From: Gregory Love
Subject: Intermediate Mountaineering Trip Report
A group of nine CHOATS headed up Friday night to the Bunny Flat trailhead to join the Memorial Day Weekend Shasta Mountain Madness. The group, consisting of Chris Williams, Jeremy Schroeder, Mark Miller, Markus Raschke, Erin Brock, Vanessa Gregory, Yossi Farjoun, Alex Quezada and Greg Love, left the trailhead at 8am Saturday and followed the freeway up to Horse Camp. After filling our Nalgene bottles with sweet Shasta spring water, we left the hoards heading up Avalanche Gulch and turned west toward Cascade Gulch and eventually Sisson Lake.
The climb to Sisson Lake we the most difficult part of the trip because everyone was burdened down with climbing gear, cold weather clothes, and some skis. The route to the lake climbed 5,000 in a few miles of soft snow and talus. Despite the grueling climb, everyone made it before darkness set in and nobody threatened my life for designing such a painful first day.
On Sunday we broke up into three rope teams and headed onto the Whitney Glacier to practice crevasse rescue and other mountaineering skills. After some time, Erin and Markus headed out to bag Shastina--the secondary volcanic vent on the mountain-- while the rest of us continued to play on the glacier. While ice climbing on the glacier, Markus and Erin rescued my somewhat damaged tent from across the lake, where it had been deposited by strong winds. After a little bending of poles and duct tape the tent was ready for another night.
Monday was summit day, and all nine of us enjoyed the view from atop the second highest Cascade mountain. On the way up our party enjoyed the solitude of the upper Whitney glacier until we hit Misery Hill and joined the crowds on the way to the summit. Everyone made the summit with ease, and seven people even carried their full packs to the base of Misery Hill in order to ski/glissade Avalanche Gulch.
An excellent trip all around.