May 30-June 1, 2003
Prepared By Chris Wright
Dave Schneider, Brent McGregor, Julie Zeidman, Jeff McClelland, Chris Wright
Mt. Shasta had received 160% of its average snowfall this year with a large amount falling in the early spring. The temperatures had been quite warm prior to this outing and were expected to be warm during this trip. After receiving negative reports about the likelihood of summitting via the Avalanche Gulch route it appeared unlikely that this trip would happen. Thanks to the perseverance of Dave and Brent we were finally able to get a positive report from a ranger who had 1st hand observed the conditions. Because of the forecast, we all realized poor snow conditions might prevent us from reaching our camp, however, everyone agreed that it was worth the drive to find out.
The group consisted of Dave our organizer who had been up Shasta via the Avalanche Gulch route a mere 7 times before, Brent McGregor who has extensive mountaineering experience and was selected to receive the outing Techno-Geek award for his choice in prioritizing a digital camera, mp-3 player and binoculars above less critical equipment such as a tent and warm food, and Jeff, Julie and myself who have all climbed a bit but have never been over 13000 feet before.
Mount Shasta is 14162 ft and the Avalanche Gulch route is the easiest and most popular. There are no glaciers or technical areas to negotiate on this route, however there is a 2000 ft ascent of a steep frozen snow slope that requires crampons, ice axe, helmet and headlamp. Knowing how to use an ice axe to self-arrest and glissade is prerequisite.
We carpooled down to Shasta leaving Bend at 7:30 and arrived at the Bunny Flat parking area at around Noon. The parking area was jammed and cars were lining both sides of the road more than ¼ mile from the trailhead. There were lots of climbers, skiers and snowboarders heading out as well as many finishing up. There’s no parking fee, however there is a $15/person registration fee that includes the sanitation bags that are provided and required to be used by each person to remove their human waste.
We started up on the Avalanche Gulch route in shorts and t-shirts at around 1 pm. The conditions were warm and sunny and we had hopes of reaching Helen Lake campground 3600’ above, the highest of three possible campsites. We all carried snowshoes, and although the conditions were quite slushy, the snow packed well enough that we all chose not to use snowshoes. It was a hot slog up to camp but it went great thanks to Julie setting an incredibly steady pace. I found myself cramping up a bit just before reaching camp. I attributed this mostly, to not drinking enough water under such hot conditions.
We reached the Helen Lake campground at around 5 PM and found the site to be very well organized with a least 50 tents complete with snow-made wind breaks and benches. We set up camp and were visited shortly thereafter by a climbing ranger who looked over our camp, pointed out the designated sanitation areas and made suggestions regarding climbing gear and departure times. After some good grub (is there such a thing as bad camp grub?) we all retired early to get some rest before our 3 AM alpine start.
Helen Lake Camp
We awoke at 2:30 AM the next morning and prepared for our ascent. The temperature was around 20o F. We could already see the headlamps of at least 3 or 4 climbing teams up on the slope. From Helen Lake you begin by climbing a 2000’ slope that becomes steeper approaching the steepness of Mt Hood’s hogback. In the dark it appears as if you’re “almost there” interminably, and after about 2 hours we finally reached the Red Banks. Everyone in our group was feeling good and climbing at a similar pace.
Approaching Red Banks
After a brief break we began our ascent up the final steep pitch of Misery Hill. At the top of Misery Hill we were at 13600’ and the effects of the altitude were being felt by some of us. At this point the temperature was still quite cool and the wind was blowing at 20-30 mph.
On Top of Misery Hill: from left to right Chris, Brent, Dave, Julie (kneeling) and Jeff
We traversed the summit col and circled around to the northeast for the final short ascent to the summit. We arrived at the summit to find ourselves in calm, warm and sunny conditions, and all alone! Upon reviewing the summit log we discovered that without realizing we had passed everyone in the dark and were the first to arrive at the summit. It was 7 AM and we had climbed the final 3600’ in 4 hours as opposed to the 6 hours that Dave had expected us to take.
On the Summit!
After a leisurely 45 minutes on the summit we decided to head down, since as they say “ getting to the top is only half of the job”. The down side of summiting so early is that when descending the steep slopes, we were unable to glissade due to the still frozen condition of the snow. We were forced to side step or switchback all the way back to our camp. I had chosen to wear lightweight leather boots and paid the price of a few toenails as a result of my crampons digging into my feet during the descent.
Helen Lake Camp on the way down
After arriving at Helen Lake we proceeded to break camp and prepare for our final slog back to Bunny Flat. With full packs we prepared to glissade wherever possible but found the conditions to be much slushier than the previous day. Some of us were able to paddle our way down and a few people had brought some glissade enhancement equipment. Eventually we donned our snowshoes and walk/slid our way to the car. We were back at the car by 1 PM. In spite of sunscreen, we were a little red, and some of us a lot sore.
It was a great trip with fantastic scenery, great physical challenges and a group of people that made you feel like you’ve known them all your life, even though some us had just met the day before. Thanks to Brent for the great photos and to everyone for so much fun. In the mantra of Dave “ I love to climb” too.