Mount Shasta (CA) - Hotlum/Bolam Ridge

Mount Shasta is one of the brightest jewels in the crown of spring volcano skiing in the PNW. Topping out at 14,179’ it is the second tallest Cascade peak and the largest stratovolcano (by volume) in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. I’ve been fortunate to check off a couple of the ski routes on this beast, namely Avalanche Gulch and the Hotlum/Wintun Ridge. The former is a bit of a zoo during peak season (June/July) and not really my cup of tea, but I was happy enough to check it off. The Hotlum/Wintun (HW) on the other hand, is an absolute gem, with far fewer people and one of the best slopes I’ve had the pleasure of turning my skis down. Although I’d always be down for another HW run if conditions are good, I’ve had a few other routes I’ve been wanting to tick off, one of them being the Hotlum/Bolam Ridge. Luckily for me, some of our crew was planning to get on it and I jumped on board, dragging my buddy Markus along for the ride. When all the dust had settled, we had a committed crew of 5. In addition to Markus and me, there was also Lucy, Leah and Eric (the birthday boy) – a solid team for such an adventure!

During the week leading up to the trip, the weather looked generally favorable, except for some potential wind, which in combination with below freezing temps, could mean that the upper half of the mountain would never corn up. I’m sure I dwelled on this more than I needed to, but the weather this spring has been pretty unpredictable and I’d already been burned a few times. In the end, the forecast looked good enough and I decided to ‘participate, not anticipate’, and just go with the flow. Since a few of us had prior engagements on Friday, we wouldn’t be able to leave until Saturday, setting us up for a Sunday tour. Since we were planning to do it in one push, we’d camp at the Northgate trailhead on Saturday night, and get an alpine start the following morning.

That Saturday, I packed up my car and picked up Markus at his house at around 11:30am. From Eugene we made the long drive to the Northgate trailhead. Soon after crossing into California, we were treated to our first views of Mount Shasta, which never ceases to impress. From the lookout on I-5, the Hotlum/Bolam route was just out of view, but it looked like we’d have plenty of snow. We soon left the highway and started heading east, where the views of the mountain got better and better, eventually revealing the route we’d be skiing -- it looked fantastic!

Mount Shasta (west side), from the overlook on I-5.

What a beauty!

Turning onto Military Pass Road, the surface turned to dirt and became increasingly more rugged. It never got to the point of needing 4WD, but I was certainly glad to have a bit of clearance in my Forester. At ~8.5 miles we reached the parking lot, were we found a few other groups, including a forest ranger, who welcomed us and gave us the skinny on the sign-in process. Soon after this, the rest of our crew showed up and the stoke level was at a 10! That evening I decided to get in a short hike up the trail and see how far up the snowline was. After walking for about a mile and ~500 vertical feet, it looked like we’d have enough snow to start skinning. By the time I got back to the trailhead, the sun had fallen low on the horizon and everyone was already setting up their bedrolls. After eating a quick dinner, I rolled out mine, set my alarm for 2:15am and dozed off soon after that.

Signing in

A little way up the trail

Horny Toad!

The Milky Way over Mount Shasta
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

During the night the winds picked up and were quite heavy at times. Although NOAA had forecasted this and that they were supposed to die down in the morning, it still made me a bit nervous. Unfortunately, this unnecessary concern made it hard to sleep and I only got in a few hours before my alarm went off. Since I’d made most of my gear preparations the night before, I only needed to change into my touring clothes and throw down some breakfast before I was ready to go. By the time everyone was ready, was around 3:30am -- a little behind schedule but still within the margin of error.

Suitin' up
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

As we headed down the trail under headlamp, we hiked up and over a few snow drifts, looking for more consistent coverage from which to start skinning. Since it was dark, it was hard to tell exactly where the snowline truly started. We decided to play it safe, keeping our skis on our packs while we traversed west, following the designated climbing route. After 2 miles and ~ 700’ of climbing we reached a drainage that appeared to have enough coverage to begin skinning. It was here where we made our transition and started the next phase of the journey.

Transitioning under headlamp

Before long we emerged from the steep drainage and onto a low-angle snowfield of sparse and stunted vegetation, signaling that we were about to cross over the treeline. Upon doing so we also found ourselves under the soft glow of morning twilight, which in time produced an array of bright colors covering the landscape and in the sky. Now with Mount Shasta in full view, we were treated to some amazing alpenglow on its upper reaches.

Early skinning

First views of the mountain during the approach

Twilight
(photo by Eric Finan)

Eric checks our location

Alpenglow

The author makes his way up the valley
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

As we entered the alpine, we headed up a large drainage that led to the foot of the Hotlum/Bolam ridge. The wind funneling down the gully was strong enough to blow my hat off but not enough to slow us down or deter our advance. It was here that the icy and steepening slope encouraged those of us that had ski crampons to use them. The sun soon rose above the hillside on our left, illuminating the right side of the gully. Working my way over to the light, I immediately felt its warmth on my cheeks, which felt nice against the brisk conditions found in the shade.

Adding ski crampons for the icy slopes ahead
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Entering the light
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

At ~11,000’ we reached the west flank of the Hotlum Glacier, which we planned to travel along as we made our way to the summit. We decided to take a quick snack break, which allowed everyone to catch up and discuss our route for the top half of the mountain. We all agreed that taking the same approach we’d planned to descend made the most sense, since it would allow us to pre-scout the terrain we’d encounter on the way down. With a plan established, we A-framed our skis, put on our boot crampons, and started hiking up the face and toward “The Ramp”, a relatively narrow chute between rock walls.

The crew reaches the HB Ridge

Looking up the HB Ridge and the main face we planned to ski

The slope leading up to the ramp was pretty consistent at 30 degrees. Although we probably could have skinned up it, conditions wouldn't have been very good for doing so, as it alternated between hardpack and small pockets of wind transport that fractured easily underfoot. Just below the ramp we came across a large group of Marines that were wrapping up their mountain training. They were lined up across the slope, waiting their turn to glissade down the face. We also saw another group of four, who were ascending the ramp, presumably with the same planned route as us. We assumed we’d have to navigate around the bergschrund at the base of the ramp, but to our delight, it was early enough in the season that it hadn’t opened up yet.

Preparing for the next pitch
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Eric starts the booting process

Slow and steady
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Lucy enjoys some entertainment from the Marines glissade practice

The ramp itself steepened a little bit, but the angle never surpassed the low to mid-30s. Interestingly enough, the snow actually softened up a bit on the upper half, with my feet sinking to my ankles. Of course I was more than happy to jump in line and follow Eric’s bootpack. At around 13,000’ we reached “The Step” at the top of the ramp - a fairly flat area and a perfect place for a break before heading up the next pitch. From here we got a great view of the upper headwall of Mount Shasta and the sweet looking north face of Shastina, which I’d love to ski at some point!

The author, feeling the thin air.
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Eric finds us a rest spot partway up The Ramp

The crew grabs a quick snack before continuing up The Ramp

Halfway up The Ramp

Another party above us on The Ramp

Topping out onto The Step

Still smiling
(Photo by Eric Finan)

The sweet line down the north face of Shastina

The upper headwall

From The Step we had planned to cross over the ridge onto the Bolam glacier and make the final push from there. At this point I jumped out ahead and began booting up the face above us. Crossing over the ridge I found the upper reaches of the Bolem glacier to be both steep and pretty icy. I radioed back to the crew to give them the beta and find out if they still wanted to take our initially planned route. Based on the conditions, we decided to divert to the more rocky route up the main ridge, where most of the traffic seemed to be going.

Lucy, ready for the next pitch above The Step
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

A climber heads up the rocky ridge, to the right of the Rabbit Ears.

Once the others had caught up, we ditched our skis and decided to make the final ~700’ without them; basically, the terrain on this specific route wasn’t conducive to skiing. To secure our skis we drove the tails into the snow, which took me a few placements before I felt comfortable with how secure they’d be. From our skis, the climb steepened dramatically, as it cut through the upper cliff band. Amongst the rock were two prominent spires, aptly named “The Rabbit Ears”. The terrain was a mix of rock and snow, and the most technical I’ve encountered on Mount Shasta -- It’s only a class III pitch and by no means difficult, but it does require more scrambling and there is more exposure than that found on either the Hotlum/Wintun or Avalanche Gulch routes. I was a little nervous about trashing my lightweight aluminum crampons, but they performed flawlessly and I was appreciating their lesser weight at this elevation.

Hope they stay put...
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Eric closes in on the Rabbit Ears

Lucy and the author ascend the rocky upper ridge
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Looking back down
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Beyond the rocky chute, the bootpack did cross over the ridge and onto the very top of the Bolam glacier. There were one or two moves that required me to grab some rock handholds to ensure I didn’t fall on the steep slope below, which would have made for a very bad day. Once past this move, the slope mellowed out and eventually rounded over onto a bench. To reach the bootpack that led up the summit, we first had to hike south through a small pass, which lay between the main and a lesser summit to the west.

Traversing over onto the upper reaches of the Bolam Glacier

Getting closer
(photo by Eric Finan)

One step at a time
(photo by Eric Finan)

The pass to reach the summit pinnacle

On the other side of the pass we found a line of people heading to the top, with most approaching via Avalanche Gulch. It was quite a contrast from the route we’d come up, which other than the group of Marines and a couple of other small teams, we’d had all to ourselves. Falling in line, we ascended the last 200’ to the summit, where we found warm temps and zero wind -- pretty crazy for the top of a 14’er! We ended up hanging out at the summit for half an hour, eating snacks and taking summit photos. We also filled out the summit log book, where we came across Cody Townsend’s sign-in for The Fifty Project -- apparently, they’d summited/skied Shasta just a few days before us.

The final push

Lucy and the author take the final steps to the summit
(photo by Eric Finan)

Group shot -- we all made it!

Eric blows out his birthday candle at 14k

The summit log
(photo by Eric Finan)

The Fifty Project just beat us
(photo by Eric Finan)

The hike down from the summit had us retracing our tracks back to our skis. As usual, descending on foot is more sketchy, and I wasn’t looking forward to the rock chute that we still needed to down climb. It became clear in the chute that the others were way more comfortable than me with this kind of travel and I soon found myself playing a bit of catch up. Using a combination of hiking down on my heels, side stepping and crawling down backwards on my hands and feet, I eventually made it to my skis, where the others had already started transitioning. I quickly peeled off my crampons and readied my ski gear, stoked for the massive descent we were just about to drop into.

Hiking back down to our skis

Once I was locked into my bindings, I gave the signal and dropped in for my first turns of the day. The snow on the slope between the rocky chute and the step had softened a bit from the sun but was fairly textured, which made it hard to control my edges with grace. Moving to the east side of the slope, I found much nicer snow and was able to link some fun turns all the way down to where the others were waiting.

Lucy, with her first turns of the day.

Working the textured snow

Partway down the upper slope

The author finishes up the slope above The Step
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

The next pitch had us dropping down the ramp, where the snow was near perfect corn consistency. I was grinning ear to ear as I entered its confines, slashing turns on the way down. Stopping a few hundred feet below its entrance, I pulled out my camera and waited for the others. Before long, they dropped in one after another, each with an abundance of stoke for how awesome the conditions were!

Markus enters The Ramp

Lucy, a little ways down The Ramp.

Looking down The Ramp

Eric joins the party

Kickin' up corn

As we continued down the ramp our turns got more dialed in; although, our leg muscles were starting to feel the effect of all the climbing we’d done up to that point. Before long we dropped onto the lower apron below the ramp, skiing over the hidden bergschrund. The final 1,000’ of the apron maintained a slope angle in the low 30s, which provided low stress but super fun turns.

The author
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Setting up for another turn
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Leah, with speed.

Opening it up on the lower section of The Ramp

Lucy, low on The Ramp.

Regrouping below The Ramp
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

The author on the lower slope
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Pole plantin'
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Leah

Dropping down the lower slope

Eric

Party ski down low

Mellowing out a bit

The author digs in
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Boot shots
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

More party ski

Markus, comes in hot.

All too soon, we reached the bottom of the main face and were sitting above a fork in the road -- left would have us heading down the valley we’d ascended, and right would send us down a long/low angle gully toward a steeper pitch, which we’d seen on the way up and looked pretty sweet. Wanting to see some different terrain, we went right, dropping down the banked runway. Although the slope angle was in the high teens to low 20s, it was still super fun, with some party skiing and lots of hippy turns. The gully went on for quite a while and I actually lost sight of the lead skiers, who had gotten quite a bit ahead while I was taking photos.

Lucy enters the lower gully

Eric drops down the gully

A little flat but still fun

Markus, in the gully. if you look carefully, you can see our tracks almost all the way up the mountain.

Lucy smiles for the camera

Closing in on the final pitch

The author exits the gully
(photo by Lucy Barton)

At the end of the gully we regathered and found the top of the slope we’d eyed on the way up. I dropped in first and setup for photos between pitches. Surprisingly, the snow was still really nice and hadn’t gotten too soft or sticky. Once the rest of the crew had skied past, I dropped in for the final pitch of the day. Even the lactic acid buildup in my quads couldn't diminish from the joy of my final few turns down the mountain. As I pulled over at the bottom I was still in shock that we’d skied over 5,000’ of near perfect corn snow. Even though I’ve skied lines that were just as long, including a few on Mount Shasta, I’ve not experienced that kind of consistency from top to bottom.

Eric drops into the final pitches of the descent

This guy always has energy in reserve

Leah chases down Eric

Leah

Setting up for the final pitch

Lucy drops down the final pitch

Leah, still crushin' it!

Eric enters the flats

Followed by Leah

Markus takes a more woodsy route 

Markus, finishing up a very long descent, on tired legs.

Now back below treeline, we skied the short flat section before entering the drainage that dropped us into the dense forest. After descending another 300’ we reached the rock where some in the group had left their shoes. Since Eric and I had hiked up in our ski boots, we went out ahead, connecting patches of snow and trying to ski as far as we could before shouldering our skis. I was able to traverse for about a half mile before the snow got too patchy to continue on skis. I quickly strapped them to my pack and started the hike back to the Northgate trailhead.

Once I found the trail the hike down went pretty quick, but I was definitely ready for it to be over. Back at the car I found Eric who had beaten me out and was already changed into more comfortable clothing. After dropping my pack from my shoulders, I did the same and was pretty relieved to be out of my ski boots. Soon after, the others came down the trail, and once they’d had a chance to get settled in, joined us for a celebration beer and a reflection on another amazing day on the mountain!

One last view of the trailhead before heading home

Conclusion:
The Hotlum/Bolam route has been on my bucket list for a few years now and I’m stoked to have finally bagged it. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions, with top to bottom corn snow, good coverage and fantastic weather. The route itself is pretty damn good from a skier's perspective. Conditions permitting, you could ski almost all the way from the summit. Once below the Rabbit Ears, the slope angle never gets steeper than the high 30’s, which is either a positive or negative, depending on what type of terrain you prefer and/or your skill level. On that note, this is where it really differs from the ultra classic Hotlum/Wintun route, which it sits in the shadows of. As for the HW route, the upper slope angle is in the low to mid 40s and although the terrain isn’t any more technical, you definitely notice the extra 10 degrees of additional slope angle. Comparing the quality of the two routes, I’d give the nod to HW. That said, the HB route should not be overlooked and belongs on any backcountry skiers to-do list, especially if you live nearby. One final note, the road to the Northgate trailhead melts out faster than the Brewer Creek trailhead, which means you can bag the HB route earlier in the season, by about two weeks.

The tracks from our tour: