Intro to Mountaineering on Mt Shasta
- The Rest Step
- Crampon techniques for various types of terrain
- Ski Crampons
- All about Ice Axes: Anatomy of an ice axe, Various grips and applications, Team arrest (when travelling on a rope team), Self arrest
- Rope Travel: Short roping with a guide, Glacier travel
- Transitions: From skinning to cramponing, Cramponing to skiing in steep terrain
Here's the schedule for your trip:
- Day 1 - Mountaineering Skills Review - 8:00am meetup with your guide at the trailhead. Travel to a suitable area to practice the skills we need for the day. 3:30 pm Close out the day and return to town.
- Day 2 -Shasta Climb 6:00-9:00am Meet to discuss the plan for the day, then set off. 3:30 pm Trailhead debrief and program close
- No prior experience with Ice Axes, Crampons or ropes is required.
- Moderate Fitness - Able to spend an active day outside, moving uphill at 1,000’ per hour for durations of roughly 1 hour between breaks. Participants should be able to hike 4-6 miles and climb 1,000-2,500 vertical feet throughout the course of the day.
Shop Recommended Gear OR Visit our Rentals Page
Here's what's included with your course:
- Experienced AMGA Trained Guide
- Ropes and Gear for training
- Group Safety Gear - your guide will be equipped with snow science tools and a first aid kit
- Wag bags for human waste disposal - in with compliance 'Leave No Trace' principles
- Ice Axe, Crampons, Climbing Harness
- Guide Gratuities
Mountaineering Gear
- Ice Axe
- Crampons
- Climbing Harness
- Mountaineering Boots are recommended, but sturdy, waterproof hiking boots will work for this course.
Know Before you go
Blackbird Mountain Guides offers both scheduled group programs and private programs.
Private programs are simply above and beyond what Blackbird Mountain Guides currently has scheduled. Scheduled courses are not always less expensive. Before booking a trip with Blackbird Mountain Guides, clients are encouraged to review the differences between these types of programs, and to decide what works best for them.
SCHEDULED PROGRAMS
Scheduled Programs have fixed dates, itineraries, objectives, curriculum, and costs. They typically appeal to solo individuals or small groups or who are looking to share the cost of their program with a larger group. Correspondingly, scheduled programs are less expensive for smaller groups (1-2), and they provide the opportunity to meet others with similar interests. If you have a large group (3+), Scheduled programs will often be more expensive. They can fill up quickly, and scheduling flexibility is obviously limited.
Scheduled programs will have advertised dates. All scheduled programs can be run as private programs with private dates/rates as well.
PRIVATE PROGRAMS
Private programs have scheduling freedom. They typically appeal to those who would like some flexibility in planning their own trip or course. In this regard, Itineraries and objectives can be tailored to suit current conditions as well as client goals. Private programs are normally less expensive for larger groups (3+). If you have a small group (1-2) private programs will be more expensive.
Day 1 - Mountaineering Skills Review
- 8:00am meetup with your guide at the trailhead - We'll do a quick gear check and review the plan for the day. The guide will discuss where we'll travel and provide an overview of the skills to be covered for the day. The guide will conduct a Trailhead Departure Check/Beacon Check.
- 8:30am Hike In - Travel to a suitable area to practice the skills we need for the day. The purpose of the day is building skills, so we'll focus on that, rather than travelling long distances.
- 9:00am Skills
- We'll begin our skills session, covering basic efficiency, footwork and body position, including the rest step.
- Crampon techniques for various types of terrain Ski Crampons, how and when to use them
- All about Ice Axes
- Anatomy of an ice axe
- Various grips and applications
- Team arrest (when travelling on a rope team)
- Self arrest
- Rope Travel
- Short roping with a guide
- Glacier travel
- 3:30pm Close out the day and return to town After we finish skills for the day and establish a plan for the following day, we'll go our separate ways for the evening.
Day 2 - Mountaineering on Shasta
- 6:00-9:00am Meet to discuss the plan for the day We'll base this meeting time on the snow conditions and objective hazards for the day. After meeting up we'll discuss the plan for the day and conduct a trailhead departure check.
- We'll hike up the mountain, putting the skills we learned the previous day to use on the natural features of the mountain. Our hike will be based on the desires of the group and will focus on skills development and finding the best quality terrain!
- 3:30pm Trailhead debrief and program close - We'll wrap up the course with daylight left to spare, debriefing the skills learned and the next steps for skills development and mountaineering opportunities.
- The Rest Step
- Crampon techniques for various types of terrain
- Ski Crampons
- All about Ice Axes: Anatomy of an ice axe, Various grips and applications, Team arrest (when travelling on a rope team), Self arrest
- Rope Travel: Short roping with a guide, Glacier travel
- Transitions: From skinning to cramponing, Cramponing to skiing in steep terrain
Here's the schedule for your trip:
- Day 1 - Mountaineering Skills Review - 8:00am meetup with your guide at the trailhead. Travel to a suitable area to practice the skills we need for the day. 3:30 pm Close out the day and return to town.
- Day 2 -Shasta Climb 6:00-9:00am Meet to discuss the plan for the day, then set off. 3:30 pm Trailhead debrief and program close
- No prior experience with Ice Axes, Crampons or ropes is required.
- Moderate Fitness - Able to spend an active day outside, moving uphill at 1,000’ per hour for durations of roughly 1 hour between breaks. Participants should be able to hike 4-6 miles and climb 1,000-2,500 vertical feet throughout the course of the day.
Shop Recommended Gear OR Visit our Rentals Page
Here's what's included with your course:
- Experienced AMGA Trained Guide
- Ropes and Gear for training
- Group Safety Gear - your guide will be equipped with snow science tools and a first aid kit
- Wag bags for human waste disposal - in with compliance 'Leave No Trace' principles
- Ice Axe, Crampons, Climbing Harness
- Guide Gratuities
Mountaineering Gear
- Ice Axe
- Crampons
- Climbing Harness
- Mountaineering Boots are recommended, but sturdy, waterproof hiking boots will work for this course.
Epic Reviews From Adventurers
- Rated 5 out of 5 starsSet me up with a perfect custom skills program - highly recommend!
I'd been trying to setup a way to learn some snow skills basics for awhile, and most companies were just not very responsive for what I wanted, and I actually couldn't make it happen. Then I emailed Blackbird - and not only was it great to finally get some conversation going by email/phone, they were able to set me up with the type of program I was looking for. I was setup with Jon as my guide and felt like I was in very capable hands the entire time - covering all the topics relevant for my goals. While I'm comfortable enough camping and hiking in the wilderness, I had zero experience with crampons, ice axes, safety aspects etc, along with navigating more challenging and steep terrain. We started off covering some initial information that went well enough to tackle a couple objectives - which were far more challenging than I'd originally thought possible for myself. But he really nailed it, and picked a plan which let me push what I could do while still feeling comfortable. Plus I appreciated his patience, encouragement and positivity as I sorted out my practice of these new skills. Overall highly recommended!
Tobin S. - Rated 5 out of 5 starsIncredibly knowledgeable guides!
Incredibly knowledgeable guides. It was my first time on a serious mountaineering trip, and our guide Jason was a great resource for our attempt at the Shasta summit. Despite insanely cold and snowy weather for May we had a great time!
Thomas M.Verified Buyer - Rated 5 out of 5 starsAmazing guide service, you are in the best possible hands!
Blackbird Mountain Guides is an amazing guide service! They tailor trips based on your individual preferences and abilities and are eager to help you develop new skill sets. The guides have extensive subject matter expertise are extremely professional. I have done numerous climbs with Zeb specifically, including a recent trip a few weeks back - it was (as always) thoroughly enjoyable. There is a reason I keep coming back and climbing with Zeb - you always know you are in the best possible hands. Based on my past experiences, I am currently planning two more trips next year with Blackbird Mountain Guides. A top-notch company.
Corey R. - Rated 5 out of 5 starsFully recommend Blackbird for Mt Shasta!
We did a 3 day Shasta trip with Blackbird guides with Jason as our guide. Since we had already done Shasta we asked for a route a bit more adventurous and Jason obliged. The trip was fantastic with time for acclimatization and a lower summit Shastina then a super interesting route to the summit which was challenging but not too much. Jason was wonderful every step of the way, he was able to navigate the major obstacle which was the wind and went above and beyond to get us to the summit. Fully recommend Blackbird and Jason in particular.
Richard B.
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