Hello fellow climbers,

Just wondering if anyone here is considering a winter ascent via Avalanche Gulch in February? Any comments/advise is welcome!

I have been considering this as well. The avy danger has been low and there has been an abundance of sunny days lately. However, every time I look at the forecast the winds have been absolutely off the charts (gusts up to 115 mph today at 11k).

I have only climbed Shasta in the fall before so it would be quite different in the winter. Seems like a pretty straightforward non technical route, just a matter of getting a good weather and avy window. Would you be climbing Shasta with skis? Seems like a much simpler endeavor with skis as you would probably be able to do it in a day and not need extra gear for camping and what not.

Regardless of the amount of time you do it in, I would think its quite likely to run into very firm snow conditions up high and will need crampons and an ice axe due. Hopefully there will be a weather window in the near future, fingers crossed!

Hello Erik, thank you for your reply.

I have considered skis.

I have a lot of free time and I'm willing to wait for the right weather/condition window.