3-22-08 West Face Mt. Shasta
3/22/08
US elsewhere
4879
1
With plans of confronting a west aspect, I left the trailhead at 930, and with easy ascending conditions, made good time up Avalanche Gulch. I found very smooth wind board - interspersed with a hastily melting ice crust all the way up to thumb rock. Conditions to the 13300 plateau were a little more sustrugified.
With such smooth conditions in the Gulch, I was optimistic that the West Face would hold a similar quality surface. I quickly dropped into the face, to get out of the "strong breeze" and found some wind board mixed with that bubbly rime surface ice which is so characteristic of volcanoes in winter. The face was much cooler than Avi Gulch, so the ice remained hard. That ice became more prevalent as I descended. Although I was able to get in a nice wind board turning groove several times, they all ended alarmingly by long skids on ice to shave off speed.
I was very cautious by the time I reached the steep bit at the bottom of the face and entered it timidly, after a little wind board, I found some nice ego-pow, then got into some ripper turns on the ~1k of 40dg corn-like snow down to Hoarse camp. Back to the camper at ~4.
I met Chris Carr in the parking lot A super cool guide from Shasta Mountain Guides. He had just skied Avi Gulch from the summit, and spoke of good smooth skiing in the gulch.
With such smooth conditions in the Gulch, I was optimistic that the West Face would hold a similar quality surface. I quickly dropped into the face, to get out of the "strong breeze" and found some wind board mixed with that bubbly rime surface ice which is so characteristic of volcanoes in winter. The face was much cooler than Avi Gulch, so the ice remained hard. That ice became more prevalent as I descended. Although I was able to get in a nice wind board turning groove several times, they all ended alarmingly by long skids on ice to shave off speed.
I was very cautious by the time I reached the steep bit at the bottom of the face and entered it timidly, after a little wind board, I found some nice ego-pow, then got into some ripper turns on the ~1k of 40dg corn-like snow down to Hoarse camp. Back to the camper at ~4.
I met Chris Carr in the parking lot A super cool guide from Shasta Mountain Guides. He had just skied Avi Gulch from the summit, and spoke of good smooth skiing in the gulch.
