Mt. Shasta this year

 Shade of Mt.Shasta during the sun rise

   This year snow is melting faster than a typical year.  The climbing season for Mt. Shasta is shifting earlier.   Originally I had planed to climb Mt.Shasta in May.  However we decided to sell our current home and move to other place in April.  So that we need to clean up our current house and look for a house.  I do not have time to climb Mt. Shasta.   Also, I got injured my left arm when I ran in the morning in early May.   I guess it is a sign not to go climbing this year.   I gave up to climb Mt. Shasta this year.

Climbing condition in June in 2013

I checked Mt. Shasta Climbing Advisory. It seems that Avalanche Gulch is still decent shape.  So if people who wants to climb Mt. Shasta this year.  It is better to go there now!  It is probably not a good idea to wait for July this year.  According to the site, Misery hills is free of snow already!  Last year, there was plenty of snow over there!!

Typical year

In a typical year May to July is a good season to climb Mt. Shasta.  However the past a few years, the snow condition is very different.  In 2011, even July 4th week, there was a lot of snow around Bunny flat.  However, last year, 2012, there is no snow in Bunny flat.  Some snow showed up near Sierra club lodge.  So it really depends on year.  So, whenever people plan to climb Mt. Shasta, it is better to check the condition with the web site.

Gear

Helmet, Ice axe and crampon are required to climb Mt. Shasta.   Climbing Mt. Shasta especially via Avalanche Gulch, the idea is climbing through snow.  Therefore, people need to pick a season that there is enough snow in the climbing route.  Late season in summer, it becomes hard to climb red banks without snow.  It seems there were some people who climbed Mt. Shasta very late season, but it sounds like not fun climbing.

For camping at Helen Lake, I brought a light backpacking tent, that is REI Half Dome 2, last year.  This tent uses a mesh fabric on the top half.   As long as the weather is not extreme weather that can be notified by a weather forecast before go to the mountain, it is still usable.  The bottom line is put good anchors to build a tents with fly sheet.  Many people used a similar backpacking type tents in Helen Lake area.

When I climbed there last year, the weather at Helen Lake is really mild and almost no wind.  However, once climbed Red banks, the wind was getting stronger.  It was not very bad.  However, we need to ware a jackets and over pants.   It is always better to carry extra close when attack the summit.

I have all equipments, so that I do not have to rent them.  However, I heard that people can rent them from a sports shop in Shasta City named "5th Seasons" .  When I passed by the shop, I saw many people were there to rent them.

Probably, I will post some other article for Mt. Shasta later.