Mt. Shasta (Avalanche Gulch)
Southern Cascades, Mt. Shasta City · near Mount Shasta · Shasta Cascade
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- scramble
- Elevation
- 14179
- Best season
- April–June for consolidated snow; summer brings loose scree & rockfall
What is here
- Terrain
- volcano
- Amenities
- Bunny Flat trailhead; Lake Helen high camp · Free wilderness permit + Summit Pass required · WAG bag required — pack out waste · Shasta Mountain Guides & others operate here
- Best for
- California's classic big-snow mountaineering climb
- Features
- California's iconic glaciated volcano · The state's classic snow-climb rite of passage · ~7,000 ft of climbing to 14,179 ft · A common first serious mountaineering peak (guided)
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Rockfall in the Gulch, especially afternoons and once snow melts out · Steep snow above Helen Lake — self-arrest skills essential · Altitude and rapid, severe weather on an isolated peak · Avalanche danger in winter and spring — check the forecast
- Beginner friendly
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- Yes
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- snow-ice · altitude · scrambling
- Style
- snow-route
- Altitude
- 5
- Route notes
- California's classic glaciated volcano and the state's great mountaineering rite of passage — Avalanche Gulch is a class-2 snow climb of about 7,000 feet from Bunny Flat to the 14,179-foot summit, the most popular big-snow route in the state
- Beta note
- ~14,179 ft; Avalanche Gulch Class 2 snow, ~7,000 ft gain from Bunny Flat; axe & crampons
- Intl tip
- Northern California's great solitary volcano and the state's classic mountaineering rite of passage — often a climber's first serious snow peak. Avalanche Gulch climbs ~7,000 ft from Bunny Flat to the 14,179-ft summit: a class-2 snow climb needing axe, crampons, and self-arrest, but no technical rock. Best April–June on consolidated snow; summer brings loose scree and rockfall. Above 10,000 ft you need a free wilderness permit AND a Summit Pass ($25/3 days), plus a WAG bag. A superb first big mountain, ideally guided.
- Directions note
- Park at Bunny Flat (6,950 ft) on Everitt Memorial Hwy
The guide
Mount Shasta is the great solitary volcano of Northern California and the state's classic mountaineering objective — for many c…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mt. Shasta (Avalanche Gulch) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 41.4092, -122.1949