‘Top of the World:' Making it to the Summit of Mount Shasta

Over the weekend NBC Bay Area photographer Robbie Beasom hiked to the summit of Mount Shasta and of course recorded it. He had a pretty awesome GoPro view to the top.

Here’s the hike in his own words:

Here are the final steps Brian Hickey and I took up to the summit of Mount Shasta at 14,179 ft. — an ascent of 7,731 ft. straight up. It took us a total of 12 hours and 16 minutes, 6.87 miles and countless energy gummies to make it to the top.

We battled Mother Nature the whole way up — from hail, rain, snow and strong winds — there were times we considered turning back. At 13,000 ft. the clouds became thick and visibility low, but we were so close (only 1,179 feet to go) and decided to push through. I am so glad we did.

At last, at 13,800 ft. we punched through the clouds, and Mother Nature gifted us with blue bird skies. At that point, we had our very first look at the summit. It was an epic final ascent to the peak. The views: unmatched. It was like being in a plane, looking down at the cotton balls that hovered below. I'm sure this is what birds feel like. Today, I was one of them.

From the parking lot it looked impossible; from base camp at 10,500 ft. it still looked daunting, but step by step ... by step by step ... we made it! It was an amazing, life changing experience, one I'm so thankful I was able to share with such an awesome dude.

There is something magical about Shasta — something that I can’t explain — you'll just have to go up and experience it for yourself!

If you have questions about hiking or photography, send them to Robbie at Robert.Beasom@nbcuni.com.

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