Advertisement: A summer ascent of the busiest route up Mt. Shasta. Unbounded views from the top, and a great sense of accomplishment.
More photographs.
Difficulty: 7300 feet of elevation gain, 11 miles round trip
Preparation: The Mount Shasta Avalanche Center has a lot of useful current information about the mountain and the route in general. We hiked it in summer conditions; what season constitutes "summer" varies year-by-year (depending on snowpack). If you take this route on a weekend, you will definitely not be alone. People will be around to help, but there are also sometimes newbies on the trail to be aware of (I saw a guy almost lose his ice axe).
Much is already written abut this route. I'll just note in summer conditions, you don't need snowshoes, only an ice axe and crampons (and a helmet!). Wear gaiters, since you probably won't be in snowpants (it is way too hot). Bring extra layers but don't wear them on the first day; it can be 80-90 degrees at the trailhead but freezing at the summit. It can still get windy on the mountain; make sure you deadman anchor your tents (we saw a tent fly away).
Glissading is possible from Red Banks back to Helen Lake and sometimes further down the mountain (depending on whether a smooth track has been left by others). Glissading is a fun and fast way to get down the mountain. Obviously don't do it with crampons on (had to remind a guy who was about to do it not to), and make sure you actually know how to self-arrest. Only do it if the snow is soft enough.
We, a group of only moderate fitness, took about 4.5 hours from Bunny Flat to Helen Lake and about 5 hours to the summit. We took 2 hours back to camp (glissading) and 2 hours back to the trailhead. We started around 4am for the summit, but many people had started earlier.
Summary: I love Shasta. This is a great first route up Shasta since there are so many people around, making routefinding easy. 5/5
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| The sun rises and Shasta casts a shadow |
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| Shastina and snow from the top of Misery Hill |
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| Views from the summit |
More photographs.
Difficulty: 7300 feet of elevation gain, 11 miles round trip
Preparation: The Mount Shasta Avalanche Center has a lot of useful current information about the mountain and the route in general. We hiked it in summer conditions; what season constitutes "summer" varies year-by-year (depending on snowpack). If you take this route on a weekend, you will definitely not be alone. People will be around to help, but there are also sometimes newbies on the trail to be aware of (I saw a guy almost lose his ice axe).
Much is already written abut this route. I'll just note in summer conditions, you don't need snowshoes, only an ice axe and crampons (and a helmet!). Wear gaiters, since you probably won't be in snowpants (it is way too hot). Bring extra layers but don't wear them on the first day; it can be 80-90 degrees at the trailhead but freezing at the summit. It can still get windy on the mountain; make sure you deadman anchor your tents (we saw a tent fly away).
Glissading is possible from Red Banks back to Helen Lake and sometimes further down the mountain (depending on whether a smooth track has been left by others). Glissading is a fun and fast way to get down the mountain. Obviously don't do it with crampons on (had to remind a guy who was about to do it not to), and make sure you actually know how to self-arrest. Only do it if the snow is soft enough.
We, a group of only moderate fitness, took about 4.5 hours from Bunny Flat to Helen Lake and about 5 hours to the summit. We took 2 hours back to camp (glissading) and 2 hours back to the trailhead. We started around 4am for the summit, but many people had started earlier.
Summary: I love Shasta. This is a great first route up Shasta since there are so many people around, making routefinding easy. 5/5
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