Mount Shasta average may conditions

[SephTR]

Due to memorial weekend, I've been considering attempting Shasta in late may from clear creek. I'm not an expert on winter mountains I'm not sure what conditions would be like in May on Shasta. Is the snow during May completely stable and safe with no risk of avalanche? And would microspikes and trek poles be good enough for clear creek route or should I consider crampons and ice axe? The only resource I have is nondescriptive and varying reviews from alltrails and I want to be sure the route is safe without any form of training. If it's not I'll likely just wait for August.

[Craig Barlow]

Shasta will still be fully snow covered in May. Avalanche Gulch is the standard route that time of year. There isn't much risk of avalanche then unless there have been recent storms, but you still need crampons and ice axe and know how to self arrest. There will be tons of people doing that route Memorial Day weekend. Clear Creek is better done later in the year as that's more of the standard route in summer when there isn't as much snow. That being said, Shasta was my first time using crampons many years ago. Did it with a buddy who had no experience just like me. We went up avalanche gulch in jeans and sweatshirts with our rented crampons, axe, and helmets and were totally fine. You should be too as long as the weather is good.

[angry]

Clear creek has a limited season, didn’t open until mid-June last year. I’m sure conditions vary yearly but it is reportedly a scree nightmare. Why not go up Avalanche Gulch? It is easy to access and navigate and is usually ready mid-May. I did a one day push, flew out on 6/22 drove to trailhead, napped and started hiking at 1am, back to car at 2:30pm. You can monitor the Shasta Avalanche Center, they update conditions daily.

[Scott P]

And would microspikes and trek poles be good enough for clear creek route or should I consider crampons and ice axe?

Those should be standard equipment on all Shasta climbs, year round. Sometimes a scree route can be found late season near the Avalanche Gulch route, but it's miserable after the snow melts off. Learn to use an ice axe and crampons (Shasta is a good beginner climb if you know how to use them) and then go.

[SephTR]

And would microspikes and trek poles be good enough for clear creek route or should I consider crampons and ice axe?

Those should be standard equipment on all Shasta climbs, year round. Sometimes a scree route can be found late season near the Avalanche Gulch route, but it's miserable after the snow melts off. Learn to use an ice axe and crampons (Shasta is a good beginner climb if you know how to use them) and then go.

I'm young enough to suffer without consequences on scree so I may just go with a late season plan, suffering is less expensive than crampons

[seano]

Clear Creek isn't that bad -- there's a decent trail through the scree that eliminates most backsliding. However, it would definitely be a snow climb in May.

[SephTR]

Clear Creek isn't that bad -- there's a decent trail through the scree that eliminates most backsliding. However, it would definitely be a snow climb in May.

I’m fine with a snow climb as long as it’s easy enough for a beginner

[719BR]

Clear Creek isn't that bad -- there's a decent trail through the scree that eliminates most backsliding. However, it would definitely be a snow climb in May.

+1 for clear creek. you miss the conga line going up avy gulch, especially if you're going memorial day weekend. there's hardly anyone on the route comparatively speaking, and it's got killer glissade opportunities on the way down. not adams quality, but good. there's a pretty solid route description on summit post. we camped just above 9,000' iirc.

edited to add: if you are looking for a beginner route, cc is not as steep as avy gulch, so it might be a better option.

[SephTR]

Clear Creek isn't that bad -- there's a decent trail through the scree that eliminates most backsliding. However, it would definitely be a snow climb in May.

+1 for clear creek. you miss the conga line going up avy gulch, especially if you're going memorial day weekend. there's hardly anyone on the route comparatively speaking, and it's got killer glissade opportunities on the way down. not adams quality, but good. there's a pretty solid route description on summit post. we camped just above 9,000' iirc.

edited to add: if you are looking for a beginner route, cc is not as steep as avy gulch, so it might be a better option.

An unexperienced peasant like me needs that, thanks for the help

[jchapell]

We climbed the West Face (so around the corner on the mountain) on just after Memorial Day in 2018, and you can see in this photo there was plenty of snow.

That route is another fantastic that avoids the crowds of Avy Gulch (though it eventually joins up high on the route above what you can see in this photo), but I'd say either NEEDS crampons and ice axe and helmet. They aren't technically difficult, but are steep and a fall would be bad news if you couldn't arrest yourself.

Big note if you're coming from CO: There is much more vert than most CO mountains, I think Clear Creek is 7500-8000 feet of gain over 12-15 miles. That's a BIG day, so camp if you can to break it up, it's a gorgeous place anyways.

Here's our trip report that you can check out, and there are a number of trip reports for Shasta if you search here on the 14ers trip reports.
https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... size=large

I also found a few other useful links that I'll just drop here. Lots of resources if you search:
https://www.shastaavalanche.org/ <-- Check this out as you get close, lots of road conditions, weather, avy observations, etc.
https://www.shastaavalanche.org/general ... lear-creek
https://www.summitpost.org/clear-creek/157378
https://www.timberlinetrails.com/ShastaMain.html

[SephTR]

We climbed the West Face (so around the corner on the mountain) on just after Memorial Day in 2018, and you can see in this photo there was plenty of snow.

That route is another fantastic that avoids the crowds of Avy Gulch (though it eventually joins up high on the route above what you can see in this photo), but I'd say either NEEDS crampons and ice axe and helmet. They aren't technically difficult, but are steep and a fall would be bad news if you couldn't arrest yourself.

Big note if you're coming from CO: There is much more vert than most CO mountains, I think Clear Creek is 7500-8000 feet of gain over 12-15 miles. That's a BIG day, so camp if you can to break it up, it's a gorgeous place anyways.

Here's our trip report that you can check out, and there are a number of trip reports for Shasta if you search here on the 14ers trip reports.
https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... size=large

I also found a few other useful links that I'll just drop here. Lots of resources if you search:
https://www.shastaavalanche.org/ <-- Check this out as you get close, lots of road conditions, weather, avy observations, etc.
https://www.shastaavalanche.org/general ... lear-creek
https://www.summitpost.org/clear-creek/157378
https://www.timberlinetrails.com/ShastaMain.html

I don't have proper self arrest experience for something steep like that, but I'm aware of the gain. That first link is exactly what I've been trying to find, thank you very much for that

[rob runkle]

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine