Week 6 Matt Dooley SWS Mountain Guides

6-29-11 - 6/30/11
My first trip up on Shasta with lead guide Brady. Today started with meeting clients at the office and doing a pack check to ensure clients have proper and adequate gear. Lucky me, my pack only weighs in at 56 pounds today! In the parking lot at bunny flat at 7,000 feet to start the day. Weather is misting rain and visibility is cut down. Brady makes the call to camp at horse camp instead of 50/50 due to weather and snow conditions. I am beginning to process what is going through his head as a guide. Brady makes the right call as the clients are beginning to be soaked from the rain. We teach the clients how to self arrest/self belay, crampon techniques, and how to use the ice axe properly.

We dig tents in for the night, cook dinner and go over the trip plan for tomorrow. Put clients in bed at 7:30 and I walk off with Brady to discuss my role, and weather for tomorrow's day. In bed at 8:30. Wake up at 12:00. Get water going for breakfast, make sure clients have all the proper gear. On our way up the mountain at 1:00am. We stop at 3:30-4:00. We hear water peculating under the snow, literally sounds like we are on top of a river. Snow conditions are bad. we had snow two days previous and it has been supper hot on the mountain following the snow. Consistent rock fall as we hike, and its only going to get worse about 10,000 feet in the gully. Avalanche danger is high due to the weather and snow conditions. We make the call to turn around. It will be unsafe to continue. arrive back to camp just in time to see the sun rise. Sleep for 1:30 min and pack up and head off the mountain.

This trip taught me how rough mountaineering can be. Good Black Diamond equipment is essential! Glad I made the investment. it is a completely different world up at elevation and in the snow. conditions can be unpredictable and on this trip you have to absolutely put safety 100% first and put making the summit 14,289 feet second.

7-1-11
Cleaned MSR stoves from the JH Ranch trip. Needed to be done badly. Tent repair from JH ranch trip and look over all tent bodies for major problems. Fixed holes with seem grip.

7-2-11
Arrived at SWS to do a porter run for today. A porter run is when a client purchases the option of having someone carry all or on this case most of their gear one way (up to 50lbs) my trip would be up the hill. I skinned up to 50/50 on skis dropped her gear off and skied down the hill. Crappy snow conditions, pure slush, porter run took all day. skiing down Shasta even though the snow was crap was by far the best part of the day. Cleaned house.

7-3-11
Returning clients, unpack tents, hang to dry, look over, pack up and put in back room. Worked in the herb garden. Planted some wild onion that i brought from home. Washed rope. All ropes are now washed in the line up.