Mount Shasta: Eye Opener

• Mountain Type: Stratavolcano

• Elevation: 14,179 ft (4,322 m)

• Location: Shasta–Trinity National Forest, California, U.S., Siskiyou County, California

• Third highest peak in lower 48 United States

Objective: Summit Mount Shasta via the Clear Creek Trail

Date: May 21 through May 23

From Wikipedia: Mount Shasta is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California.

In March I planned on taking a class called Intro to Winter Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada in California. While sitting at the airport waiting to board a flight to the Golden State I decided to read my email. I was a little more than stunned to read that the outfitter cancelled the class the night before because the instructor was injured (not seriously, I don’t think) and no replacement was available. The plane was literally beginning to board as I was reading this. Long story short, the guide, International Alpine Guides (AIG) refunded my money and encouraged me to sign up for a similar excursion, Mount Shasta. They even gave me a $200 gift certificate to use for one of their courses.

The next class offered was climbing Mount Shasta. All I really wanted was experience in the winter backcountry. This experience offered that and then some. The class description warned that Mount Shasta required participants to be in excellent physical condition. “Very good to excellent physical condition required”, to be precise.

With some trepidation I decided to sign up.

“Climbing Mt Shasta is strenuous…you must train accordingly!”

— IAG web site

We would all meet on Friday morning on the lawn of the LOGE motel at 9:30 in the town of Mount Shasta. I arrived in town a Wednesday to explore on my own.

Itinerary

• 3:00 AM - Group departs for summit

• 3:45 AM - I see two groups of climbers’ head lamps about a quarter of a mile or so from base camp. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my phone with me to snap pictures. Far above them near the top of the mountain I spot a bright light. I would later find out that this is the head lamp of another group that camped out at 10,000 feet or so.

• 4:00 AM - I try not to freeze in my tent. I have two one liter bottles inside near the entrance. Ice has formed inside the bottles along the rim of the surface of the water and in the screw on cap. I bury myself into my mummy sleeping bag which is rated at 0 degrees F, whatever that means. I notice I’m hyperventilating. I stop that and control my breathing. I check the time. 4:30 AM. The sun will rise over the ridge in a few hours and all will be well.

• 7:30 AM - I hear some voices. I peer out of my tent and see that a guide and two hikers have returned early. I think they said they made it to about 10,000 feet.

• 9:30 AM - Our guide has boiled some water for tea, hot chocolate and coffee. Now four of us at camp. We stand drinking our hot beverages. The sun is rising. I take off my snow jacket. We spend the next few yours talking.

• 10:30 AM or so - news over the radio of two more hikers returning prematurely with their supporting guide Lucas. Suzie and Breece (forgive the spelling) made an extraordinary effort. Fatigue and altitude sickness get the best of them. They reached 12,300 feet before they decided to go back. Job well done in my book!

• 12:30 PM or so - news comes over the radio that Mike and his guide David have reached the summit. David, momentarily forgets the name of the mountain he is on. Dave, the main guide back at camp pokes fun. “What’s the name of the mountain, David?” - “Shasta!” David barks back over the radio.

• 2:00 PM - While David and Mike are slowly making their way back down the mountain, we begin breaking camp.

• 3:00 PM - Tired, but happy, Mike and David return to camp.

• 3: 15 PM - Part of our group starts the trek down the mountain to the trail head. Soon after Mike, David, Lucas and Pericles join them.

Things To Do Differently Next Time

• Find ways to train for cardio-respiratory performance.

• Find steep hills with scree in North Carolina to hike.

• Hike and camp more.

• Bring more personal snacks and food.

• Pack more layers and cooler clothes like shorts.

Takeaways

• Love getting drinkable water straight from streams coming from melting ice and underground streams.

• Greater appreciation for unpleasantness of freezing.

• Knowing that I don’t know, what I don’t know.

• Wilderness adventures can be rewarding, but must be tempered with knowledge of risk.

• It’s a lot harder than YouTubers portray it to be.