-
Treat yourself to two days of ski mountaineering on one of the most spectacular volcanic mountains the U.S. has to offer. While climbing the peak with your guide, you’ll get to brush up on your ski mountaineering skills and discover some phenomenal panoramic views that no photo can do justice to. There are multiple ascent and descent options such as Avalanche Gulch, West Face, Brewer Creek, and Clear Creek.
-
Day 1: Get ready for the summit
At 8 am, you’ll meet your guide at the trailhead. Afer a quick gear check, the guide will review the plan for the day and discuss the route. If needed, last minute adjustments will be made. The guide will conduct a trailhead departure and beacon check. At 8:30 am you’ll start ascending and build a camp. At 12 pm, there will be a skills review. Prior experience is helpful, but your guide will provide a review of crampons, ice axe arrest and glacier rope travel. At 5 pm, you’ll review the plan for the following day with your guide, pack what you can to prepare and get to bed early to set yourselves up for an alpine start for the summit attempt.
Day 2: Summit day
Upon waking up, your journey to the summit begins with an alpine start. Your guide will set the time based on the weather forecast. After that, it’s time for the summit attempt. This will be a long day, with over 4,000 ft (1,220 m) of elevation gain over various snow surfaces and steep slopes. Once you reach your high point, you’ll descend the route and ski on various locations with the best snow!
When you get back to the camp, you’ll pack up your bags and descend to the trailhead. The goal is to be down by early afternoon.
-
-
-
What you get in this adventure:
-
- An experienced, certified mountain guide with extensive knowledge of the area
- 1, 2, or 3 days of ski mountaineering depending on your chosen itinerary
- All group gear (tents, stove, fuel for stoves, ropes, wag bags, First Aid kit, snow pickets and rock protection)
What’s not included:
-
- Technical backcountry ski touring equipment
- Transportation
- Accommodation
- Food and snacks
- Camping fees (up to $5 per tent)
-
-
In order to enjoy these ski mountaineering adventures, you need to be in great physical shape and have excellent endurance seeing as you’ll climb over 7,000 ft before descending this marvelous volcano. You need to be confident in various snow conditions and ready to implement efficient climbing techniques.The ascent to this peak poses a serious challenge, especially on a 1-day trip where you’ll summit the mountain in one single and continuous push. You need to be able to move quickly for thousands of feet and many hours. While attempting the summit is easier over 2 or 3 days, it is still quite strenuous. Don’t forget that you need to be able to carry a heavy pack while summiting this colossal volcanic mountain that lies ahead of you.
-
These ski mountaineering trips to Mt. Shasta are intended for intermediate and advanced ski mountaineers and the participants are expected to have prior experience and knowledge when it comes to using an ice axe and crampons, as well as possess rope skills. This is a fast-paced adventure, but your guide will make sure to provide a quick refresher on these prerequisite skills so that you can experience this volcanic peak the right way.
-
All of the group gear for the trip will be provided by your guiding service and it includes tents, stove, fuel for stoves, ropes, wag bags, First Aid kit, snow pickets and rock protection.
For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:
-
- Alpine touring skis or splitboard with skins (can be rented)
- Touring boots and poles (can be rented)
- Ski crampons and strap
- Avalanche safety equipment (can be rented):
- Digital, 3-antenna avalanche transceiver or beacon
- Lightweight snow shovel
- Avalanche probe
- Lightweight ice axe (can be rented)
- Crampons (steel or aluminium) (can be rented)
- Climbing/ski helmet
- Harness with two locking carabiners, a triple action locking carabiner, and belay device
- Double length sling
For personal items, we recommend bringing:
-
- Sun hat
- Sunglasses
- Goggles
- Warm hat
- Light to midweight neck gaiters, buff or your favorite face masks
- Lightweight, synthetic/wool long sleeve base layer
- 2 light to midweight insulating top layers
- Midweight down or synthetic puffy with hood
- Waterproof, light, hardshell jacket (Gore-Tex recommended)
- Light gloves and midweight gloves
- Synthetic or wool base layers, underwear and socks
- Breathable, weather resistant softshell ski pants
- Vented hardshell ski pants
- Four Seasons sleeping bag rated 0F-20F
- Insulated inflatable sleeping pad
- Compression stuff sack (to pack sleeping bag)
- Backpack large enough to carry all items listed (around a 50L backpack)
- Freeze fried or “just-add-hot-water” meal for each morning and night in the field
- Thermos with a warm beverage
- Hard sided water bottle
- Soft water bottle 1.5L – flexible water bladder
- Water treatment or filtration
- Bowl and long handled spoon
- Snacks and food you can eat on-the-go
- Toiletries (sunscreen, lip balm with SPF, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, etc.)
- Headlamp with fresh batteries
- Chemical hand warmers
-
-
All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent:
-
- Avalanche safety pack, including backpack, beacon, shovel and probe from your guides or Gear Delivery Service
- Alpine touring skis, touring boots and poles as well as splitboards can be rented from your guides or Gear Delivery Service.
Ski rental locations are in Truckee and should be picked up the night prior to your outing. If you need to rent gear, let us know and we can help make arrangements.
-
-
Group sizes:
-
- For the Full-Day Ski Mountaineering Trip on Mount Shasta, the max. client-to-guide ratio is 2:1
- For the 2- and 3-day Ski Mountaineering Trips on Mount Shasta, the max. client-to-guide ratio is 3:1.
- Costs per person decrease as the group grows for these private adventures, so it’s the perfect opportunity to climb with friends and family!
Ski mountaineering in Mt. Shasta can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
-
- If you are older than 18, you’re good to go.
- Minors may be permitted to join private tours on a case-by-case basis.
If your group has skiers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
-
-
To get to Mt. Shasta, most people fly into Rogue Valley International, only 1.5 hours away from the town of Mount Shasta. From there, you can rent a car or take a bus to get to the town. The closest airport, however, is Redding Municipal Airport, just an hour away. Some bigger airports include Sacramento International Airport and Reno-Tahoe International Airport, about 4 hours away.
Once you and your guide agree on the details of your itinerary, you’ll meet your guide at the trailhead. From there, you’ll head to your tour. The guide will choose the appropriate terrain dependent on conditions and the ski ability of the group.
-
57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.
We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, guides and the communities they’re travelling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in Mount Shasta, CA, please refer to the Official California State Government and Siskiyou County Public Health.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!
-