Mt. Shasta glaciers, Hotlum-Wintun Ridge

October 17-18th

I left Sacramento loaded up with the appropriate supplies around 8:30pm. Getting to the Brewer Creek trailhead is not very straightforward and at least an hour drive off of I-5 (30-40min of which are on dirt roads). If you are approaching the mountain from the southwest head east on Hwy 89 towards McCloud, 3 miles after passing through central McCloud turn left on to Pilgrim Creek Rd (Forest rte 13), 7 miles later turn left onto Military Pass Rd (Forest rte 19) you’ll be on this road for around 13 miles, at most intersections stay left. There are signs every now and then that will point you in the right direction. The later half of the dirt road is pretty rough with ruts and large rocks however I was able to make it to the trail head in a ford focus. (I have however been stopped by unexpected snow banks before when hiking for Ash Creek Falls)

I started hiking between 1 and 2am. It was a clear night and the moon had not quite risen; it was not too cold and there was zero wind. I headed south for about 45min in the shelter of the trees until I came to a clearing with a magnificent moonlit view of the eastern face of Mt. Shasta.

Although there was only a quarter of the moon showing it was enough light that combined with the reflective nature of the snow I no longer needed my headlamp. I continued making my way up the mountain picking my route in an effort to be as direct as possible yet avoid areas that appeared to be prone to rock fall.

A small portion of the Hotlum Glacier

At some point I had to put on crampons, and not too long after, a helmet and my ice axe. By the moonlight I could just barely make out an area of snow ahead that didn’t quite look normal, I took a long exposure shot with my camera and realized that I was coming up on a glacier field. While beautiful I had no intention of trying to move through it alone, I headed left to continue on the ridge between the Hotlum-Wintun Glaciers.

The sun rose peaking out above some low level clouds bathing me and the mountain in warmth and light as I continued up the ridge between the second and third largest glaciers on the mountain. The north side of Wintun glacier seemed to be more like a giant sheet of ice with fins that stuck up above the snow, where as the Hotlum glacier was much rougher looking with deep crevasses both exposed and hidden.  (I am actually not sure that I was ever near the Wintun glacier, I think it was further to the southwest)

Shark-fin like ice that probably was not Wintun Glacier   

Hiking/climbing at altitude is difficult. I fully understand that my cardiovascular system is not as strong as it used to be or could be, but I was still amazed at how hard it was to chip away at those vertical feet. The last few hours of the ascent I could take no more than 20 steps at one time without having to stop and rest for about a minute. For my next high altitude adventure I plan to bring an O₂Sat monitor, and maybe wear my heart rate monitor with my GPS watch. It will be interesting to see some of the acute physiological changes as I push myself in such an environment as Mt. Shasta.

GPS watch ran out, the red took 5 hours, the black took 6 hours

One of many crevasses on the Hotlum Glacier

I had set for myself a number of safety guidelines that I would hold to during this adventure, one of which was to be headed off the mountain by 12pm with the goal of being back at my car between 2-3pm. When at 11:45am I encountered a solid sheet of ice extending up towards the summit I realized that the best thing to do was turn around and head home. I am at this point not experienced enough, nor do I have the correct equipment to continue on ice alone. It was not with a sense of regret or disappointment that I chose to turn around, but rather a sense of relief; I was tired and the allure of the summit will never be greater than my respect and fear of the danger that encompasses such an endeavor.

Solid ice stymied my path so close to the top 

While descending can be much faster (10.5hrs vs. 3.5hrs) it is more dangerous than the ascent assuming one does not have any problems with acute mountain sickness, in which case descending is the best thing to do. I took the opportunity of the decent to practice self-arresting with the ice axe. Depending on the degree of the slope and the consistency of the snow or ice an unexpected slip, fall, or simply tripping over your crampons can potentially send you sliding very very quickly down the mountain. Practicing these techniques (safely) is well worth the time. It can also provide a quick way to descend a large portion of the mountain. By 3:15 I was back at my car eager to get my backpack and boots off.

So Close

Next time I adventure on the mountain I would like to spend one or two nights so that I might be able to take things more slowly having more time to explore different areas of the mountain.

No camera is good enough to replicate the real thing