Mt. Shasta (Hotlum-Bolam Ridge)
North side of Mt. Shasta · near Weed / Mount Shasta · Shasta Cascade
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- technical
- Elevation
- 14179
- Best season
- May–July; glacier conditions vary and worsen late season
What is here
- Terrain
- volcano
- Amenities
- Northgate / North Gate trailhead (remote) · Free wilderness permit + Summit Pass required · WAG bag required · Guide services offer north-side glacier climbs
- Best for
- A committing glacier route away from the crowds
- Features
- North-side glacier mountaineering · Quieter than Avalanche Gulch · Real crevasse-rescue terrain · Front-row view of receding glaciers
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Glacier travel — crevasses and widening bergschrunds late season · Steeper, more sustained snow and ice than Avalanche Gulch · Remote north side — self-rescue mindset · Rockfall and severe high-altitude weather
- Beginner friendly
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- Yes
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- glacier · snow-ice · altitude
- Style
- mixed-alpine
- Altitude
- 5
- Route notes
- The north-side glacier route on Shasta — a more committing, less-crowded line up the Hotlum-Bolam Ridge that crosses glaciated terrain and demands genuine glacier-travel and crevasse-rescue skills, on a peak whose glaciers are visibly receding
- Beta note
- ~14,179 ft; Hotlum-Bolam glacier route; roped glacier travel, crevasse rescue, steeper snow/ice
- Intl tip
- True glacier mountaineering on Shasta, versus the class-2 slog of Avalanche Gulch. The north-side Hotlum-Bolam Ridge is more committing and far less crowded, crossing glaciated terrain with steeper sustained snow and ice, needing roped glacier travel and crevasse-rescue skills. It's also a front-row look at climate change — Shasta's glaciers are visibly receding, opening wider bergschrunds each season. Same rules: free wilderness permit, Summit Pass above 10,000 ft, WAG bag. Go early-to-mid season, roped.
- Directions note
- Access via North Gate trailhead off Military Pass Rd (rough dirt, high-clearance) — directions link points at the mountain, not the trailhead
The guide
For climbers who want true glacier mountaineering on Shasta rather than the class-2 snow slog of Avalanche Gulch, the north-sid…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mt. Shasta (Hotlum-Bolam Ridge) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 41.418, -122.188