On a family road trip to Oregon, I took one gaze at Mt. Shasta and assured myself I would be on top of that mountain in the near future.
Attending college in Reno was better for access to the Eastern Sierra than for my education. I spent the summers of my Freshman and Sophomore year camped out in the back of my pickup truck to climb the spectacular granite on Mount Russell, the exposed traverse of the Palisade Crest or the Disneyland-esque summit of Mount Whitney.
With the snow pack at record lows in 2013 due to drought, it seemed unlikely we could tackle the last peak on my California 14er's list (Shasta) before the summer was over. Discussing with my roommates we debated over whether the loose rock danger and long distance of the Clear Creek route was worth it. The traditional route on Mount Shasta is a straightforward snow climb up the famous Avalanche Gulch which usually melts too far by June to be safe. In its infancy YouTube was a tool few of us understood at the time. My roommate showed me a detailed video taken mere days before of a successful push on the Clear Creek route. That's all we needed to see and we agreed to leave when our weekend hit.
Leaving Reno in the late afternoon, we cruised into the hamlet of McCloud a few hours later in the dying dusk. Negotiating the deep rutted sand the Subaru barely made it to the trail head. Alarms set for 2:30am we began our restless sleep, minds full of anxiety for the climb.
In the morning darkness we shouldered packs, paid our summit fees and started off down the trail. Other parties had joined us at the trail but we were well ahead of the pack. The first few miles are a cake walk, as we exited the treeline and the pre dawn glow began to light up the impressive mountain.
The Clear Creek route on Shasta is known as the easiest route by technicality but is often recommended to be done in at least 2 days to it's length (16 miles) and the huge vertical relief of 8000'. The majority of that vertical culminates in a nearly 6,000 foot ascent up loose scree in about 3 miles. As any guide book will tell you the scree becomes a nightmare as you battle your way towards 13,000 feet. Sinking our boots into the loose rock was '2 steps forward, 1 step back'. Finally after a seemingly endless effort I reached the Mushroom Rock, one of the few markers on the route and a sign we were within striking distance of the summit. Happy to collapse and enjoy a few snacks, I watched my roommate Colin still several hundred feet below us. When our group reassembled 30 minutes later, Colin fell to the ground and bemoaned the effects of elevation. We had raced from Reno (elevation 4,500 feet) just the day before and now we were above 13,000 feet.
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| A nice place to nap, C-Boy just below the summit of Shasta. |
Taking our time at Mushroom Rock, we noted we were still ahead of our set 'turn around' time but Colin was feeling weak and we debated our best strategy. At this point a young fit couple appeared, we recognized them from the trail head starting hours after us. They asked if we were okay and offered encouragement, with Colin looking ill laying in the dirt they fed him chocolate. We said goodbye to our new friends and they pushed on to the summit. The healing power of the chocolate convinced Colin to not give up and we headed up the mountain further.
Reaching the base of the final scramble to the summit I elected to lead the climb. To lighten our load we brought no rope, harnesses or climbing gear. The Class 4 pitch seemed like light work to Andy and I who lusted for sporty alpine scrambles. Starting up the scramble the rock felt akin to the scree slope we had just battled up. I delicately reached for hand holds and started to feel uneasy with the poor rock quality. Only 15 feet off the deck I tapped for a hold for my left hand and without warning a microwave size block cuts lose and begins hurtling towards Colin, somehow he looks up in time and the rock grazes within inches of his head. "Fuck, I almost killed my friend". We yell to each other and the boys position themselves further out of the way. Finishing the scramble we take our time to explore the snowfields and translucent pools along the wide plateau. Taking pictures on the true summit block I'm elated to know my 14er quest is over.
The walk down is filled with scree skiing, our shoes filling with rocks over and over. My legs are totally shot and it's late afternoon by the time we reach the car. Backpacking food is overlooked for celebratory Double Bacon Cheeseburgers in McCloud. Andy is keen to get back to Reno already, this man is clearly an animal. Limping to the Subaru, the drive home is silent as we arrive in Reno and collapse into our beds.
The CA 14er's:
- Mount Whitney
- Mount Williamson
- White Mountain Peak
- North Palisade
- Mount Shasta
- Mount Sill
- Mount Russell
- Split Mountain
- Mount Langley
- Mount Tyndall
- Mount Muir
- Middle Palisade
Finished 08/13