Volcano·United States

Mount Shasta

4,322m

California Cascades

Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 4,322m
Prominence: 2,977m
Isolation: 539km
Relief: 2,100mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 59°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1854
Summit: 41.4097°N, 122.1950°W

Stratovolcano in Siskiyou County, California, United States

Mount Shasta is a volcano in the California Cascades (United States). Its summit stands 4,322 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 2,977 m, and the nearest higher ground is 539 km away. It was first climbed in 1854.

From the lowest point within 5 km (2,222 m), it rises 2,100 m. The steepest side is the east face: 36° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 59° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Mount Shasta, 15 km away at 1,099 m: 3,223 m below the summit.

Mount Shasta for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

6.6/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T4 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

0.8/2.50 waymarked routes and 21 path sections nearby
0.5/1.52 huts and shelters
2.0/23,223 m of ascent from the valley
1.5/1.52,977 m of prominence
1.5/1.56 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

5.6/10

2.4/429 km of downhill runs
0.2/1.56 ski lifts
0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
3.0/35 months of snow at about 1,599 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 6 km
Intermediate 10 km
Difficult 9 km
Freeride 3 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,599 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from December to April (some years from November to April).

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

6 lifts · 30 km cross-country

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Car hire at LMT airport (Klamath Falls)Discover CarsSee

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Snow

When there is snow on Mount Shasta

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit4,322 msnow all year round	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up2,710 msnow from November to June (some years from October to June)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Mount Shasta1,099 msnow in December (some years from December to January)	Snow some of the time	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow on the ground all month

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Mount Shasta, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average July afternoon the summit reaches about 12 °C; on January nights it falls to about -24 °C. In 8 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 6,110 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, August is the driest month (6 mm) and December the wettest (166 mm).

0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Mount Shasta high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-16	-24	6	1,940	118	15	4.3
February	-14	-23	7	2,160	115	13	5.7
March	-11	-21	10	2,590	113	15	6.6
April	-8	-20	13	3,110	68	12	8.7
May	-2	-16	18	3,940	49	9	10.8
June	4	-12	25	4,930	21	5	13.2
July	12	-7	33	6,110	7	2	13.9
August	11	-8	32	5,970	6	2	12.7
September	6	-12	27	5,230	14	3	10.9
October	-2	-17	18	3,940	52	6	8.2
November	-11	-21	10	2,650	95	12	5.2
December	-16	-24	5	1,850	166	15	3.7

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,326 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east

South – north

Steepness by direction

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Mount Shasta

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Mount Shasta seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

2mountain huts and shelters
Mt. Shasta Ski Park Beyond the Boundaries Backcountry Cabin
1cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Gray Butte Lift
1ski areas
Mt. Shasta Ski Park
—waymarked hiking routes
—via ferratas
—climbing crags and routes
7named glaciers
Whitney Glacier, Mud Creek Glacier, Watkins Glacier, Konwakiton Glacier and 3 more
2viewpoints
Sand flat field
12campsites
Bunny Flat Trailhead camping, McBride Springs Campground, Panther Meadows Campground, Red Fir Flat Group Campground and 8 more
—hotels, B&Bs and chalets
4restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

21 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T2T3T4T6

T2 mountain hiking
T3 demanding mountain hiking
T4 alpine hiking
T6 difficult alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

Mount Shasta15 km · 1,099 m
Weed16 km · 1,044 m
McCloud18 km · 1,000 m
Dunsmuir23 km · 695 m

Car hire at LMT airport (Klamath Falls)Discover Cars · Affiliate link

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

2017-07-01 Mount Shasta at Sunset — raschau · CC BY 2.0

Camp on Mt. Shasta (34482822553) — Pacific Southwest Region 5 · Public domain

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1991–2020 average	-16	-14	-11	-8	-2	4	12	11	6	-2	-11	-16
2020	−0.6	+1.8	−0.2	+2.5	+1.1	+0.3	+0.6	+1.2	+2.7	+4.2	−0.1	+1.6
2021	+0.5	−0.8	−0.8	+3.6	+3.4	+5.9	+3.7	+0.3	+0.3	−2.8	+0.5	−0.4
2022	+1.6	+3.2	+2.3	−1.1	−1.5	+0.4	+1.8	+2.3	+1.4	+5.0	−2.2	−1.6
2023	−1.4	−1.8	−5.4	−0.2	+0.8	−1.1	+1.8	+0.1	−2.8	+0.8	+1.3	+3.2
2024	+0.1	−0.2	−1.2	+0.8	+0.3	+2.3	+4.1	−0.6	+1.0	+2.2	−2.4	+1.6
2025	+1.8	−2.8	−0.4	+2.3	+1.2	+3.2	+0.5	+0.4	−0.1	−1.8	+2.4	+4.4

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

3,189 mLassen Peak

United States118 km away

2,487 mMount Mazama

United States168 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q748355) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profiles	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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