Mt. Shasta

Whitney Glacier Ice Fall

Whitney Glacier Icefall Route – Mt. Shasta – June 11th-June 15th 2011

Decent on Whitney – Bolum Ridge

Myself, and My Husband Jason


We stayed the night before the climb in a cheap hotel in Weed, CA. The next morning (11th of June) we had breakfast at a local place, and drove up to the trail head. Bolum road was marked as a 4WD road, so we had prepared by bringing our SUV. We also didn't know if we would encounter snow as the starting elevation was 5,600 feet. The road had some big potholes but it was rather under whelming 4wd wise. You do need high clearance for a few places. When we got to the trail head there was an old Volkswagen Vanagon parked, so that should set the bar for the road quality. If one was to drive a passenger car you could get to about .5 miles from the trail head. There was no snow there and we made our first big decision which was to leave the snowshoes in the car. This ended up as a good decision as the snow didn't begin until we got much higher.


The trail sign for Whitney Creek Falls had been knocked over by a flood in 1997. The old trail had been wiped out with it. There was very little info on this route in, so we assumed we would just have to navigate across country. We had hoped for a climbers trail but we found none. We followed the creek and a very primitive hiking trail. Out of our entire climb, this was one of the least pleasant parts. The trail zig-zaged across the creek multiple times. It was a mix of fine sand and pebbles. Each side of the creek was about 15 feet high, and climbing up and down was not pretty. Eventually we moved past the horrible wash out and picked up on a non-washed out part of a hiking trail to Whitney Falls. Much of this trail is very poorly marked. We made it with our map and compass but there was considerable route finding. Some of the trail markers are also incorrect.


We got to the overlook for Whitney Falls which was very pretty. There is a view across a big valley and the Whitney creek cascades off a steep slab of rock. The creek itself was rather small, I'm sure later in the season it would be more impressive.


From the overlook, the trail disappears completely. In between us and where we wanted to camp was a small hill to one side, and a small but difficult river canyon of the falls we had just observed. On the other side of the river was a barren lava flow. We took the hill route through a dense forest. There was brush to step over and the ground was soft and difficult to gain purchase on. For every step you would slide back a bit. The terrain was rough, exhausting, and slow to gain elevation on.


So far, the sky and therefor Mt. Shasta had been socked in with clouds. When we finally crested the top of the hill and began to descend towards the foot of Shasta, we were given a glimpse of our destination. It was very pretty. We had hoped to get to a high camp at 10,000 feet, but our feet and backs were complaining. We found a flat sandy area with a bank of snow nearby. It was such a perfect spot we had to take it. We set up camp, glad to be done for the day, but dispirited that we had only gained a few thousand feet. We cooked up our dinners and unfortunately used all of one of our fuel containers. This would later create a small hardship. There was an interesting mini canyon by our campsite. It looked as if a pile of large (10ft tall) slabs had been cracked open and slid apart. It was just wide enough for a person or two to walk though. If I had not been so tired I would have explored it.


The next day we would hike to high camp. 10,000 feet or bust! Our spirits were much higher as the terrain had improved greatly. We made much better time. Early in the day we came to cross a very gentle part of Whitney Creek. It was a clear flowing creak and we sat next to it in a state of rapture. This creek was the only place we would cross flowing and accessible water. It was sunny on the 12th, and having fresh water and sunshine was wonderful. We eventually forced our way onward. We began to climb a ridge which led up to the foot of the glacier. We passed tree line which was very high, around 8,500 feet. There was a mystery we had spotted from our camp the night before. It looked like there was a big cliff face up ahead, but sometimes it looked like ice. Our opinion shifted back and forth. Meanwhile the ridge hike was a series of volcanic boulders and rocks. Eventually we got up to our mystery. To our utter amazement we realized it was the terminus of our glacier. It was around 100 feet tall. There was a huge amount of crumbly rock on top of it. We had lunch there and were treated to creaking, groaning, ice sounds, rock falls, and water noises. In short the music of an active glacier was serenading us. One of our favorite photos shows this Whitney Glacier with the top of Mt. Shasta just behind it. We moved on and followed the ridge deeper and higher. We eventually came to our 10,000 foot level, and found a nice protected ledge to camp on. We had walked past some of the lower glacier which was very crevassed and pretty. The glacier was much lower than indicated on the map. For that matter, our map was also very poor as many fine details were missing in it's topography. There was no sign of human life up there in our part of the wilderness, not a single stone shelter was in sight.



We took a while to build a rock wall shelter for our tent and cleared the floor area of sharp rocks. We had an incredible view of Shastina, but also a good view of Shasta and the valley around Weed, and the Trinity Alps in the distant horizon. Of note, though the weather had been perfect for us, we watched as a lenticular cap formed on the summit of Shasta and hoped that some friends (Glacier Snakes from the Mazamas) who were climbing up a different side had already summited and were down safely. We noticed a few helicopters during the day as well, and wondered if they were tourism or rescue related. We would later find out that they were indeed rescue. There were 5 people who had to be rescued off the mountain that day, some by helicopter and some by other means. None were people we knew.


We readied our packs for a climb starting early on the 13th. We had dinner, melted snow, and went to bed. I had spent a good amount of effort hydrating in the evening and I sure paid for it. I had to get up 4 times in the night to go. While it was not helpful to my sleep, I did find out what the weather was doing. It was storming. It had started around when we went to bed. We actually had to wear ear plugs so the wind wouldn't keep us up. So there I was having to drop my drawers with a swirling snowy storm going on. Ahh, the fresh mountain air right?


When it came time to leave in the early part of the morning it was still dark out. We talked about our options. It was not as bad as it had been in the evening, but it was still a bit stormy. We decided that we had an extra day, and shouldn't risk bad weather. So we slept in and had a rest day. We later regretted the decision as after the sun rose the day was beautiful. We did do a short trek onto the glacier for fun however. We roped up and fixed up our gear. It was really, really hot out. Even though we were on a glacier it was t-shirt and shorts weather. Jason eyed the route and figured out where he would go the next morning. We had lunch on a rock outcropping and headed back. Our feet sunk in quite a bit so our short jaunt was more tiring than it should have been.


While out we saw the helicopter a few more times and wondered about it. It was still hot at our tent site and we crawled into the tent for shade. Unfortunately it was hotter in the tent with no air circulation but the relief from the sun was worth it. We did a lot of napping and I decided to make a project out of decorating my helmet with hand drawn designs. It is now a really cool looking helmet. Evening came and we were happy. We made our dinner, and melted snow, and re-packed our bags for summit day. One slight negative was that we ran out of fuel-no more melting snow. Good news was that all of our water bottles were full, and we had plenty of food.


When the early alarm clock went off we were totally ready. I didn't even feel tired. I was excited and ready to go. I downed a 5 hour energy and flicked on my headlamp. We climbed to the end of the ridge we had camped on and put on our crampons and roped up at the glacier. Fortunately the snow was harder and easier to walk on. It was a clear night, and amazing everywhere we looked. There were many horizontal marks in the snow of which Jason told me were likely buried crevasses. Any suspicious ones were probed and crossed carefully. We headed towards the lower ice fall. Jason later commented he thought the lower ice fall was actually buried under a huge snow pack and thinks we navigated the upper ice fall. Either way I had never seen such a thing before and when we got up to it I was very impressed. It was fun to kick in with my crampons and navigate through. Jason lead though it of course and looked rather happy doing it. I kept asking him if I could take a picture yet because I kept wanting to document the beauty of the place. A few times he indicated it was ok as we were in a safe location. The sun started to rise when we were in there and it was just incredible. Just imagine deep blue shining ice jutting out all around you.


On the other side of the ice fall Jason again did the route navigation. He avoided some areas that were overhung by snow or ice and instead approached a steep wall of technical mixed rock and ice climbing. This was also rather fun and Jason led through it. I got to use both my Ice Axes! What fun that was. Also Jason got to place and set ice screws and pickets galore which also makes him very happy. Finally we got to the top of the wall. Jason's last pro he had sunk in was his extra ice hammer tool. I racked it and followed him up a relatively easy slope. There was a bergshrund to cross and Jason probed and found a way around. We still had to jump it however and it was pretty exciting. However about 10 steps up from the bergshrund Jason's hammer somehow came loose from my harness and started sliding down the glacier. I started to go after it but stopped myself, afraid that I might fall into the bergshrund and decided it wasn't worth going after. Jason was naturally upset with the loss of his hammer but fortunately did not need it the rest of our climb. For some reason I did not take any photos during this part of the climb. Who knows why not, as it was quite glorious. We saw many potential hazards and did our best to avoid them.


Next was the uber steep 1000 foot 35-40% degree snow slope. This was the longest bit of steep snow I have ever done. To add to my excitement, there were ice chunks occasionally rolling down the sides of the slope. Last year I was hit by just such a thing and it took me out of the climbing season. So I was a bit nervous you could say. Then as we were climbing though a sorta soft snow area, Jason realized we were in avalanche debris that was only about a day or two old. He was un-nerved by it and proceeded to head out of it as quickly as possible. He did not say this to me so as not to alarm me, but I could sense from his body language that something was wrong. I started to get really nervous but told myself that all I could do was just keep walking and trust Jason. Breath in, breath out, step, crunch, step, crunch. I created my own impromptu form of climbing mediation and it worked. Some of my fear dissipated and I was just a climber again. We worked our way over to a rocky area and sat for a brief snack. It was very treacherous, as sitting down made the ground shift under me, and I felt as though I would slide down the entire slope. At this point we were a good ways up. Rocks were still rolling down nearby so the adrenaline was high. Jason reminded me to look up and I saw perhaps the most beautiful view of the entire climb. Shastina looked remarkable, and so did the mountain all around us. It was so breathtaking I would have loved to take a picture but I did not feel safe pulling out a camera. At this point Jason admitted how nervous he had been in the avalanche debris area also.


We set out once again to climb. It was simply exhausting. There was no path. No steps. Jason was breaking trail ahead of me. At one point I found myself getting annoyed that he was going so slow. I watched him very carefully and realized he was totally exhausted. I called up to him and offered to lead. He was a bit surprised, but I figured if I wanted to go faster, I needed to lead myself. He asked me if I was certain and explained the risks to me. I was ok with it and so I then took the lead. I was having a good time, and found I was very confident in my own ability to climb and kick steps. This process went on for hours. At times I thought we would never make the top of that slope but I also knew I did not want to have to down climb the technical sections we had already come through.


Jason took over lead near the top again when I grew weary myself. At the top of the slope was essentially the summit plateau. We disconnected the climbing rope and walked side by side. We did see 3 other climbers there who we think came up the avalanche gully route. We were on level ground and walked over to the area of the summit pinnacle. The smell of sulfur was strong. We took off our packs and climbed the short but well trodden route up to the summit where we smiled happily and took pictures. 14,179 feet baby! This was my highest summit, and also the most technical to date.


At first it was confusing which way we were going to descend, but Jason puzzled it out. We were descending the Whitney-Bolum ridge. It was not technical and there were no glaciers so it would be much easier on us. At this point the snow had gotten very soft. We stopped to remove our crampons when the snow was balling up in them. The view was still incredible. The ridge we descended was also untrodden. There had been no one else on this ridge in a while. It was a little nerve racking as the slopes seemed steep but they were not as bad as what we had just come up. The views were really awesome as we could see the Bolum Glacier very well, as well as lava flows and cinder cones in the valley. I stopped and took a few photos of Shastina and Shasta. Shortly after I took the photos I saw a big patch of snow and decided to glissade down to the next bit of rocks. What I didn't realize at the time was that the snow was too shallow. I never should have tried to glissade there but I did. I got going a little fast and a larger rock that was hidden under the snow hit me right between my legs. It was extremely painful. I started to turn over to self arrest and my feet stopped me at a gravel pile. Before I came to a stop my foot had twisted a bit and I felt a tweak in my knee. Jason rushed over to me to find out if I was ok. I nodded yes as I was still out of breath from the pain in my groin. I stood up when the pain subsided, took a step towards Jason and then my knee gave out and I crashed back into the snow. I tried again with no better result.


My heart was racing. I hadn't really even hurt my knee, yet I was not able to bear weight on it. I was looking around, and realized it had gotten late. The sun was getting closer to the horizon and we were at around 12,000 feet. How was I going to get down? Visions of staying the night on the mountain and helicopters filled my head. Shit. Jason took charge like a good climb leader. He had me back down the slope on all fours. This seemed to work. I was able to get down the steeper parts in this fashion. He wanted to put me on a short rope to belay me down but there was no suitable area to set an anchor. When we got to an area with more snow than rock I tried to stand again. I found that I could bear weight on my knee if there was no twisting or balancing action needed. I followed in his tracks so that I didn't get any surprise post holes. Even then several times my foot would slide and a sharp stabbing pain would hit me and my knee would give out. I would hit the ground again. It was just snow so I was ok despite some knee pain. Stand up, and keep going. I wanted to get to that high camp. We dropped elevation and got to an area were we could glissade safely. This was an easy way for me to descend as it didn't require my right knee. Eventually we got down the ridge but next we had to rope up and cross the lower part of the Whitney Glacier. The snow was very soft, and there were many suspicious crevasse looking colorations in the snow. I was a bit nervous when Jason asked me to move into eschelon formation as I knew we were crossing a crevasse field in soft snow. He later told me that there was so much snow that there was little actual danger. It was still nerve wracking for me however.


My knee was throbbing by this time. I didn't feel any of my other aches and pains because it hurt so much. I was still mis-stepping and twisting the knee as would be expected on a mountain but I was managing to get down. When we got off the glacier and onto the ridge back to our tent I was so happy. The sun had set while we were on the glacier and it was getting dark out. My injury had slowed our travel time waaaay down. I was worried about crossing the rocks with my knee but I made it back to the tent ok. All together it was an 18 hour day. I would later learn that I had completely torn off my ACL, injured the meniscus, and strained several other knee ligaments. The orthopedic doctor looked very impressed when he found out I had walked out under my own power carrying a 60 lb pack.


In any case we returned to camp and had about 1.5 liters of water left. We drank some, and passed out in the tent. The next morning we packed up camp and set to hike the rest of the way out to our car. It was now the 15th of June. We consulted maps and tried to plan the easiest way to get me out of there. We still had to descend over 5,000 feet to get to the car. We followed snow fields down the flank of Shasta as snow was way easier for me to walk in than rocks as it was more stable. We ended up a few ridges over from where we wanted to be and had to go across country to get back on track. Eventually we had to cross a lava field and it was very scary for me. I actually left my helmet on for the climb out because I figured I might fall a few times and would need the protection. Hopping from boulder to boulder was very very hard, and extremely slow. At this point we had run out of water as well, and I was very thirsty. We were heading for the creek that we had passed on our way in and I was beginning to doubt that Jason would get us back to it. I packed snow into my water bottles hoping the snow might melt some of it. I was very thirsty, did I mention that? The combination of dehydration and my bum knee created one very slow and exhausted Kristin. Eventually Jason's skills were verified when we came to the stream. The only hard part for me was getting to it as there was a steep slope of dry sand and rocks about 15 feet tall. With a normal knee it required a bit of tricky footing but was no big deal. With a torn ACL it looked like climbing K2. I slowly made my way down but at one point the ground gave under my foot which brought on a sharp pain in my knee followed by a collapse. My heavy pack pulled me head over heels backwards and I rolled down the slope. My head hit right on a rock but fortunately due to my helmet I did not even feel it. Have I mentioned yet how frightening it is to descend a mountain with a bum knee? At any point I knew my knee could give out again and it was hard to cope with.


We were now at Whitney Creek again and there was no present so great as the bottle of fresh water that Jason handed to me. I felt like I was the luckiest person in the world to have that water. I laid in the sun and drank water thinking there was nothing else more satisfying in life. We rested there for about an hour, filled up our bottles and carried on. As we descended we tried to find a different way to get down than we had come up. That forested hill had been horrible. We agreed where to go on the map, but Jason and I each had different ideas of which way that was in real life. We went with Jason's route at first but I was getting a really bad feeling about it and convinced him to turn around. It was a good move, as my route took us to a gradual descending stream bed. Eventually we came out at the Whitney Falls overlook we had been to before and we knew we didn't have too much further to go.


It took a lot of route finding but we worked our way down. We cursed the people who put stone cairns in the obvious places in the middle of the trail but neglected to indicate where to go when the trail disappeared. When we got to the flooded creek bed that we hated traveling along before we actually found a new trail which avoided the creek altogether. When we got to the end of the trail we saw how we missed it at the beginning. It is unmarked, and goes off in a direction you would never expect from the original trail head over a ledge. Looking back on it, if we were to do it again, we could pick a much easier route in and out. There just was not any good information out so we had to wing it when we got there.


We got to the car so happy. I had been very slow, so it was after 7pm when we got to the car. We were in for another setback however. The car battery was dead. Our cell phone was almost out of power from the multiple days we had been in the wilderness and we had expected to be able to plug it in to charge it again. We called AAA, only to hear back from them an hour later that no one was willing to tow us because we were on a 4WD road. We told them it was not 4WD but they didn't care. We didn't have the luxury of trying to call more places, as at any moment our phone might die, and Jason would have to hike out to the highway and try to get a ride into town. There were so many calls we wanted to make, but could not. We called my parents and briefed them on the situation. They live in Utah, and started looking up information online and making calls for us. They were also our emergency contact so we let them know we were ok, as we were almost at our emergency call time. They found a tow truck for us, but he did not arrive until about midnight. He did not accept AAA. He was a complete character who wanted to talk and tell us how much he knew about Mt. Shasta. It was torture but we endured as we needed that jump. We pulled into the first motel we could find after we got the car going as we were so exhausted we couldn't keep our eyes open. I think it was about 2am when our heads hit the pillows. I managed to get a call in to a co-worker as I was supposed to be in at work the next early morning. I have never missed a day of work so far and I was anxious about it. We were 6 hours away and there was no way I would make it in time.


When we got up in the morning Jason drove me to the nearest ER in the town of Mt. Shasta. I had the doctor look at my knee and groin as I was really sore in both areas and worried. It took about half of the day to get seen and get back on the road. We finally got back to Portland about 11pm that night. As I mentioned earlier I tore my ACL...which I found out when I had an MRI of my knee. I'll be getting surgery for it in a few weeks and will be out of commission for 6-9 months.


Despite the serious situation and my injury I had a wonderful time. The Whitney Glacier Ice fall route was the most beautiful of any I have ever seen. I got to spend most of my time very happy in that wilderness area and managed to summit from a very remote and technical route. I was also feeling very good as I had been training very hard and felt strong during the climb.
I have a feeling I will be back on that mountain in the years to come. To see all photos from the trip, follow this link. https://picasaweb.google.com/songwolff/MtShasta?authuser=0&feat=directlink

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