After a lunch of jerky, nuts, dried fruit and water, we moved on. At 12,000 feet, the slope reaches 35 degrees and each step is a labor of passion. You jam your ice ax in the snow, pull yourself up a step, then rest for a moment before repeating the process. With long-spiked crampons, the steps come easier, the metal tips poking holes and grabbing the icy slope. It is below Red Bank, a huge red volcanic outcrop, where Shasta chews up most of its climbers.
Some people start to wonder why they're even here.
It seems too steep. One slip and you might turn into a human snowball. Many turn around and return to Horse Camp. A few more steps, a few more breaths. It was near here during Whitney's geologic expedition in 1862 that three members of the team got mountain sickness and were barely able to continue.