Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mt. Whitney v/s Shasta

Can anyone compare hiking Mt. Whitney to hiking Mt. Shasta? Just curious in terms of exposure, difficulty, scenic views, etc.

Thanks!

Easily done. Whitney has a trail. Graded and maintained. 22 miles, with 6,400' gain r.t. Shasta is 3 miles, with 6,400' gain. No trail. The angle at which you climb on the tourist route, Avalanche Gulch, rises to about 35 degrees. The Whitney Trail maxs at about a 15% grade. That's maybe ten degrees.

Both are about the same height, so air is the same. Depending on when you climb both, you may need ice axe and crampons. More often for Shasta. Unless you are a mountaineering master (fast descent via the MR), walking back down the Whitney trail takes 5-7 hours. When there is snow, you can slide down most of Shasta. The time for this is fast approaching. Trail Camp is a much nicer place then Lake Helen (10,400' base camp for most). I've gotten gale force winds at Lake Helen. Blew away some of my gear! Trail Camp is protected. Once, maybe 10,000 hikers a year tried Whitney. Far fewer on Shasta.

Shasta is less of a drive for most of us here in Northern CA. I can summit and be home the same day/night. For me, the Portal is a day long drive. But maybe 4-5 hours from Downtown L.A.

I've done both 4X, and would take hikers up Whitney more readily than on Shasta. People die on both peaks, but you call it as you will.

I haven't climbed Whitney in several years, but spend a lot of time hiking the 395 circuit (including a backpack out of Horseshoe Meadow that ended today), so I guess I can comment.

If you have the slightest inclination to do some "mountaineering," try Shasta. It's a fun mountain, and you'll have a blast. You can rent everything you need in town for a few bucks, take a lesson if you need one with no notice with one of several companies, and be ready to climb in a day.

The area around Mt. Shasta is beautiful in a different way than the eastern Sierra, greener, wetter, with a great Northwest Cascade feel to it. I love it up there, but the 11 hour commute kills me!

Shasta is a lot less crowded than Whitney and a lot less of a circus.

Like Whitney, you can climb up and down Shasta (6+ miles) in a day, but you better leave before midnight. It's better to camp at Horse Camp or Helen Lake, where, as the previous post mentioned, it can blow. We picked a great weekend last Memorial Day and had great weather at Helen and for the climb up and down. By the way, Backpacker Magazine just rated the glissade down Shasta as the best in the country. It's worth the ride.

I love both mountains. Mt. Whitney is a hike up the main trail, but Shasta is a climb, requiring ice axe and crampons. I think the danger on Shasta is far more extreme, with big-time rock fall and snow-rock avalanches. Nevertheless, both mountains are rewarding to climb or hike.

Wow. There is a big difference...Shasta-3 miles up, and Whitney-11 miles up and they are both around the same elevation gain??? So, it sounds like Shasta is wayyyy more difficult and dangerous and probabaly a ton more exposure? If I were to climb it in August, then most of the snow would be gone, right? Shasta sounds scary, (to a little ol' Michigan gal.) I can feel my adrenaline pumping right now...

I should change my log in name to:
IWISHILIVEDINTHEMOUNTAINS

One piece of advice about climbing Shasta, particularly the Avalanche Gulch Route:Don't climb the mountain after the snow has melted.

The proverbial "one step forward, two steps back" will be changed to "one step forward, five steps back".
While there is a trail up on the flat first part of the hike, once the trail angles upward there are about three variations of ways to get to base camp at Helen Lake.Each variation is steep and once the snow is gone, covered with slippery, sliding shale, YUCK!
I first climbed Shasta in September and then again the following June,talk about a world of difference. Walking on the snow was 10 times easier. By the end of June there is a trail beat into the snow that resembles a stair case.The Red Banks which are above Ava. Gulch are always steep and a bit precarious so be confident on steep mixed terrain while wearing crampons. Once above the Banks it's a nice stroll the the summit pyramid. The summit pyramid is a little steep in places but not too difficult.The best thing about doing Shasta before the snow melts is the glissade back down.Otherwise you will have a grand ol' time slipping and falling on your rear as the shale slides out from under you.
Even though Whitney is 300 feet or so taller than Shasta, Shasta's "routa normal" is much harder than Whitney's.You should definately do the Mountaineers route in snow conditions before attempting Shasta.While ice axe and crampons are not always needed on Whitney, they are however a part of life on Shasta.
V-man

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.

I agree with Velo man. Shasta is much easier to climb when there is a substantial amount of snow cover. I had to walk on gravel and dirt when I reached Misery Hill on my last climb, and it was horrible. You do need to get a true alpine start though, as the rock fall is very dangerous later in the mid-morning. And make sure you are below Red Banks if the weather starts to come in, it is very difficult to navigate when visibility is poor.

I am climbing Whitney for the first time in a few weeks, so I can't compare the two of them for you.

I agree with bmarley...if you want to have a lot of fun and try out crampons and an ice axe the Avalanche Gulch route up Shasta is perfect.We also rented crampons and ice axe in town but remember you must have crampon-compatible hiking boots..I only had light hikers and ended up renting boots as well.
The only scary part was going up through the Red Banks..it is pretty steep and my heart was pounding when I turned around to look back down the mountain. If you are climbing the Red Banks in the early morning when the sun comes up remember to look back toward the southwest to see the shadow of Shasta hanging in the air-a beautiful sight! There is a good trail (although not as maintained as Whitney main trail) up to Helen Lake. Then you just follow the snow up to the Red Banks. When we were there in late July there was also an obvious trail up Misery Hill which was very looong but not difficult. The best part of the hike is the glissade back down...what took us 4 hours to climb took 10 minutes to slide down!! I would highly recommend some kind of pad to slide down on as it can be kinda hard on the rear-end. I would say the hike up Mt Shasta more closely resembles the Mountaineering route on Whitney for degree of difficulty and the type of trail. Like the Mountaineers route it is MUCH less crowded-we saw only about 6 people the whole day.
I love the scenery around Mt Shasta-green trees-blue lakes-blue sky. It is very different from Whitney which is beautiful in it's own way..
We hiked Mt Shasta in one day but we started out at about 11pm...next time we will spend the night at Helen Lake. Have fun!!!

The two are really very different, even though comparable in elevation. Whitney is by and large a long hike up well maintained trails with very little exposure (Normal Route) or a long hike/scramble/climb up trails and cross-country with some exposure on the Ledges. up the Chute and then either up or around to the top (Mountaineer's Route). Unless you do it on purpose (e.g. you do the Mountaineer's Route when there's snow) you will not need to use alpine mountaineering skills or equipment. Shasta, on the other hand, REQUIRES the use of alpine mountaineering skills and equipment unless you go up one of the few scree routes when the snow is gone which, by the way, is not recommended. The mountain is, generally speaking, covered with snow, ice and glaciers. You will absolutely have to have and know how to use crampons and ice axe. You may even have to rope up in spots if the weather gets nasty or conditions otherwise warrant. And speaking of weather, you will need to be prepared for freezing temperatures and severe snow storms whereas on Whitney during the summer snow is pretty unlikely.

Good luck on whichever you choose (or both) but don't be fooled --- while Whitney can at times and for some people be considered a "walk up", Shasta is not! People die up there because they are unprepared and inexperienced.

I just got back from a Shasta trip (didn't summit). As has been said, Shasta is way harder, and the Avalanche Gulch route is really not recommended in later summer as the rockfall can be really dangerous (hence the name). I went on a Shasta Mountain Guides trip and I highly recommend going to Shasta for the first time with a guide. The guide's knowledge is invaluable, and entertaining when they point out bad glissading technique (hint to guys, when glissading, it's a really bad idea to have the spike of the ax pointed at the area inbetween your legs.

The skills I've learned on this trip and a previous mountaineering class are making Whitney look really, really easy. I'm going back to Whitney in a couple of weeks so I'll be able to test this theory - hope there's still some snow.

Ellen