Mount Shasta Summit Trips
Mount Shasta, at 14,179 feet, is California’s premier ‘big mountain’ venue. With a non-glaciated South side and a very glaciated North side, Mount Shasta offers both beginner mountaineering routes as well as more technical routes with glaciers as large as you’ll find on any other Cascade peak such as Mount Rainier or Mount Hood. Through our partnership with International Alpine Guides, we bring you over 40 years of experience mountain & ski guiding on in the area.
We offer beginner, intermediate & advanced guided summit climbs, glacier skills courses and exciting ski descents on Mount Shasta from April till September. Come join us!
Avalanche Gulch
Mt. Shasta is perfect as a first-time mountaineering experience for those interested in climbing big snow-covered mountains.
In our 3 day beginner’s itinerary, we will take a more leisurely approach to climb to the summit via the standard Avalanche Gulch route. (After mid July we move over to the Clear Creek route for better conditions). We believe three days provides more time to properly acclimate and learn all the necessary basic mountaineering skills such as:
Ice axe and crampon use
Ice axe self arrest
Snow climbing technique
Basic rope travel
Along the way we strive to ensure personal attention, fine food, and lots of fun.
Hotlum-Bolum Ridge
The Hotlum-Bolum Ridge on Shasta’s North side is a great intermediate level mountaineering objective for those looking for more of a challenge and wilderness experience than the Avalanche Gulch Route. The route skirts between the Hotlum and Bolum glaciers from a more remote base camp and involves somewhat steeper and slightly more technical climbing than the Avalanche Gulch route. As a result, we run this climb at a lower guide to guest ratio of one guide to three guests.
In our 3 day Shasta North side climb we leave out of a North side trail head to establish a quiet base camp at the base of the route. The views and the wilderness solitude are breathtaking. On day two we will cover all the basic mountaineering skills and introduce some more intermediate skills such as:
Ice axe and crampon use
Ice axe self arrest
Snow climbing and alpine ice climbing technique
Rope travel using snow anchors and belaying
Day three is the big push to the summit with an early alpine start. The views are spectacular. After our summit attempt, we descend back to camp, pack up, and head back to town.
Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue Course
Our glacier travel & crevasse rescue course is designed for those looking to take their mountaineering & alpine climbing skills to the next level. This is a comprehensive mountaineering course conducted on the beautiful Hotlum Glacier - Mt Shasta's heavily glaciated north side.
Technical mountaineering instruction includes:
Glacier Travel & Navigation
Rope Team Travel & Belaying
Crevasse Rescue
Alpine Ice Climbing
Glacial Navigation
Crevasse rescue training will include all hauling systems and one-on-one rescue techniques. We will also do some ice climbing on the glacier features or out of an open crevasse.
The course culminates with a climb of Mount Shasta via a spectacular technical glacier route - The Hotlum Glacier. The route follows an S curve past three ice falls and numerous crevasse crossings. The Hotlum Glacier has all the features of a large cascade glacier and provides a great glaciated mountaineering challenge right here in California.
Along the way we strive to ensure personal attention, good times and lots of fun! Perfect climbing and mountaineering training for those who have goals that include the large glaciated peaks of the world...or for those who simply want a taste of those glaciated peaks closer to home.