So I decided to bite the bullet and summit Shasta with a buddy this August. I decided on Shasta as my first big mountain because I have a lot of fond memories of it from when I was a kid. My grandparents live in Montague and we used to go up there every time I visited. Never went past the spring at Horse Camp though.

Until then I'm getting as much time in as I can on local trails and accumulating gear to try and prepare. But I have some questions that google can't seem to kick up an answer to.

How cold/hot does to get up on the mountain in august?
Would a 20f bag be ok if I slept in midweight long johns or would I need a 0f bag?
Since most of the snow will be melted what would be the best route for a new beginner?
Will my REI half dome (pre 2010) be ok for the trip or should I shell out the money for a 4 season tent?

Thanks in advance,

Alex

For a late season ascent of Shasta the typical route is Clear creek. I haven't climbed that route myself but based on what I've read it will be either a long slog up a dusty boot track with virtually no technical difficulties, or a long slog up a dusty boot track with one or two snow filed crossings that are just steep and icy enough to warrant use of an Ice axe and crampons. Here are a couple of good Trip reports for a late season ascent of this route.

http://home.comcast.net/~tbreit/shasta.htm

http://www.summitpost.org/clear-creek-i ... ber/335094

With that said, Avy gulch was climbable into September last summer, and perfectly enjoyable for the last weekend in July. Its really too soon to know what the mountain will be like in August.

As for the weather, its worth noting that the base camp for the clear creek route is located slightly bellow timberline, about 600 feet higher than horse camp and the old ski bowl. I climbed Shasta twice last summer, once from horse camp and once from the ski bowl, I don't think it got bellow 40 either time. I'm sure it gets much nastier up there, but regardless I don't think shelling out 600 bucks for a new 4-season tent is the right move. Just check the forecast before your trip.

One more thing, a lot of people will scoff at the clear creek route, because climbing on soft sandy cinders is so much more miserable that climbing on snow, but since you “have a lot of fond memories of it from when you were a kid”, and perhaps have wanted to stand on the top for many years, it might be worth a little more suffering for you than most folks, you'll have to decide that for yourself.

A little suffering is totally worth it. Now to convince my buddy not to try and hike to the top with all his gear strapped to his back. He is dead set against leaving anything at base camp but I can pretty much guarantee he won't make it to the top humping 50 lbs. Other people might, but he wouldn't.

I went up Avalanche Gulch last August - the snow level was down to Lake Helen so the route was reasonable even that late in the year. The only problems doing it then were that 1) the snow to the right of the Red Banks was melted out, so we had to go up through the Red Banks, which is a little steeper snow climb than going around, and 2) the campsites at Lake Helen were dry of snow and very dusty. If you need to go up through the Red Banks you'll want to have crampons and an ice axe and know how to use an axe for self arrest.

As for gear, if you get conditions like we had, a 20F bag should be fine, especially if you are spending the night at Horse Camp. Your REI tent should also be fine at Horse Camp as the trees provide shelter from wind. If you are planning to spend a night at Lake Helen make sure that your tent can be securely tied down as it can get very windy there (I saw another guy's inadequately anchored tent blow away in the wind). If the tent's walls beneath the rain fly are mosquito netting, as I believe is the case with that tent, you might get a fair amount of pumice dust blown into the tent, but if you can live with that (and can tie down the tent well) it will probably be fine. I don't remember the exact temperature but judging from my photos and recollection, high temp was high 70s in the day at Bunny Flat, and low was below freezing (but not way below, maybe high 20s) before dawn at Lake Helen. YMMV.

Update:

Picked up a Kelty Foraker -15* long bag on sale for $200 at STP and some Asolo Sasslong boots. I will end up getting a 20* bag before the trip but the kelty was just too good a deal to pass up. Crampons and an ice axe will soon follow.

I'm really stoked for the trip and hopefully the extra snow they've been getting will make travel easier later in the year. I might even hit up lassen once it opens up again just to get a taste.