I finally got the opportunity to climb Mount Shasta, after living here for almost two years ( in Mount Shasta, CA that is) – so I took the challenge, and took the G1x along for the ride. This is exactly what I bought this camera for – and ultimately why we would want a pocket camera – to cut down on weight and to be available wherever we might be.
As usual, I took my little Eagle Creek pouch with me for the camera and the split neutral density filter, and threw in an extra battery just in case.
Here is the Sierra Club cabin at the beginning of the summit trail:
Inside, there was this cool welcome sign in a bunch of different languages and some prayer flags:
Just behind the cabin is the beginning of the trail:
We took the trail up to about 10,000 ft, where we set up camp for an early start. The idea is to get up early while the snow is still hard and get to the top and back before it all turns to mush. Climbing steep hard snow with crampons = fun! Climbing steep mushy slopes = not fun! So we got up at 2:30 AM and left camp at 3:00 AM.
The sun was up behind the mountain (the other side from where we were) at about 5ish – illuminating some interesting cloud formations as they blew over the top from the east:
There were a fair number of people already on the way up at 3:00. I took this shot well before any sun was up by bracing the camera on a rock (visible in the right corner) and using manual mode for a long exposure:
Here’s another from that same location as a long exposure – it’s just barely light out!
Climbing Shasta is like climbing a steep flight of stairs for about 5 miles – with no hand rail. It’s about 6000 verticle feet from where you park your car. As you go up, the snow begins to thin a bit and to stay on it, you have to go through these narrow shoots. Mind you there is still very little light out:
As the sun begins to rise behind the mountain – I turned around to see this HUGE shadow! This is the full shadow of the mountain being cast over the valley below:
Getting closer to the top, we finally come out into full sun. This is NOT the summit – but a section they call “Misery Hill” which has to be gotten over before seeing the actual summit:
This is looking back from Misery Hill:
Here is a group just getting to the top of Misery Hill. This would be much easier in the snow!
Finally – we can see the actual summit – it’s that high spot to the right. This long snow field is why you want to get up early – it’s a LONG way to post hole up to your waist when the snow gets soft:
Just to the left of this long snow field is a great view of Mount Shastina from above. You can clearly see the volcanic origins:
Here is a view looking back towards Misery Hill from about half way across the snow field:
As an example of the resolution you get with the G1X – here is a 100% crop of the climber above coming across the snow:
Just after the snow field is the final section to get to the summit – here we are on the top!
What I thought was the best part of bringing the camera was handing it to my friend Brooke – who took my photo on the summit. Wow! Great resolution, and focus and exposure were spot on. You can just imagine how awful it would be to get a crappy shot at the top because your point and shoot sucks! Thanks Brooke!
Here is my favorite shot of the trip – a guy flying a kite from the summit! Wow – what a photo op:
And one last shot as we head back – looking across the snow field again:
Overall, this was a great trip. We happened to hit a high pressure system that hung out over the mountain for several days – giving us spectacular weather with only very light winds. Mount Shasta – as with any big mountain – is famous for wind and this can be a real problem. Even on this trip, where the wind was pretty mild, there was a man at camp who came back to find that his tent, sleeping bag and mostly empty backpack had all blown over the edge of the ridge and were somewhere down the mountain. We heard later that he had recovered the pack and sleeping bag – but was still looking for the tent! You can only imagine what it would be like if the wind had really kicked up. There are stories of climbers crawling back to camp on their hands and knees in 60+ mph winds. Yikes!
So just to sum up, I was glad to get to use the Canon G1x in the exact setting that I bought it for. Of course all that I have already mentioned previously applies – but for me in this situation, it was just about perfect. The combination of resolution, and wide zoom lens in a small package is hard to beat! Especially when you’re hauling it all up a 14,000 ft peak…
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