Climbing the Hotlum Bolam
Route with a Ski Descent
by Conan Liu

June 1, 1998

Amidst many fears of poor weather this weekend [May 30-31], I guided a party of four (non-patrollers) on a Mt. Shasta telemark ski-mountaineering ascent/descent. Members: Dave P, Mark B, Timmy G, Conan L. Arriving at a wet Shasta City on Friday night we were encouraged by National weather reports. On the drive to Bunny Flat, we were amazed to see that the snowline was at 5,000 ft and that there was a fresh foot of snow in the trees and on the freshly plowed roadside. It was like January all over again.

Waking up on Saturday morning, we found that there was another 2 inches on the ground and that the weather was immaculate; no wind, no clouds. Upon discovering that you can no longer self-register at the Bunny Flat station (a temporary inconvenience according to the NPS) we researched the north-facing Hotlum-Bolam route, and then proceeded to go to get our permits at The Fifth Season climbing and mountaineering shop (opens at 8am weekends; shop 530-926-3606; 24 hr climbing report 530-926-5555). We were aided by the excellent staff and Michael told us that we may be the first to ski the north face this season! This added fuel to our campstove!

After a late start on Saturday, we drove around to toward the North Gate access road and were stopped at 5,000 ft by snow. By 10:00 am, clouds started to roll in. We were about 3 miles from the North Gate station itself. Another party of 6 climbers/skiers were about 30 minutes in front of us, blazing a trail to North Gate. We were lucky to be able to use their tracks in the fresh snowfall. After the North Gate meadow area, we skinned up a series of drainages and bowls in heavy Sierra cement to a sizable ramp. We followed this ramp and skinned up to a small bowl where we made camp at about 10,500 ft. We covered this ground in about 6 hours. The weather remained unchanged with large cloud masses, a slight wind and no precipitation.

Sunday. Weather: fine, sunny, no clouds, no wind. We broke camp at 8:00 am and skinned up a low angle ramp to the base of the Hotlum-Bolam ridge, which divides the Hotlum glacier from the Bolam glacier. The glaciers were not evident from below due to the new snowfall, or the large snowpack, but I was confident that the safe passage of the ridge itself was pretty self-evident from the guidebooks and topo in my possession. We could see the party of 6 ascending slowly the massive ridge. We wondered why they were moving slowly. We decided to take a more direct line up the ridge, and not to waste time and energy contouring.

At 10 am at the base of the ridge, we made an equipment drop and switched to crampons and ice axe. We were breaking through a 6-10 inch wind-crusted layer with every footstep. Occasionally we would strike a firm surface or powdery snow. This process was exhausting and time-consuming. At 12:30 p.m. we reached a series of rocky outcrops on the ridge. One of our members retired due to headache and nausea. We were at about 13,200 ft. Then there were 3.

At around 2:00 p.m., we reached what is known as the Hotlum-Bolam Step, an area where the ridge grade tapers off, and where one can traverse in a south-westerly direction to ascend the summit massif. At this point another team member retired due to fatigue. We sighted 3 members of the party of 6 some 500 feet above us; they too, had been hit hard by the effects of altitude and physical exertion.

I watched the other team of 3 (Jeanne, Charlie, Andrew) begin ascending the published variation to the Hotlum-Bolam Ridge above the step. Instead of traversing south-west, this variation is characterized by a more direct line to the summit past a series of spires, offering "airy climbing" and a slightly steeper grade than the traditional route. To its east, one could see clearly the massive rocky headwall of Shasta, which is prominent only from a north-side perspective.

A view from the Step showing a direct line through the rocky ridge or the traditional route, traversing around to the right (southwest) skyline. The Headwall looms in the right skyline, and the Headwall Couloir divides the Headwall from the rocky ridge. Photo: Conan

Mark and I discussed our options. Part of me wanted to do our intended traditional route due to the fact that we would be boot-packing our own steps, and this would be 'unassisted'. The other half of me was telling me to follow the bootsteps of the other team and to use it as a staircase to the top which would allow us to save energy. We decided to conserve our energy and follow the steps. We noted that the other team had left their skis at the beginning of hall of spires. We decided to carry our skis to the summit. The whole way up, I kept my eye upon the enticing, north-facing 40-degree Headwall Couloir which started off as a broad apron but funneled to a narrow halt at the base of the rocky headwall.

At about 14 000 ft, we encountered the hydrogen sulfide gas from the hot springs and my 2 alive neurons reminded me of John Muir and his hot spring immersion tactic during a storm. We talked with the down climbing party of 3 (Jeanne, Charlie, Andrew) who told us that it was still perfect on top: sunny, no wind. At 3:30 p.m. we topped out on Shasta, took photos, yelled, screamed and prepared for our ski descent.

		Summit Fever at 3:30 p.m. after a 7.5 hour slog to the top.
		I watched Mark as he telemarked down the traditional route, carving beautiful turns on a hard-packed base.

I watched him until he was safe and then proceeded to to the mouth of the Headwall Couloir where I checked for stability, and liked what I saw: 2 inches of powder on a firm-packed base.

I jumped in and got off 4 turns and then headed to a safe side to let my tail sloughs drop below me. Mark was watching me from the Step. I reached the funnel and had a little rock-hopping to do and let my skis run across and angled slope. I headed back over to the Step. Mark and I headed back over the wind-crusted and packed slope to our base camp.

Climber's Home ~ Virtual Tour ~ Summit Log ~ Overview ~ Local Info. ~ News & Stories ~ Events

© 1997-2008 Mt. Shasta Climber's Guide. All Rights Reserved.