Dates: May 29-31, 2009 Duration: 3 days, 2 nights Mileage: TBD Group Members: Nick McGuire, 6 clients, and 2 Shasta Mountain Guides (Lel and Solveig) Pack Weights: Unknown (varied each day) Notes: This was my first trip that I shadowed with Shasta Mountain Guides. My role was supposed to be just as an observer but our two awesome guides let me essentially co-guide with them and so I really got a much better feel for how guiding with clients actually works. We had 6 totally awesome clients and we managed to get all of them to the summit so in the end it was an absolutely fabulous trip! Route Map Available! Day 1: (~2500 ft ascent, ~3.5 miles) Met the two guides I was shadowing with at the Fifth Season around 8:30AM in the morning in Mt. Shasta City. After all six of our participants arrived a little after 9AM we began going through the gear checklist and dividing up group gear. Headed off for the the Bunny Flat trailhead around 11AM and were on the trail towards horse camp not long after. Stopped at horse camp for a bit to fill up water bottles from the spring which is now flowing and then headed off for our basecamp on the west face in Hidden Valley (~9400 ft). We reached hidden valley in the early afternoon and set up camp, half in the snow and half in the dirt where the snow had melted away. After setting up camp the team went off to do snow school nearby while I stayed behind to continue melting snow for water. We ate dinner around 6PM and decided we would leave for the summit sometime around 2AM the following morning. Cleaned up camp and went to bed around 9:30PM. Thunder and ominous clouds in the distance throughout the evening but no precipitation or winds. Weather was warm most of the day and even in the evening didn't cool off too much. Day 2: (~4800 ft ascent, ~ miles) Woke up at 12:30AM to start boiling water for breakfast. Got everyone up at 1AM and after breakfast and packing we were all ready to leave around 2AM. Not much of a moon so everyone had to use headlamps. We proceeded straight up the center of the west face. Snow wasn't too hard so crampons weren't necessary and it was even punchy in a spot or two. Took breaks every hour or so and roped up as it got steeper early in the morning. Eventually had to put crampons on as we got higher on the face. Reached the top of the west face sometime before 9AM. Took a break at the top and then traversed over towards Misery Hill. Here we dropped ice axes, harnesses, the ropes, and helmets. Proceeded up Misery Hill which was pretty burnt out in spots and finally made it to the summit just after 10AM. Fair amount of people at the top and below on the summit plateau. Climbed back down to the top of the west face after spending maybe 20 minutes at the summit. Downclimbed for a little ways down the west face in crampons (lots of balling) before we got to snow that was safer to glissade on. Glissaded almost all the way back to camp...troughs were decent but not too fast. Back in camp by early afternoon. Melted snow for water and drained the garbage bags full of snow that we had set out in the sun to melt. Got everyone's water topped off and the kitchen squared away before heading to the tents for a couple hours of downtime before dinner. Got hammered by a massive hail thunderstorm around 4PM. Lasted for about an hour and a half....decently strong winds and very heavy rain and hail at times. Lots of thunder and lightning, and some strikes were very close (2 seconds till thunder). Cleared up very nicely in time for dinner preparation and the sun actually came out to help dry stuff out. Ate dinner and went to bed early. Day 3: (~2500 ft descent, ~3.5 miles) Woke up around 8AM and had breakfast. Broke down camp, packed up and left around 10AM. Hiked out in a few hours. Didn't take any breaks on the way back to horse camp so we took a 30 minute break there. Spring was running so we were able to fill up our water bottles again. Two rangers arrived right before we left and had just wanded the summer trail so we followed their trail back out....about 50% snow 50% dirt. Got back to bunny flat in the early afternoon, debriefed quickly and packed up before heading back to the 5th Season to return gear and then over to the Billy Goat for burgers and beer! AWESOME TRIP!