you’re in such an incredible place.

At our second stop, the conversation none of us were hoping for began.  Our guides gave us the option to either continue or turn around.  They said it was unlikely that conditions would improve, but it was still early and we weren’t yet at the point where we needed to turn around.  The others in the group were feeling optimistic and elected to keep going.  Keeping my misgivings to myself for the cohesion of the group, I agreed to continue on for another stretch.

Here, we hit the first snowfield of the day, and I finally donned crampons for the first time.  There is a very specific way to walk in crampons, and the activity is almost a science!  I certainly don’t claim to be any good at it, but our group made good progress!

Our guides roped us together into groups of 3; 1 guide in the front with two climbers behind.  In our group of 3, I was in the back.  There was approximately 6 feet of rope between each of us, tethered to the climbing harnesses we wore around our waists.  The goal was to keep the rope taught enough to never drag on the ground or get caught in our crampons, but loose enough that it wouldn’t drag on the climber in front.

There were signs of the awful conditions that in part led to the accident the weekend before.  We were forced to cross small patches of solid water ice, and while we made it just fine, it was a bit disconcerting knowing this in part led to disaster not even a week before.

Adding to the slight nervousness was the now concerningly strong wind that was becoming more and more constant.  The wind was blowing constantly at probably 20-30 mph, and gusts were frequently reaching 50 mph.  Strong gusts actually were audible as they blew down the mountain, and when we heard them coming, we had to brace to avoid being blown off the mountain.  Every couple of minutes, we were laying face down on the ground with our axes stuck in the snow.  

We climbed for about 600 vertical feet through the snow until we reached the upper edge of the snowfield.  We clambered over a few rocks and reached a sheltered area at 11,000 feet.  

Our group had reached this point before the other 3, and we sat down and waited for them.  The wind was crazy strong, and I was ready to head back down.  Even with all my layers on, it was getting cold sitting in the wind.  However, the conditions made for some incredible scenery.  Billowy clouds were blowing all around us, at times 2,000 feet above, at times wrapping around us, at times dropping down below our feet.

The rest of the group was still game to continue the ascent, but after a radio call with the guiding office, which was coordinating all of the groups on the mountain, we received the order to turn around.  The storm had moved in early bringing the gale force winds we were fighting, and conditions were actively getting worse.  The guides dropped the hammer, and there was no debate.  We were going down.

We had climbed 2,500 feet, about 1,900 on rock and scree and 600 on snow and ice.  We strapped the crampons back on for the snowfield, took them off again at the bottom of it, then continued down through the loose rock towards camp.  The descent went quick, though we could see camp far below us nearly the entire time which definitely made it feel a little longer than it would have otherwise!

It was only about 10 am when we walked back into camp.  We were all disappointed and a bit tired, but of all the guided groups from Shasta Mountain Guides, we got the highest.  It was an unsatisfying consolation prize, but it’s something.  Upon our return, we dispersed for a late morning nap and reconvened at lunch.

At lunch a fun surprise was waiting for us.  Turns out the storm was now moving in even sooner, and all the other groups at basecamp had left and returned to the trailhead!  We faced the prospect of facing down a storm at treeline alone on Mt Shasta, or hiking down to the trailhead that day.  After a group discussion, we decided to head back down since there was no real point in sticking out a storm high on the mountain.

With that, my Shasta adventure came to an end.

Takeaways:

After packing up camp, hiking to the trailhead, driving back to town, and then driving back to San Jose, I arrived back home at around midnight.  It was a long day to say the least, and 23 hours after I got up to climb Shasta, I finally crawled into bed.

I was pretty disappointed at the time.  I had trained for months, paid a not insignificant fee to hopefully summit, and I don’t have a car able to access the trailhead myself.  However, with more time between myself and the trip, I’m feeling more optimistic about the whole experience.

I definitely don’t feel confident enough to try and climb a snow and glacier covered peak on my own.  I learned a lot on the trip, but I think I realized even more how much I don’t know.  My guides were making observations on the fly about things I didn’t even know to look for.  Snow conditions, avalanche danger, and unpredictable weather are things that matter a lot, and I honestly don’t think I know enough to go up alone on a serious mountain like Rainier, or Shasta when snowy.

However, now that I know more about the mountain and the different routes up the mountain, I feel confident that I can actually summit Shasta without guides.  The Clear Creek route that we attempted actually melts out by late summer and the summit is reachable without any snow travel.  I’ll definitely be back again, once I can find a ride!

I did also learn some basic alpine skills that will provide a base of knowledge for the next alpine climb I undertake.  I have used crampons.  I have carried a super heavy pack, and know how to prepare for that.  I have worn and used a climbing harness.  All of these things will make my next attempts easier, and hopefully (weather permitting) successful!

A disappointing ending, but an incredible experience!