Shasta

Friday morning Luke and I loaded the truck and headed north to Mt. Shasta. With dark clouds and some light rain on the drive we just hoped the weather would cooperate for the holiday weekend. My co-worker, Rob, joined us for the trip. He climbed Mt. Shasta last summer and was excited to try a different route. We were happy to have an experienced climber that could help us navigate the 14,179 foot mountain. To give some perspective, the highest peak in Tahoe is less than 11,000 feet.

We camped at Lake Siskiyou, about 10 minutes outside of town. Friday night, after checking out the little mountain town, we had a low key night at camp by the fire and got ready for the next day. Luke and I had an ice axe and crampon clinic all day Saturday so Rob decided he would get up bright and early (2 am) and climb the mountain.

Rob planning his route

Ellie helping Rob

It's not camping without s'mores

The clinic was fun and informative. We learned how to self arrest and self belay with an ice axe. We also learned different techniques to walk in crampons, and my favorite, how to glissade.

Our instructor with Mt. Shasta in the back

Back at camp relaxing

Sunday all three of us and Miss Ellie spent the day at Castle Lake. We climbed to the top of a surrounding peak, had amazing views of Mt. Shasta, and a great ski ride down to the car.

Castle Lake

Ellie enjoying the snow

Rob looking out towards Mt. Shasta

Luke and Katrina on a very windy ridge top with Shasta in the back

Probably my favorite picture from the trip. I had no idea Luke was getting pelted by the wind with ice balls. The look on his face says it all!

After learning a bit more about Mt. Shasta and how long it takes to climb to the top, Luke and I came to the realization that we would not be able to summit the mountain on this trip. So on Monday we decided to have Rob lead us up as far as we could safely go. We were able to get one picture of us with the mountain as we started our climb, and unfortunately the weather moved in so quickly you couldn't see the mountain top (or too far in front of you) for the rest of the day. We started at Bunny Flat (6950 ft) and climbed to Helen Lake (10,400 ft). By the time we got our gear ready for the ski ride down, you literally could not see more than 5 feet infront of you! We slowly made our way down until the visibility improved enough for us to scram down to the car.

Bunny Flat trailhead

Our climb - straight up the middle

We made it back to the car just as a major hail storm started coming down. It was a hard, but fun climb and a blast skiing down. Luke and I are already thinking about our next trip when we can get to the top.

It started raining Monday night and did not stop so we decided to pack up camp and head home. Great trip! We will definitely be going back soon.