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Mount Shasta’s Growing Glaciers

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Global warming is causing most glaciers worldwide to melt; however Mount Shasta’s glaciers are an exception. Shasta’s glaciers have about doubled in size since the 1950s. Scientists think this is due to the warmer Pacific ocean releasing more water vapor, which then moves inland to drop more snow on Mount Shasta. This increase in snow is large enough to offset increased rates of snowmelt from warmer air temperatures.

Most climatologists agree that global warming is happening. One question for outdoors people: “How do we adjust our outdoors activities around the changing climate?” What about you? How is the changing climate affecting your recreation outdoors? How do you plan to cope with it?

We had a very dry spring in far Northern California, and this meant the main hiking route to the summit of Mount Shasta up Avalanche Gulch via Lake Helen lost most of its snow by late June, making climbing far more difficult.

Below is a USGS photo of Konwakiton Glacier on Mount Shasta.

Konwakiton Glacier Mount Shasta

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Day Hiking Mount Shasta, Lassen & Trinity Alps Regions. Includes trails in other regions of Northern California: Castle Crags, Russian Wilderness, Marble Mountain Wilderness, Lava Beds National Monument, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Lassen National Forest, and the Redding area.

100 Classic Hikes in Northern California covers the best hiking trails in the Trinity Alps, Lassen Volcanic National Park, the Sierra Nevada, the redwood coast, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Includes numerous day hikes along with major backpacking trips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Ronald Thompson says

    Stark and Wild. Now I know why Mt. Shasta is all year white when driving up I-5, but not when finally getting to it. I-5 is approaching from the south east and the Konwakiton Glacier is on the east-facing side of a ridge on the south side of the mt. Ronald Thompson Crescent City

    Reply

  2. John Soares says

    Hello Ronald,

    The glaciers are all the white we have left now on the mountain, except for a few small patches, including one on the north slope of Shastina. This has been an exceptional year for how quickly the historically low snowpack melted.

    A friend of mine just recently summited from Clear Creek on the east side.

    John Soares

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] climate change is affecting critters in the high Sierra Nevada and how it is actually leading to larger glaciers on Mount Shasta. Heck, warming temperatures could contribute to increased rock slides, rock falls, and avalanches […]

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Day Hiking Mount Shasta, Lassen & Trinity Alps Regions. Includes trails in other regions of Northern California: Castle Crags, Russian Wilderness, Marble Mountain Wilderness, Lava Beds National Monument, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Lassen National Forest, and the Redding area.

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