June 19 â 21, Mt Shasta, Avy Gulch w/ Dad
6/15/06
US elsewhere
2290
2
As a belated Fathers Day gift I took my 59 year old father on a slow climb up Avalanche Gulch on Mt Shasta. We were joined by several of my fathers friends. My father was hiking, but I brought my skis. I stowed my skis above the Red Banks; below which he would glissade and I would ski. This worked well for us.
I met my father and his friends at Horse Camp on the evening of the 19th where they had arrived several hours earlier. All the campsites here are on snow (at least that we could find). The next day on the 20th we climbed the 2500vft to Helen Lake. I took a run on the pitch between Helen Lake and 50/50 Flat and I found excellent corn. The next day was our summit day. We woke at 3am and left our camp at 4am. It was very windy, and there was a ton of climbers in the gulch for a weekday (probably due to it being the solstice). There was also a lot of ice fall in the gulch. I was hit by 3 large chunks of ice; one of which hit me in the face and left a cut above my lip.
Above Red Banks the wind was relentless. The final 20 feet to the summit we hunched down as to not be blown off the mountain. My father did a good job getting to the summit. I posted this on TTips and I will say it again here: A lot of us can blast to the summit in a day, but to many getting to the top of Mt Shasta is a significant achievement. Im proud of my father for making it to the summit. This was his 3rd time.
I retrieved my skis at the Thumb Rock/Red Banks saddle which we descended from around 1PM. The skier's left side of avy gulch was still pretty firm, bit it was perfectly edgable. Down lower I traversed under the trinity chutes/left of heart and found excellent, smooth corn all the way to Helen Lake.
The southside of Shasta on the evening of the 19th:
My father and I on the summit plateau:
My father glissading, and me taking photos with my skis on:
I met my father and his friends at Horse Camp on the evening of the 19th where they had arrived several hours earlier. All the campsites here are on snow (at least that we could find). The next day on the 20th we climbed the 2500vft to Helen Lake. I took a run on the pitch between Helen Lake and 50/50 Flat and I found excellent corn. The next day was our summit day. We woke at 3am and left our camp at 4am. It was very windy, and there was a ton of climbers in the gulch for a weekday (probably due to it being the solstice). There was also a lot of ice fall in the gulch. I was hit by 3 large chunks of ice; one of which hit me in the face and left a cut above my lip.
Above Red Banks the wind was relentless. The final 20 feet to the summit we hunched down as to not be blown off the mountain. My father did a good job getting to the summit. I posted this on TTips and I will say it again here: A lot of us can blast to the summit in a day, but to many getting to the top of Mt Shasta is a significant achievement. Im proud of my father for making it to the summit. This was his 3rd time.
I retrieved my skis at the Thumb Rock/Red Banks saddle which we descended from around 1PM. The skier's left side of avy gulch was still pretty firm, bit it was perfectly edgable. Down lower I traversed under the trinity chutes/left of heart and found excellent, smooth corn all the way to Helen Lake.
The southside of Shasta on the evening of the 19th:
My father and I on the summit plateau:
My father glissading, and me taking photos with my skis on:
What a great way to celebrate Father's day and congrats to your Dad!
Great to see that you and your dad had an enjoyable trip. Those shared memories last a lifetime. ;)
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