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ubangie
Aug 12, 2002, 5:15 PM
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This weekend a few of us in the Bay Area got together to do a little climbing in the heat of summer. In the heat our thoughts turned to the joy of the cool breezes blowing down glacier filled valleys. Ok, that's a little more poetic than what really happened but the idea for a rc.com gathering on Mt Shasta was formed none the less.
I've bounced the idea off jmlangford, and he suggested we try the Clear Creek route. I think this is an excellent idea as it will allow less experienced mountaineers to join the trip, and it also has a "difficulty 3" (from Mike Zanger's guide book) variation up the Konwakiton Glacier for the more experienced climbers that will allow the whole group to stay in radio contact the entire time.
The plan so far is to shoot for a three day weekend in April. I would like to try for the weekend of 4-4 through 4-6. I'll be on my spring break from 3-28 until 4-6 and can be on the mountain that whole week to check out the routes and set up a base camp.
I'm posting this WAY early for two main reasons. The first is this will be a mountaineering trip and several of the climbers this weekend asked me to post it early to allow time to train for this climb. The second is that Mt. Shasta has a 12 person limit on the size of the groups that are allowed on the mountain. We already have 5 people interested in going
ubangie
doki
radistrad
crazygrl
khanom
That leaves 7 spots open, and we'd like to have enough time to form the teams, have people back out, new people join, bad weather blow in etc... but like I said, I'll try to be on the Mt the whole week so feel free to meet up with me if you can't make it on the trip dates (fair warning; I'll try to get you to sherpa me up some Guinness)
That's the basic plan for now... let's start the posting and see if we can make this a reality I think we can, we have 7 months to plan
Ryan
[ This Message was edited by: ubangie on 2002-08-12 14:21 ]
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radistrad
Aug 12, 2002, 5:30 PM
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What a nice way to describe the unbearable heat we had at Handleys.
I'm starting to train for Shasta...
-Rob
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froggy
Aug 12, 2002, 5:58 PM
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I would love to join~
I don't have too much experience with this sort of thing.. Would that be a problem?
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ubangie
Aug 12, 2002, 9:10 PM
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froggy: it shouldn't be a problem at all, some of the others going have little experience mountaineering also. The Clear Creek route is a "difficulty 1" route and looks to be a great introductory route for climbing on Shasta. Being in good aerobic shape will be the most important thing for this trip as the route appears to be a straight forward one.
This is a good place to post what these difficulty ratings mean. I'll just plagiarize Mike's book...
D1: 3rd class. Moderate terrain and moderate conditions, either rock or snow (we'll be on snow in April), requiring proper footwear, ice axe, crampons. A rope is generally not needed, but may be taken in reserve for less experienced members.
D2: 4th class. A rope is necessary for belaying and protection but the climbing is not very difficult. Traveling on crevassed glaciers may be necessary, but the terrain and route finding are moderate.
D3: Similar to 5th class. Difficult ice and snow or rock requiring specialized equipment and advanced technique. The glaciers may have steep icefalls, many crevasses and difficult route finding.
radistrad: Well I didn't want to scare people away from the bay area, they seem to think we live in a constant 75 deg paradise here, little do they know that for a whole two to three weeks a year the bay turns in to an oven but it's nothing like when I was living in New Orleans, that truly sucked for this snow lover...
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ponyryan
Aug 12, 2002, 9:27 PM
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mmmm shasta week. I wish I could make it, my spring break doesn't coincide. Have fun!
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coreyr
Aug 12, 2002, 9:34 PM
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I'm very interested! After climbing to camp muir on Mt. Rainier in July, I'm hooked on mountaineering. Let me know what I need to do.
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jmlangford
Aug 12, 2002, 9:35 PM
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The Clear Creek side is not monitored like Av Gulch. The permits are self-serve(as of April 2001). People can go up as individuals too-just in case more than 12 want to go. I didn't see any rangers, etc. my entire time over there. Remember, two permits are needed...wilderness and summit.
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jmlangford
Aug 12, 2002, 9:44 PM
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Here is the link to the local mountaineering shop.they have a 24 hour climbing report phone# and the best info on maps, permits, and equipment rental.
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ubangie
Aug 12, 2002, 10:31 PM
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hee hee "stealth" climbing beta Thanks Jody!!!
Your right we can pick up separate permits, and I won't count as part of the main three day group because my permit will be dated for the whole week, that means more room for more people but let's not push it too far the rules are in effect for a reason. The summit permits are $15 for anyone wanting to go above 10,000 feet (we'll be camping at 9,000), each person must have one. The wilderness permits are free and issued to the group.
Jody Can we pick these and the "cat bags" up in McCloud or do we need to stop off in Mt. Shasta City?
The 5th season is an awesome shop, I also highly recommend it for your rentals, their phone # is 530-926-3606 and the hotline is 530-926-5555. Another good shop is in Santa Clara, it's called Western Mountaineering the url is http://www.marmotmountain.com/ and the shop is at San Thomas and El Camino. They charge a little more for rentals but have a great staff and a good equipment selection, they also rent bivy sacks (the 5th doesn't).
[ This Message was edited by: ubangie on 2002-08-12 15:32 ]
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russmanswife
Aug 12, 2002, 10:38 PM
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SORRY JODY, RUSS CAN'T GO TO THIS ONE
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russman
Aug 13, 2002, 4:18 AM
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far enough in advance....I will see what I can do...I plan on spending all fall and early winter hunting and packing out our elk kills....so I should be in good shape (if all goes as planned) but I will work on the other half
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jmlangford
Aug 13, 2002, 4:27 AM
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Hey Russ, You work on convincing my wife and I'll work on convincing yours!
The only place catbags are required is above Horse Camp on the Av Gulch route.
Here is a 3D image of the east face routes of Shasta. It is from the USFS.
[ This Message was edited by: jmlangford on 2002-08-12 21:43 ]
[ This Message was edited by: jmlangford on 2002-08-12 21:45 ]
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climbchick
Aug 13, 2002, 4:41 AM
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April is a bit too far in the future for me to commit to anything right now but I'm definitely interested and will grab a spot if I can and if any are left when the time gets a bit closer.
So does the variation have any technical ice?
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madturtle
Aug 13, 2002, 5:05 AM
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I'd like to say I'm a definate but like any true climber I generaly fly by the seat of my pants. So I can't make any plans this far in advance but if all works out I'm in.
I actually attempted clear creek this past May but ended up backing off at about 12,500'. We were battling 40+ winds and ran out of time and juice. Keep in mind it is a much longer trip in April than it is now due to the road closures.
For the record I sherpa'd my own guiness up there but was way to exhausted to even consider drinking the damn thing, so I ended up sherpaing it right back home. I hope I haven't shamed myself by admitting I turned down a cold, hard earned beer.
So put me in as a solid maybe...
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climber1
Aug 13, 2002, 8:01 PM
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I would like to participate.
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ubangie
Aug 15, 2002, 12:41 AM
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Yep everyone is welcome to tag along...
climbchick; I don't know much about the Konwakiton Glacier route but I'll ask around for some beta next weekend when I'm at the Castle Crags with Doki. There is technical ice on the north face but that would be a day ski trip around the Mt or a summit trip up and over, either way a pain unless you have a few extra days to play with.
All this planning, and April is still a long way off I can't wait to get on the snow!
[ This Message was edited by: ubangie on 2002-08-14 17:42 ]
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jmlangford
Aug 15, 2002, 1:22 AM
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When I was on the Clear Creek route there was constant rockfall on Konwakiton. Even early in the morning. The route looked spectacular, big vertical icefalls and deep blue crevasses. It is listed as class 4/5. The Wintun Glacier seemed a lot safer and there is a good route over to that Class 4/5 route from the Clear Creek base camp. there are actually three routes on the Wintun with all of them 4/5. Hope this helps.
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alpinerocket
Aug 19, 2002, 10:56 PM
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I would like to join you guys on this climb. I have all the gear needed. I am comfortable on snow and ice, however my glacier experience is very limited almost neil. No glacers in Utah. Hope to see you in April. John
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