Bob and I decided to bust a move down to Shasta last week for some split-boarding. We got there on Friday morning and the plan was to see where the best conditions were. All the media reports of 'epic' snowfall amounts seemed to be largely exaggerated as we drove up the access road to the parking lot.
The 'hundred' year storm that supposedly dumped multiple feet of snow on Mt Shasta over the past couple of weeks seemed to be a fairy tale made up by the media.
Once we got up to the parking lot, we decided to take our chances going up to Green Butte and seeing what conditions were like. We got our skins on and started from around 7,000 ft and worked up towards somewhere around 9,000 ft where we morphed from tour to ride mode.
Bob had the new Karakoram binding set up with new DeLuxe boots that he was breaking in...or they were breaking him in...
It was great to get out on the slopes and start to understand just how large and in charge Shasta is. We had poor visibility and the snow conditions started to change above tree-line to the point where the slopes were scoured and icy.
The first day out was a great day despite the poor visibility. We had planned to camp out at Shasta proper so we could get another day of splittie action on Saturday. We had prepared for the elements with Bob's sweet winter tent and our winter sleeping bags. We motored into town for dinner and then watched the car thermometer drop as we went further up the mtn....The thermometer settled at 18 F when we pulled into the parking lot at 7,000 ft where the tent was. The scary thing was that it was only 6:30 in the evening and we realized it would be a cold night.
It get much colder during the night and I would venture to guess that it got close to zero or perhaps even sub-zero Fahrenheit. Fortunately the sleeping bag held up well until I slid off the sleeping pads that were helping to insulate from the snowy ground....it got a little chilly for a bit but was not unbearable.
After a night out on the mountain, we rallied in the morning and got ready for day 2 of our splittie weekend. We ended up picking the same line as the day before thinking that we might explore a different gully on the return. The snow was much different than the day before and it got icier as we got higher. When we changed from tour to ride mode, I noticed all the ice build up on the bottom of the board. I pointed the board downhill and quickly realized the brakes and anchor were holding me back. After unmounting, it was time to work the ice off the bottom of the board with fingernails...not fun...Fortunately, the ice came off and the brakes were no longer ON.
Long story short....I look forward to heading back to Shasta for more exploring especially when there is better visibility.
Some quick pics:
The 'hundred' year storm that supposedly dumped multiple feet of snow on Mt Shasta over the past couple of weeks seemed to be a fairy tale made up by the media.
Once we got up to the parking lot, we decided to take our chances going up to Green Butte and seeing what conditions were like. We got our skins on and started from around 7,000 ft and worked up towards somewhere around 9,000 ft where we morphed from tour to ride mode.
Bob had the new Karakoram binding set up with new DeLuxe boots that he was breaking in...or they were breaking him in...
It was great to get out on the slopes and start to understand just how large and in charge Shasta is. We had poor visibility and the snow conditions started to change above tree-line to the point where the slopes were scoured and icy.
The first day out was a great day despite the poor visibility. We had planned to camp out at Shasta proper so we could get another day of splittie action on Saturday. We had prepared for the elements with Bob's sweet winter tent and our winter sleeping bags. We motored into town for dinner and then watched the car thermometer drop as we went further up the mtn....The thermometer settled at 18 F when we pulled into the parking lot at 7,000 ft where the tent was. The scary thing was that it was only 6:30 in the evening and we realized it would be a cold night.
It get much colder during the night and I would venture to guess that it got close to zero or perhaps even sub-zero Fahrenheit. Fortunately the sleeping bag held up well until I slid off the sleeping pads that were helping to insulate from the snowy ground....it got a little chilly for a bit but was not unbearable.
After a night out on the mountain, we rallied in the morning and got ready for day 2 of our splittie weekend. We ended up picking the same line as the day before thinking that we might explore a different gully on the return. The snow was much different than the day before and it got icier as we got higher. When we changed from tour to ride mode, I noticed all the ice build up on the bottom of the board. I pointed the board downhill and quickly realized the brakes and anchor were holding me back. After unmounting, it was time to work the ice off the bottom of the board with fingernails...not fun...Fortunately, the ice came off and the brakes were no longer ON.
Long story short....I look forward to heading back to Shasta for more exploring especially when there is better visibility.
Some quick pics:
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