Saturday, April 21, 2018

Mt Shasta - Casaval Ridge solo

Mt. Shasta is really one of my favorite mountains for spring climbing. It has over 7,000 feet of elevation gain, most of it on a highly enjoyable ridge. Well consolidated snow, great views and short bits of exposure make it one of the more enjoyable routes on the mountain. 

Mt. Shasta's Casaval ridge. - Photo credit - Mt Shasta Avalanche Center
 I had climbed the route last year with Mitchell, but we were forced off the ridge due to some rock fall. So this time, I wanted to complete the entire route.

I drove up Friday night, and slept in the parking lot at Bunny Flat. I woke up around 7, and had a leisurely start.  I dropped my tent about 2000' up the ridge at 10 am, and then headed up to try and do the entire route in a day.

Morning view of Mt. Shasta from Bunny flat. Casaval ridge is to the left.

I by passed a large group also camping on the ridge, maybe a guided group? They had a massive tent that slept about 8 people!

Tent on the ridge
 Eventually I arrived at the steep traversing section of the ridge, with many gendarmes. A very interesting section of the climb.

Starting on the ridge proper
 
Steep traversing section


One of the many gendarmes on the ridge
After many hours on the ridge, I eventually crested the rim arriving at the summit crater. This part of the climb is the worst. Going from sea-level to 14,000' is rough. You think you are done, but then you have to go up one more big hill, and then a long flat section, then another short hill to reach the true summit. This last section would only take an hour if I had been acclimated, but I was sick, nauseous and feeling the altitude, so it took me at least 2 hours.

Misery hill. Ugh. The last section on the crater before reaching the true summit (back).
 I reached the summit, and descended Avalanche Gulch, then traversed back to my camp on the ridge. It took me about 12 hours from car-to-camp. Not fast, but reasonable given my lack of acclimitization.

A fun summit, and a good training run for Denali, which is coming up very quickly....
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 17, 2022 at 7:54 PM

    Hey man thank you for the post! I know I’m a little behind here but I came across this while planning my own attempt for spring 2023. Most likely will be a solo climb and I’m concerned with crossing the “catwalk” towards the end without being roped up. Was it as sketchy as some of the photos/videos make it look? All of my climbing experience has been in the Rockies here in Colorado and Shasta will be my first out of state venture, I’d just hate to get all the way up just to get turned around at the catwalk. If I dont commit to Casaval Im going to try the West Face route to avoid any crowds in Avalanche Gulch. I’ve got your post bookmarked, and maybe you’ll see this comment. Any feed back would be super appreciated! Happy climbing and stay safe!

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 27, 2023 at 4:56 PM

      Just before the catwalk You can trend left( north)and move onto the west face route. This is generally the route used on the descent if not heading down the gulch. It’s a good choice if it’s late in the spring (holds it’s snow longer)the catwalk is to sketchy or is badly rimed,

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    2. AnonymousOctober 27, 2023 at 4:59 PM

      Practice your Low axe “German technique “

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