July 2, 2017, Lassen

I had been warned off Lassen because the road didn€™t go thru. I considered calling it a trip but  I had the time so I figured I would at least get as far I could, take pictures, derp around the visitor center. I drove as far as a dry snow park / hunting camp and bivied for the night and got to the devastated area around 8am? The important part is there were people with skis in the parking lot! Word was it was an hour or so of bushwacking and then another great ski volcano so I started assembling the gear. The boots were still wet from post holing near the summit of shasta and I had a couple good looking blisters. Then there was that hour or so of hiking€¦ I put the skis back in the truck and pulled out a snowboard (that I had bought in 1997), the walk would be so much more pleasant in these boots, and they were dry.

It was a straight forward slog along the climbers left bank of the river to snow. Near the base of the climb I met up again with one of the two other pairs of skiers from the lot. We chatted for a bit and it turns out one of them grew up in Poulsbo! We yammered on about all things Kitsap before they blazed to the summit. I was going slow and it would be another later than perfect summit for me but I was in no hurry. I chose a direct traverse that favored booting while the skiers chose a route that favored skinning. During a lazy lunch on a rock texting a couple of ski buddies the first pair skied down. There was a pretty large entrained slough trough from their summit turns. It was warm but the danger seemed manageable as long as one didn't turn back into the slough.

They swung by on their way down and we chatted more. They mentioned something about sharing a couple of cold ones if I hurried. Well ok then. Up I went to finish off another climb. I passed one of the skiers in the other pair. He said he wasn€™t feeling well and asked me to tell his buddy who was on top by then to head down whenever he felt like it. I gained the low saddle and then the summit and delivered the message. It was another beautiful windless warm summit day. I felt very lucky. I chatted with a local who had come from the other entrance about different approaches but I was motivated to catch up with the other pair and to make some turns!

My bindings were a bit loose from other boots because I had last used the board to dork around hurricane ridge with the kids. No matter, I stuffed my jacked in its sleeve and put the straps over that. The snow was really soft and I sent a lot of slough down the face. Wow, another really long fun volcano run in the sun!

Near the bottom I stopped and chatted with the other skier while he waited for his buddy but then headed on down to the gully and then long hot slog thru the forest. I doubted my way finding more than once before stumbling out once again to the parking lot and there were the other skiers. They handed me a cold! beer from a cooler, would I like sliced lime€¦ yes, yes I would. Such hospitality. We had a great time chatting about skiing.

I headed off for another dip in the stream, and then to Narnia and the North.