Blackbird Mountain Guides - Mt Shasta, California

Hanna Holmes

I had an amazing experience climbing Mt Shasta with Blackbird! This was my first mountaineering experience, so I came into it with a limited skill set. My guide, Jason, was incredibly knowledgeable and patient with my rookie mountaineering skill level. He took the time to teach me all the necessary skills and made sure I practiced and felt comfortable with these prior to summit day. The trip was over Memorial Day weekend, so I was expecting quite a crowd on the mountain. Prior to leaving town, Jason suggested an alternate route that would be slightly steeper, but less crowded than the traditional route most climbers would be taking. This was possibly the best decision of the weekend, as the route we took was totally deserted! It felt like we had the whole mountain to ourselves, and really made the climb even better. All in all, this trip was incredible and I can't wait for the next one! I'll definitely be using Blackbird again for future trips

Chris Smith

Blackbird is who I trust to guide me up and down a mountain safely, and to have a great time doing so. Spending time on Shasta with Zeb was an amazing learning experience. He has so much knowledge to share about all aspects of the experience. And I really appreciated his ability to adjust the plans for all sorts of changing circumstances to continue to maximize the experience.

I’m looking forward to my next adventure with Blackbird Mountain Guides. Thanks again!

Helaina Tupper

Mt Shasta was my fourth outing with Blackbird Guides and I cannot recommend them enough! Our guides for this trip (Zeb and Jason) were amazing!

There is nothing better than knowing you have guides you can truly trust: professional, knowledgable, safe and patient are just a few words I would use to describe the team. I ended the trip not only so impressed by how much knowledge they have but also by their ability to teach/share it with me!

Thanks for the great trip! Looking forward to the next!

Manuel Gautho

The Mt Shasta ski trip turned out to be perfectly.
Our guide Jason Smith was extremely helpful from the start to the end.
It started the 1st day reviewing our gear and helping us pack our bags, then getting to our camp, building the tents snow walls, and going over an accelerated avalanche course.
The second day we reviewed basic mountaineering skills (walking up and down with crampons and ice axe and practicing self arrest techniques) and did a bit of skiing.
The third day we reached the summit an skied down almost from the top to the camp (we were glad that Jason could figure out the proper ski line through the Red Banks in rapidly deteriorating visibility) and after packing everything back into our bags, skied down almost to the parking lot.
I could not have been more satisfied with this trip.

Ted DeBonis

I highly recommend skiing Mt. Shasta with Zeb and Blackbird (or signing up for any of the company’s other trips and courses). Zeb has mastered his craft, balancing instruction, safety, and fun with the social intuition that only the best guides manage. And Blackbird is the kind of company that knows your first name when you call them. They offer really fun trips and well-planned versions of the usual skills clinics/courses (lift accessed avy rescue). Again, I highly recommend.

Evan Enriquez

Nothing but great adventures! Cannot wait until the next one! Zeb and team know how to get you to the top of the mountain!