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Informationen zum Autor Mt. Shasta is California's premier, stand-alone, 14,000-foot mountain-with the largest and longest glaciers in the state. Shasta is sought after by so many climbers and skiers nationwide because it offers a wide variety of routes, especially moderate ones for the aspiring mountaineer and backcountry skier. The fully updated fourth edition of Mt. Shasta, by Andy Selters and Michael Zanger, is the most comprehensive, detailed guide and overview to a large, varied, historic, and coveted mountain for climbing and skiing. The guide offers extensive details on dozens of trips both on the mountain and in its surroundings, including weather, climbing and skiing conditions, amenities, and history. A special extra is a guide to Shasta's superb circumnavigation at timberline, pioneered by John Muir, that is often referred to as one of the best off-trail hikes in the Northwest. The book also includes a topographic map showing all mountain routes and variations. Klappentext This guide contains dozens of climbs on the mountain's main routes, plus many variations. Leseprobe ROUTE 7 Whitney Glacier See map, p. xii DIFFICULTY: D2–D3 ACCESS: North Gate Trailhead (N41º 28.117' W122º 10.367') CAMPSITES: Whitney, Bolam, unnamed intermittent creeks TIME: 2+ days The Whitney Glacier was named for Professor Josiah D. Whitney, the leader of the California Geological Survey and of the scientific exploration of Mount Shasta in 1862. It is California’s longest glacier, stretching almost 2 miles, and its foot is covered with an enormous quantity of rubble and debris. A base camp on the lower glacier is an experience for the senses: with the towering flanks of Shastina rising more than 4,000 feet to the west and the long, broad Whitney Bolam Ridge bordering the cavernous canyon on the east, the tableau looks like the Alaska Range or the Himalayas. In early evening’s shadows or by moonlight, the scale and the vastness of the scene seem totally different from their daytime aspects. Add to this the constant creaking and grinding of the glacial ice, the irregular sounds of water, and the cannonades and crescendos of rockfalls and breaking seracs (pinnacles of ice)—all contribute to a dramatic alpine setting. From the North Gate road access, there are many base camp choices. In winter or early spring, you can approach easily on skis, with several comfortable benches for base camp. In summer, it’s usually best to set up base camp on the flat lower glacier. There are also some miniature meadows and springs near timberline just west of the glacier terminus, but these can be difficult to find. Climbing the lower glacier is relatively straightforward, but there might be minor route-finding problems in late summer and fall as crevasses begin to open. Avoid venturing close to Shastina’s flanks because of the threat of rockfall, and be wary of a similar threat from the upper slopes of Shasta. The center of the lower glacier is generally safest. When snow still covers most of the glacier, the big icefall adjacent to the Shasta–Shastina saddle is the only major obstacle along the route. In early season several paths may become visible, but the glacial geography is an ever-changing kaleidoscope in three dimensions, and you must be prepared to use your best skills and judgment to improvise a route. In late summer and fall, the enormity of the open crevasses and the bergschrund spanning the glacier’s full width, as well as the precariousness of the seracs, make the icefall a much more serious undertaking. By then, acres of seracs have toppled and avalanched, mostly during the heat of midsummer days. Either side of this icefall section can offer reasonably safe passage. The east side is a little more direct; the west side offers the sanctuary of the Shasta–Shastina saddle but can be steeper in places. Above the icefall, follow the smooth up...
