Incredible Photos Emerge of “Historic” Avalanche on Mount Shasta

The guys at Shasta Mountain Guides hiked up to Avalanche Gulch on Mount Shasta last week to find an interesting scene. The remnants of a massive avalanche were sitting around 7,200 feet on the mountain, with a 30-foot wall of debris as the main evidence.

The event, which was not seen or heard, was covered widely throughout the local media and now more photos have surfaced of the massive event on the mountain. The Mount Shasta Avalanche Center took to social media to show the the aftermath of the avalanche:

The CHP- Northern Division Air Operations also showed a photo of the path of the avalanche from the sky:

And Dawn Patrol Images posted a bunch of photos to their website:

Although the avalanche was not seen, the giant mound of snow sitting on the mountain tell a story of a possibly historic avalanche. It registered as a D4 avalanche, which is one notch away from the largest. Right after the discovery of the avalanche, the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center took to social media to discuss the incident:

“We think this D4 whopper in Avalanche Gulch on Mt Shasta occurred during last Wednesday’s rapid warming event following several feet of snow overnight,” the Avalanche Center wrote on Facebook. “Debris 30’ high and terminus at 7,200 feet. This potentially historic avalanche ran several miles and nearly 4,000 vertical feet.”

As more details emerged, they cleared the air on the rumors going around online:

Clarifying a couple pieces of information we’ve seen buzzing around regarding the recent Valentine Avalanche. Thanks to all who have commented and shared photos and information.

-There has been conversation about whether or not it was a “historic” avalanche. Historic simply means, “important in history”, and with that definition (Merriam-Webster), this avalanche certainly fits that. There has been avalanches like this in the past, some larger. 
-The avalanche did not take out the Horse Camp cabin
-The avalanche did not cross the Everitt Memorial Highway or impact the Bunny Flat area

If you haven’t gone up to check it out, it’s worth it. The toe of the debris is a 10 minute walk and safe at this time.

What an amazing event! As we’ve said in the past, it was very lucky that no one was on the mountain during the avalanche, since they probably wouldn’t have lived to tell the story.

Active NorCal

Telling the Stories of Northern California

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