Scaling Mount Shasta a thrill for local climbers

By TY PHILLIPS
tphillips@modbee.com

E-Mail

Comments (0)

Text Size:

tool goes here

Mount Shasta can be a harsh host pretty much any time of year. The mountain is particularly nasty in the winter, when icy winds can reach 75 mph and sudden snowstorms leave unlucky climbers no choice but to dig an ice cave and crawl inside to hide.

Nearing the summit on a recent climb, Deborah Steinberg of Modesto found that the 14,179-foot mountain sometimes poses another problem: bathroom privacy.

Of course, this is less an issue for male climbers, many of whom may view the great outdoors as one big toilet. It's a different matter, however, when nature calls a woman above the tree line. Steinberg learned this as she climbed while tethered to two other male climbers working their way up a ridge.

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

"Basically, if you're going to go to the bathroom, it's fairly public," she said. "When you're up that high, there are no trees to hide behind. You just have to tell people to turn around.

"There was one place we were where the slope was probably about 50 degrees and you don't look down because it's scary. So you don't want to take off your harness to go to the bathroom unless you were about to lose it. For a woman, it's a pain. You'd have to stop everyone and tell them to turn around. I just held it for hours until we got up to the top of the ridge. That's really all you can do."

Yes, climbing a mountain is all about fighting the tiny battles within the war. And Steinberg, 45, did win the war, reaching the Shasta summit on the third day of the four-day expedition. Steinberg, Adrian Crane of Modesto and Mark Richardson of Oakdale were among seven of 13 climbers who took advantage of good weather to reach the summit.

For those who never will climb a mountain in winter (Don't feel bad: That's most of us), here are some snippets of what it's like trekking through snow and ice atop California's northernmost 14,000-footer.

'A real mountain'

Crane, 52, was the most experienced climber in the group. Years ago, he came within 2,000 feet of the summit of Mount Everest before he had to turn back because his party ran short of oxygen bottles. In comparison, one might think Shasta, at less than half the height of Everest, would seem like a fairly easy winter climb. Not so.

"It's almost true to say Shasta can be every bit as challenging as Everest," Crane said. "And it's certainly true to say Shasta in tough weather is tougher than Everest in good weather. I've been up there every year for the last 15 years, and half the time, it's been nasty, with howling blizzards and whiteouts. I've put several camps in at 10,000 feet and never been able to get higher. That's what makes it a real mountain. You never know if you'll be able to summit."

Technology at 14,000 feet

On the climb, Richardson, 44, carried with him a GPS receiver and a beacon that enabled those in lower elevations to track how the climb was going. The technology also used a Web site called www.findmespot.com, which sent update messages to anyone who registered before the expedition. Those who registered received e-mails or text messages with a link showing the party's GPS coordinates that, when opened in a Google Maps browser, displayed any recent progress. The location of the party was updated every 10 minutes.

When Steinberg and the other members of the group reached the top, many called their family members and friends. In case anyone is wondering, Verizon service works atop the Shasta summit, but AT&T does not.

Lost in the ice field

Somewhere along the way of what she later described as "a life-changing trip," Steinberg fought off doubts about her summit chances by reminding herself that the current conditions were perfect and likely would not coalesce again. She was healthy and in good shape and she already was well up a mountain that usually didn't offer such perfect weather in February. These truths fueled her now-or-never resolve.