Jones Snowboards Shasta Mission

From Wikipedia: “Mount Shasta is a potentially active volcano located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At 14,179 feet, it is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California.”

Volcano chasing season in California is a great quick strike mission for anyone looking to squeeze the last drops out winter. Late spring to early summer brings t-shirt weather, generally more stable (check the report before you go: http://shastaavalanche.org/) avalanche conditions and great skiing/riding. Any one of those could have enticed us to join Jones Snowboard crew for their annual Shasta trip. Not to mention the lack of snow and skiing this winter in the Sierras it seemed like a legitimate excuse to earn a few more turns.

Skiing conditions were excellent and most of the 30 + group summited. We arrived late at the Brewer Creek trailhead on Shasta’s east side and caught up with the crew as everyone trickled in over the course of the evening. The next morning we got a “semi”-early start of about 6am which turned into an actual departure around 7.

Out of the gate it was immediately broiling. The early June sun felt like it must have been 100 degrees and everyone was shedding layers and soaking their clothing. Conditions even as late as we started were still great for hiking and allowed us to move quickly to about 12,000 ft. where skins were removed and crampons and ice axes came out.

The summit party was all time with everyone hanging out and cheering eachother on as the last few steps to 14,179 were achieved. We skied from essentially the summit and descended over 7,000 of variable snow, beautiful spring corn and amazing views. A quick hike back to the car and we were immediately enjoying cold beers and talking about our soon to be had dip in the Upper Sacramento River.

All in all it was epic couple days and great to meet the crews from Jones Snowboards,  Karakoram Bindings and everyone else that travelled from Washington, Utah, Jackson and beyond. A bunch of the pics used are from our buddy Kohl Christensen @deepwatersurf.