Greg and I both quit our jobs last week so we planned to go to Leavenworth this week but realized the weather might not be very ideal. So we ran south for three days and had a very leisurely time on Shasta. It was his second time and my first on the mountain but neither of us had done The Avalanche Gully route before.After a short hike up in the snow we arrived at the Sierra Club Horse Camp which has a large shelter built in 1922(?). The club owns 740 acres inside the wilderness area and makes the land available to hikers and climbers. We hung out with the camp host and her friend for the evening and watched the weather rage on from the comfort of the lodge and a bottle of Southern Comfort. The only incedent at night was having to convince Greg that he was having a nightmare and the tent was not collapsing. The next morning we hiked along Olbermans Causway (singularly the oddest thing I have ever seen in the backcountry) which is a 1/3 to 1/2 mile long stone pathway that was erected by an old cabin caretaker back in the day for climbers heading up the mountain. We camped at 10,400 that evening at Helen Lake (no lake) and planned for the next morning. Next time I climb Shasta, it wil be in two days instead of three because Greg and I had to kill a lot of time in the tent and we were really bored the whole time. After playing Hold 'Em with rocks, reading every label we could find, taking pictures of everyting we could think of, and considering trying to order a pizza to 10,400 ft, we finally passed out. We woke up at 2am, chased a mouse out of our brekke, and started up the hill by 3am. We moved fast and climbed a small chute to gain the Red Bank before rock and ice fall started. The sun came up shortly after, but not before we both lost feeling in out toes and fingers 
for a short time (shouldnt have stopped moving). After chasing two
disappointing false summits we finally found the real one and got to hang out on top in 5 mph or less wind and sunny skies. On the way down we passed 4 other parties several hours behind us. Couldnt really glissade because all the new snow had filled in the track. While we were heading back down, Greg had two comments I found to be quite funny. One was "I didn't feel like I was going to die once on this trip!" and "Wow, I didn't even swear off mountaineering once this trip!" That really sums up the mountain for us. I highly recommend this route to anyone who wants a mellow mountaineering experience. Great beginner route.
for a short time (shouldnt have stopped moving). After chasing two disappointing false summits we finally found the real one and got to hang out on top in 5 mph or less wind and sunny skies. On the way down we passed 4 other parties several hours behind us. Couldnt really glissade because all the new snow had filled in the track. While we were heading back down, Greg had two comments I found to be quite funny. One was "I didn't feel like I was going to die once on this trip!" and "Wow, I didn't even swear off mountaineering once this trip!" That really sums up the mountain for us. I highly recommend this route to anyone who wants a mellow mountaineering experience. Great beginner route.There are more pics at www.orst.edu/~rothi if you are interested.
below Red bank 
Greg climbing a chute through Red Bank
Above Red Bank 
OMC; alive and kicking at 14,162 ft
1 comment:
sounds like an adventure. speaking of swearing off things, i am swearing off drinking. i had too many shots of something last night....
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