From the parking lot The spring of 2011 was odd in the Northwest. Winter lingered for a very long time in the mountains, well through May, perhaps through all of June as well. Powder days are excellent, but once the transition to a spring snowpack begins, good conditions depend upon the freeze-thaw cycle of the snow overnight. A desire to get into spring played into our decision to go down to climb Mt Shasta in Northern California over Memorial Day. Many hours of lost work were spent emailing back and forth, checking the weather and reading trip reports. Friend Skye and I finally decided it was worth it... and an alpine start from Seattle was in order.
The crew was rounded out by some of Skye's friends on snowshoes, Eric, Ben and Aimee. While getting lunch in town it snows and hails for a few minutes.... excellent! Weather is much better at the trailhead and we can see clearly up to the Red Banks and thankfully get some great beta from a ski ranger- we learned of the Trinity- a variation for the descent off to skiers right of Red Banks- even further than the "left of heart" variation.
Climbers right of Avy Gulch After some route finding "fun" we eventually make our way to Horse Camp and set up the tents. Only after cooking most of dinner and becoming more grumpy with the growing winds do we realize that we should instead be hanging out inside the stone hut. The plan for the next day is to move camp up to Helen Lake, make camp and ditch items and push for the summit if the weather is good. Thoughts are even entertained of then accompanying the snowshoers again on Sunday to the summit. A nice goal.
Oh Sweet, Skye is stopping, maybe we'll take a rest As we roll out of camp... the wind is STRONG- blowing downhill very hard. I loose balance at one point on a... say... 5 degree slope. I start to slide down the slope. A 5 degree slope. I put my whippet in the snow... plenty of stopping power, but the power of the wind has expressed itself. We continue skinning up (skipons in full use) stopping to brace ourselves when the wind gusts up. In a sheltered area below Lake Helen we bury all our nonessential gear and continue up. 45 minutes later we have climbed 600 additional feet and are at Lake Helen- very slow going. We break and try to recoup, but I am too slow and tired to summit on this day- after a half hearted effort above Lake Helen we descend back to camp for one of the most relaxing afternoons spent in camp. The wind has eased, the skies have cleared. Surely if I had been feeling better there was a sufficient weather window to have summited. We hope it will last until the next day!
The Route A nap, lots of sugary drinks and several bowls of Indian food have fortified me, and the next morning when we roll out of camp I am feeling much stronger. Heaving skis onto our packs we proceed up the steep slopes with crampons. I lead the way, though utilizing existing steps, and fully employ the rest step... going three or five before taking a brief, but very necessary breather. Dawn breaks and the colors below us are beautiful. Unfortunately I've left my camera in camp- must remember to take my point and shoot on these hard climbs! A few dicy icy sections are quickly passed and we are up to Red Banks, then up to Misery Hill and finally to a small wind shelter just below the summit. All that is left is a 10 minute traverse and a few final switchbacks. The wind on the traverse is nasty and despite being so close, I bag it and wait in the wind shelter. I would later wish the thought of ditching my skis, like most folks were doing, had crossed my mind, but I was content to sit, eat and warm my hands. I was happy with my effort- I was above 14,000'. Looking forward to the descent.
Skye skied off the summit and had to climb back up to meet me, and then we were off on our descent. We followed some other skiers for a few turns and then ended up directly above Red Banks. Not where we had wanted to be, even though our Trinity goal was abandoned due to the conditions. We entered into a bowl on skiers right of Red Banks (perhaps this might even be left of heart?) and enjoyed several thousand feet of excellent snow before it quickly got wet and heavy above camp. A few rough falls fed fears of a difficult ski out with our overnight packs on. Thankfully after breaking camp we found straightforward conditions all the way down to the car.
Even though I wasn't able to summit it was still an amazing trip- Skye got to ski off the summit, I carried my skis to 14,000' and we linked turns in some amazing early spring conditions. Several weeks later I would read trip reports of continuous corn all the way down the route and even better conditions on the glaciated routes off the north side of the mountain. Objectives for the future!
