East Mt. Shasta Descent

Type: Backcountry or Sidecountry

It's a pretty straightforward route, but pay attention down low to make sure you don't miss the trailhead.

This is usually known as the Hotlum-Wintun, or sometimes the Hot-Toon or Hot-Tune. It's one of the finest ski descents in North America.

Be ready to get looks from mountaineers coming up the popular Avalanche Gulch side of the mountain as you're clicking into your bindings ready to make a fast descent to the bottom. A less crowded side of the mountains gives you open areas to descend without crossing too many bootpacks.

If you can time your descent with the conditions, you could have a solid 7,000 foot descent. Skiing was nice at the top and slushy at the bottom. We were able to patch snow sections together and ski the entire way to the car.

For a full trip report, check out: angelatravels.com/trip-repo…

- The road may not be open all the way to the trailhead (Brewer Creek) until June or July. It may be necessary to park some distance lower down.
- Most people do this over two days, with a camp at a gently-sloping area around 9,800' that's usually snow-free.
- The route makes a dog-leg at about 12,800' where one traverses climber's left onto the upper Wintun snowfield. If there's good snow cover it's also possible to head up a different gully to the right of the upper Hotlum-Wintun ridge.
- On the descent it's easy to become disoriented below treeline. Some people have ended up miles from their car. It may sound obvious, but bring a GPS and mark your location before you leave.
- With a bit of luck you'll find a gentle gully that you can follow down through the forest (it's north of the GPX track shown here). It holds snow when the slopes on either side have melted out.
- For another description and up-to-date condition reports see shastaavalanche.org/general….