Two quick questions...

What's the best place to overnight on Casaval Ridge? Or is it better to camp near the hut and avoid having to haul the extra weight partway up the mountain?

Also...

Are there any good places to bivvy on Green Butte Ridge? I ask because the Shasta guide/map that Fifth Season sells says, "Not much cover or 'bivoucable' snow between 8,000 and 10,000 feet."

Thanks.


By the way, I'm talking about April...

I did Casaval Ridge in late May. We camped at about 11k. This turned out to be a great place to camp with plenty of room for several tents, although you will want to bring a shovel to flatten out the platforms. Carrying full packs up to this point was really no problem, it was actually a very short day.

A huge advantage of locating the camp here is the ability to descend the straightforward West Face until able to make a level traverse back to camp. No climbing back up necessary. From camp you can also easily descend directly to Helen Lake and hike out via the normal route.

One disadvantage of locating a camp here is it is in a gap of the ridge so winds could potentially be severe if coming from the wrong directions.

Link to trip report with mo' beta. http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/5 ... Ridge.html

I personally wouldn't lug all my stuff past Horse Camp for Casaval, but that's just me- I've seen numerous people camped on the ridge in my forays there.

Here's a TR my friend Mark put up about Green Butte/Sargents- while it's short & doesn't have much information, the photos are pretty. http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/6 ... cceed.html.

Good luck & have fun!

deungsan wrote:Are there any good places to bivvy on Green Butte Ridge? I ask because the Shasta guide/map that Fifth Season sells says, "Not much cover or 'bivoucable' snow between 8,000 and 10,000 feet."

Probably a fair statement .. I camped near the top of Green Butte last May -



It was unseasonably warm and still, with a big high pressure system over the area. It would probably be pretty exposed if it was windy, so you would want to dig down.

Looking down the ridge from higher up, I think my tent was around the center of this pic -



As you can tell, there is a fair amount of ridge traversing from there. On my descent I glissaded Avalanche Gulch (sweet ) to near Helen Lake and traversed back to Green Butte Ridge, and then back to my camp.

You could also camp at Helen Lake and climb the more "interesting" part of GBR if you so desired. But I always think of Helen Lake as more of a social experience than a desirable place to camp And it definitely gets windy there.

I camped way down below timberline for Casaval, probably below 8000'. We had plans to go higher, but postholing in hot, wet snow in the afternoon seemed like a lot more work than waiting for it to freeze and just doing it in the morning. I usually tend to follow the philosophy that the higher you carry your overnight gear, the more total work you are doing. If you're fit enough for a 6000' day, I would recommend this.

Thanks for the great info and photos.

You guys rock.

There are some good campsite photos in the Casaval Ridge album.

It's been a while since I've climbed Green Butte Ridge but I bivied approximately where this climber is standing:



This was in April in an average/high average snow year, probably like this year. Hope that helps.

yeah I've also camped near the top of Green Butte:

It made for a convenient spot both for ascending the GB-Sargents Ridge Route and descending via Avalanche Gulch. Weather was nice, which is why I was there. It could be exposed but we did build a small wall just in case the wind picked up.
Here's a trip report for more info. It's gonna be a great season on the mountain!

I don't have a picture but I have dug in a few times at about 9500'. Just below the First window area I think.