Our daily itinerary and route choice may vary based on real-time conditions on the mountain.
Final departure materials will provide more information on your specific route. Hotel night stays and dinner on the night before day one and on the last night are not included. To make a reservation at the Cold Creek Inn call 530-926-9851. Mention you are traveling with REI Adventures to receive a 15% discount. Be sure to give the Inn at least 24 hours notice.
Climb to your first camp today with time to review mountaineering basics.
Your trip begins today in Mount Shasta City. Meet your climbing guide(s) at the Fifth Season Mountain Shop at 9:00 am. After a brief orientation, we caravan in our own vehicles to the trailhead. You should expect to add approximately 8-10 pounds of group gear to your personal pack. We start our ascent around 7,000 ft. and traveling up to about 8,000 ft. to set-up base camp. Once camp is set up, we begin "Snow School" and cover the basics of ice axe and crampon use, climbing techniques and an introduction to roped travel in preparation for our summit attempt. After Snow School enjoy an early dinner and retire to our sleeping bags. Dinner included.
Mileage: ~2.5 miles; 2-3 hours. Elevation gain ~1,000 ft.
Ascend to the higher second camp, and practice climbing skills along the way.
Today we move to high camp. We hike to about 10,000 ft. and set up camp. Expect to climb for 4 or more hours today. If weather permits, we can continue working on skills before dinner and end the night with a briefing on the next day's events and plenty of rest. Breakfast and dinner included.
Mileage: ~2.5 miles; 4-5 hours. Elevation gain ~2,000 ft.
Aim for the summit of Mt. Shasta!
Summit day! Our summit attempt commences between 2:00 am and 3:00 am. If possible we take the Avalanche Gulch route, depending on current conditions. Our turnaround time may be as early 11:00 am in order to avoid potentially serious hazards that tend to manifest in the afternoon. Depending on conditions, then, the descent to camp may take 2.5 to 4.5 hours. From camp, we pack up and make our final descent to the trailhead. Expect to be back between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm. You may consider another night stay at the hotel as you are likely to be very tired. Breakfast included.
Mileage: ~2.5 miles to summit, ~7 miles descent; 12-14 hour total. Elevation: 4,000-5,000 ft. gain, 7,000-8,000 ft. loss.