NW Ridge

I climbed this route with Grover Shipman who has a guide book published called "Mt. Shasta Area Rock Climbing" that has proven more than useful. This route was one of the best I had done in the area. It was exposed, scenic, a mix of shade and sun. And some of the scariest rock I have climbed on(though nothing blew out or fell so that was nice)

the route starts out with a few exposed moves on pretty solid rock, which was nice because the first placement was 15 feet up. shortly after that you get to a belay next to a small tree. next pitch works up a large slab and through some loose rock to a good area for a cam nest. next is the no reverse traverse which felt about 5.6 or 5.5 which came as a surprise because most guide books said 5.0(perhaps we were off route)the next pitch was on a giant flake that at the top started to flex. with some more climbing and chimneying you gain a nice ledge. next pitch starts off straight forward but moves into a well protected crux that felt about 5.9 the next pitch is a simple but long route to the castle dome summit

the route can be found by approaching castle dome via the dome trail. once at the dome head north down a narrow gully about 400-500 feet long. descend the gully to the end where it drops off suddenly and you will see a dike on your right just opposite of a big tree. that is the start of the first pitch. Descend via the SE "walk-off" don't be ashamed to rope up for descent as the exposure can be quite interesting.

a full alpine rack to 4" was fully utilized. there were no bolt anchors but the crux had two closely spaced bolts for good protection