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Mt. Shasta June 15-17, 2012
#25209 06/18/12 08:39 PM
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 659
Akichow Offline OP
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Whitney remains my favorite. The one to whom you return, the one to whom you come home.

White, though was my first. Maybe I was a little tentative as a newbie, but White showed me the way (the jeep road helped).

Kili, well, we had a really great time, but we both know it was just a fling. I don't do long distance. At least not that long distance. And Kili doesn't want to move.

Shasta's siren song has been playing softly through my mind since last year, when a whiteout at the thumb forced me down. This last weekend, I went back to try to consummate the deal. Shasta put up some serious obstacles, but ultimately relented, giving me some sore muscles and bruises, and a few moments of pure happiness.

Campsite at 50/50 with Avalanche Gulch in the background. (My Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 did fine.)


Sunset at 50/50


Mt. Eddy from Avalanche Gulch, with Shasta's mighty shadow covering the landscape


Climbers going up Avalanche Gulch to the Thumb, with Red Banks in the background


Shasta summit in sight (climbers for scale). Winds were 35-plus MPH.


On a clear day...




Re: Mt. Shasta June 15-17, 2012
Akichow #25211 06/18/12 09:43 PM
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S
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Thanks for the report and the pictures, Karin. It has been a few years since I climbed Shasta. Is your campsite at 50/50 somewhere between Horse Camp and Helen Lake?

I once climbed up the old ski bowl from the end of the road, and then over the small ridge to Helen Lake. It made for a higher trail head.

It looks like you had ample snow for the glissade back down. Last time I did it was in August. Not enough snow for glissading, but plenty of huge rocks and sun cups. mad And in August, there was so much smog from forest fires, all we could see was the tip of Mt Lassen. June is the perfect time for Shasta.

If anyone is interested, here's a link to Gmap4 with Mt Shasta.

Re: Mt. Shasta June 15-17, 2012
Steve C #25214 06/18/12 10:06 PM
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Akichow Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: Steve C
Is your campsite at 50/50 somewhere between Horse Camp and Helen Lake?


Yes, it was maybe 500 feet below Helen Lake. Quieter, cleaner... There are also some moraines in between Helen Lake and 50/50 where there were a few tents.

Originally Posted By: Steve C
It looks like you had ample snow for the glissade back down. Last time I did it was in August. Not enough snow for glissading, but plenty of huge rocks and sun cups. mad And in August, there was so much smog from forest fires, all we could see was the tip of Mt Lassen. June is the perfect time for Shasta.


This was my first time glissading, and the conditions were perfect. We had a 1500' glissade down from just below the thumb to Helen Lake.

This weekend was a perfect time to do Shasta. The snow was soft and you hardly needed crampons on Avalanche Gulch ... even someone like me who is at the starting end of the learning curve. But we could literally see the snow melting before our eyes. Horse Camp on the climb down looked nothing like Horse Camp on the climb up. And "sketchy" was a term I heard from time to time, particularly above the thumb, where a crevasse was starting to form where glacier meets rock, though I gather that there are alternatives.

I love that you can see Lassen so clearly from Shasta.


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