It had been since last June since I had dawned my crampons and was getting itchy for some mountaineering. Not since Rainer had I heard the crunch of hard snow and ice under my my plastic boots with ice axe in tow.
I decided to make a recon trip to the glaciated northern side of Mount Shasta. The last and first time I'd been on Shasta was with Russ in May of 2011. We accomplished an amazing 24 hour car to car climb of avalanche gulch to the summit. It was truly an amazing snow climb! In particular the winter/spring of 2011 was one of the wettest in a very long time. 7' of snow greeted us at the parking lot (7,000 above sea level) in May. Fast forward to this year, 3rd straight year in a row of dry conditions. Rangers reported snow fall of 35% of normal for Mt. Shasta. The Northgate trail head which normally carries snow until at least June was reported snow free by mid April.
The Plan:
- Day #1 - Drive the 8.5 hours from Fresno to the northern side of Shasta. Hike up to the approximate location of "Northgate Base camp" on hopefully dry trail as long as possible.
- Day #2 - Stroll up the Hotlum-Bolam Ridge (AI1-2) to understand the scale of the north side of Shasta. In particular, to take a look at the Hotlum glacier for future endeavors. Pack up, hike out and drive to Redding.
You see, this was a two part trip. Part 1 was the trip to Mount Shasta, part two was a trip to Point Reyes to stay in a B&B for a few days. My partner in crime for both trips, Kristine. She had agreed to hike up and camp with me on Shasta then chill while I scouted the upper mountain.
Monday April 14th:
We jumped in the Taco and were northbound 99 by a little after 4:00am. Kristine proceeded to pass out while I drove. The hours flew by and before I knew it we had passed Sacramento and we're in northern California.We stopped for breakfast and to swap drivers in Williams about an hour north of Sac. I was suppose to nap during the next section but of course that didn't happen. Topped off with maybe two hours of sleep the night before, I was exhausted to say the least. 8:30 hours later and about 45 minutes of a rough dirt road we arrived the the Northgate trail head.
Mountaineering trips require additional gear especially if going in to the 4th season. My bag weighted over 50lbs. This was by far the heaviest load I'd carried but our plan was 4 miles at max with and elevation gain of about 2,000'. You can see my exhaustion and 50lbs pack in one photo!
Our hike up the trail was mostly dry for the first 2 miles or so. Since we were on not much of a timeline our pace was mellow. As the miles went by we gained some elevation and the northern aspect of the mountain proper came in to view.
Eventually, our dry trail ran out and we encountered more and more deep snow drifts. The warm April sun made for a post-holeing nightmare. If we were not breaking through snow, we were getting our boots wet in the loose volcanic mud. As 5:30 pm rolled around we both had enough of lugging heavy packs through drifts and mud and called it a day.
We packed snow down and deployed the Marmot Thor 4 season. Such a glorious tent!
Sunset that night was very pleasant with our view looking northwest towards Oregon.
Kristine's first winter mountaineering trip (or any for that matter).
The snow melting process took much more time than I recalled. There is so much water needed. For an example, first we need water just to drink after finishing the hike. Next, water to cook dinner. Then its important to fill water bottles for the following day and then maybe a hot drink before bed. It's possible that I melted close to 6 liters of water in 2 hours.
I guess there was a lunar eclipse that night. I got up to take a piss in the middle of the night but most of it was hidden by cloud cover. After my extremely exhausting day I crashed hard for sleep. My plan was an alpine start to head up the hill. That didn't happen... I slept, and it was awesome.
Tuesday April 15th:
The following morning after breakfast, I departed the tent around 9 to begin my trek up the hill. The snow was still firm and made for good walking snow. Even though I brought my crampons, I could always find terrain to avoid the steep stuff.
The photo below was taken around my high point. Due to my late start and wanting to get back to Redding by a decent time, I didn't want to go higher. I suppose this was around 11,000'. The right flank of the Hotlum glacier is visible. In the center is the Hotlum-Bolum Ridge.
I did find a bunch of rock wind shelters where the Northgate base camp area is. I noted the location of the sites and determined with a heavy pack one is looking at a 4-5 hour trek from the trail head pending trail conditions.
I returned to our camp around 12:30, packed up and we were out! 2 and a half hours later we arrived at the Taco and began the bumpy drive out.
Afterthought:
I'm getting too old to do a marathon drive and hike in the same day. It will be noted that for future trips to Shasta, I'll drive the first day and crash out at the trail head. The northern side of Shasta had a completely different feel from the south side. In fact I felt a sense of wilderness that I didn't feel on the south side. All in all, great recon trip with Kristine!
