Mount Shasta is one of my favorite mountains. Rising tall above the surrounding northern CA plains, you can see it from 2 hours away on the approach from Hwy 5. I didn’t take many photos on this trip because of how tired I was the entire time, but here’s the story of David and I summiting this 14,000 ft active volcano.

One year ago, my coworker David flew up to SF to climb Shasta but we had to cancel the trip due to bad weather. This year he booked a more last minute flight, and in the days leading up to our planned outing we watched in anticipation as the forecast cleared up for an ideal summit attempt.

We got up in San Jose at around 5am to begin the 5 hr drive to the trailhead. This was a record snow year, and in our packs we had a bit more gear than usual. Avalanche danger was low, but we still decided to pick up some safety equipment from a shop in Mt Shasta City before making our way to Bunny Flat trailhead at 6,900ft.As expected, the snow at the trailhead was so high that it completely covered the National Forest sign. We strapped on our snowshoes here and started the trek to Helen Lake following a steady conga line of climbers and skiers, who were easily visible against the pillowy slopes of Avalanche Gulch.

We made it into camp at 10,000 ft, just as the heat started to get unbearable. Settling into a tent site already dug out by some skiers the day before, we gathered snow in bags to melt for water. The rest of the day was uneventful as we cooked dinner, watched an epic sunset, and zipped into our sleeping bags by 8pm.

At 2 in the morning on Mothers day we woke up to start our climb in the dark. I slept poorly not because it was cold, but because the wind was so loud and the tent flapping kept me awake. Shuffling past some guided groups on the way up, we made it up the Red Banks, the steepest part of the climb about an hour after sunrise. The views here could not have been better, and we could see the shadow of the mountain far in the distance.

I really started feeling the altitude at around 12000 ft, and the going got slower. I decided to drop my pack at the base of Misery Hill and continue to the summit on crampons, one trekking pole and ice axe only.

David was a bit further ahead but we could now see the summit. Here is also when I realized I left my fruit snacks in the pack, and for the rest of the way up I thought about the sugar rush i was missing out on now but would be a nice treat later on during the descent.At 8 am, we crested the final hill and all that was left was the last couple hundred feet of the summit block. 30 minutes later, we were on top. We had done it!The descent started slowly, and i was pretty exhausted by the time we got back to Red Banks. Some people started glissading (sliding on butt) down the steep slope to save energy, so we did the same. Not only was this super fun and fast, I was able to get some extra practice with my self-arrest technique.At Helen lake I took a nap before packing up our stuff to continue down the mountain. This was easily the worst part of the trip, with all the skiers zooming past us while we post-holed down the melting hillside even with snowshoes on. I made a mental note to bring skis up to Helen lake for the descent if I ever did this again. David had more gas left in the tank than me, so he was far ahead but waited patiently close to the end so we could finish it together. Incredibly tired and blistered, we returned to the car at 5pm, just as the rental shop was about to close. What a climb!