Climbing Mount Shasta

Hello. I'm writing to see if anyone would like to climb Mount Shasta this summer. Please email me at wagnerjjj@hotmail.com if you're interested. Thank you.

James -
You say you want to climb Shasta this summer. I assume you are aware that by June, and certainly July, Avalanche Gulch (most popular route) and Cascade Gulch are loose scree slopes (2 steps up, slide 1 step down type of scree). The snow is usually melted off by late May (depends on the year, of course). There are the various glacier routes, but those all require fairly long approaches (and are technical ice routes).

You can get a lot of current information at http://www.shastaavalanche.org/ Note that Matt Hill, the main climbing ranger for many years, left at the end of this past season, though the new crew is quite good and very helpful. Also, the Annual Pass at $30 is a bargain (especially considering the short-term pass is $20).

Thank you for your note. I had read Climbing Mount Shasta (by Steve Lewis) and various guidebooks, various websites, including the one you just pointed me to. I knew it could be no later than the first week of July. I may have a friend coming at the end of May for a visit, and he's interested. If not then, I think I'd like to do it around my birthday--the 4th of July. That site you just linked to suggests things should still be okay at that time, but no later. Are you interested in climbing Shasta?

Not this year. Too many things going on and too many other hills to hike.