April 19, 2016, Mount Shasta

Shasta had been on my list of peaks to bag for a long time now and the weather finally looked solid enough this week to justify attempting a long drive in my '98 Corolla. I started up Avalanche Gulch trail at 1am and found the route to be extremely icy and consolidated. Warmer weather was supposedly moving in later in the day which certainly helped soften the snow enough for a glorious run down from Misery Hill. (The name is fitting. That hill sucks.) For those considering a follow-up trip, the road is fully accessible and snow begins at the parking lot. A nice skin track and multiple boot paths go up from Old Ski bowl. Icier conditions at the summit block made me dump the splitboard; I can imagine people ski off the top but conditions weren't optimal early in the morning. There are several routes going up and I almost wish I had done a Shastina-Shasta traverse or one of the more challenging Northern routes. Anyway, finally made it to 14,000ft for the first time!