Shasta Mountain Guides Glacier Seminar II Glacier Travel and Rescue Hotlum Glacier Mount Shasta

Below is a detailed itinerary for the 5-day Glacier II Seminar. Please see our frequently asked questions page, or contact the office for more details about your climb. Also, please keep in mind that the projected itinerary may vary due to weather and trail conditions. The scheduled route is the Hotlum Glacier accessed from the Brewer Creek Trailhead.

Day 1 Meet and Course Start:

9:00 am Meet guides and group at the SMG Shop 230 N. Mt. Shasta Blvd. Please be punctual to allow enough time for gear rentals, packing, and a group briefing with your guides. Your guides will do a thorough gear check and pass out group gear before packing your backpacks.

10:00-11:30am Drive to the Brewer Creek trail head (7200’) for a group briefing and start the approach to base (10,200’). The drive is approximately 1 hour on dirt roads; we do not provide transportation but encourage carpooling.

11:30-4:30pm Hike to base camp. Depending on weather and trail conditions, this approach to base camp may take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours, it is mostly cross country hiking on dry rugged terrain

Distance hiking: 3 miles, 3,000’ elevation gain

4:30pm-8:00pm At base camp the group will set up camp, enjoy dinner prepared by your guides, and pack for the following day of skills instruction. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers, and possibly some appropriate skill sessions.

Day 2: Glacier Skills Day

6:30am-7:30am Day two we will rise early and prepare for a full day of skills instruction on the glacier.

7:30am-3:00pm Your guides will chose a safe area on the glacier for this day of skills instruction. Guides are prepared to format instruction according to group and individual educational goals. Emphasis will be placed on glacier travel and crevasse rescue techniques; rope rigging, snow anchors, snow movement, etc. as well as a review of fundamental techniques, team rope travel and team arrest.

3:00pm-7:30pm The team will return to camp for an early dinner and evening briefing. Your guides will discuss seminar logistics and what to pack for the following day as well as review and time for additional details and follow up.

Day 3: Skills Day

7:00am-3:00pm Day 3 of the seminar will pick up where day 2 left off. We will spend the day on the glacier refining our skills and practicing the crevasse rescue techniques. We will add specific skills including steep climbing, self rescue, team rescue, and possibly .

3:00pm- 6:00pm We will return to camp to rest and prepare for the next day's summit attempt. The guides will have an evening briefing to discuss climb day logistics and what to pack for the summit climb. We will have a pre-climb dinner and early bed time to ready ourselves for the early morning start.

Day 4: Summit Climb

Alpine Start Depending on group size, season, and route conditions, wake-up call will occur between 2:00am-3:00am.

Total distance: 4 miles, 4,000’ elevation one way

Turn around time For safety purposes, our turn around time on the mountain may be as early as 11:00 am-12:00 pm. We use these time frames to avoid hazards such as serac and snow bridge collapse, rock fall and afternoon storms. Depending on route conditions, the descent back to camp may take 2.5-4.0 hours.

Back at base camp Back at base camp the team will have the rest of the afternoon to relax, debrief the day and enjoy another alpine dinner and sunset from our camp

Day Five: Course Wrap Up

7:00am - 8:30am Day five you will enjoy a leisurely breakfast and pack up camp. There will be a skills session before descending back to the trailhead. This will be a time to tie up any loose ends answer any remaining questions and possibly cover some new material. The descent takes about 2-3 hours.