I’d like to welcome an awesome addition to our blog. The Powder Report! Our sponsored rider, Storn White, will be giving us all his back country split boarding(a snowboard that can split into skis to get up the mountain then snow board down) reports. But Sunde, it’s summer time!! I know but you can find snow year round in California if you’re willing to work for it –and Storn is.
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June 16th, 2010
We met up to do a secret mission on Mt. Shasta that sadly fell through due to high winds. Happily it was still an excellent adventure.
We decided to warm up on Mt. Lassen Saturday. Our first attempt was turned around at about 9000 ft on the North Ridge due to high winds. Then Russman led a charge up the East Ridge, which was out of the wind. The riding was stellar!
We finished late because of the wind situation so we were late in driving to Shasta, late setting up the mission, late having dinner…We were at Bunny flat at 11pm. Some among us had severe flatulence. We were asleep by 11:30 and up again at 2:15 am to go to the summit.
We were on the trail at 3 am and got to Helen Lake-10,400ft at around 6:15. We met a woman walking between two men . Her arm had just been broken by falling ice that rolled down the mountain and hit her as she attempted climbing up. My friend Jim gave her a percocet which made the ghost of Elvis very happy. We saw a second person being taken out in a rescue sled. Because of these big balls of ice that were invisible to see until they hit you we took an alternate route up the mountain.
We climbed up to Casaval Ridge which passed under Trinity Chutes. It made for hairy climbing but AWESOME riding. The action on the other side where everyone else was climbing up was sucky to watch. People were yelling Rock!! and scattered in all directions when the big ice balls rolled past them. Some people were trying to run up it, others headed up the ridge and some just retreated out of there. But everyone could only move slowly and carefully on the polished, slick snow while being bombarded from above. My friends started an alternate route towards the summit but I stayed behind to ride the slope we had just climbed up. I found a safe little nook and waited for a few hours for the sun to warm up the snow. I watched a rescue chopper touch down on Helen Lake to pick a few more injured people.
Eventually the slope warmed up. I climbed above my perch toward the ridgeline and found the perfect transition spot. The ride down was easily one of my favorite of the season. So much sustained steepness and perfect corn snow. I heart Mt. Shasta!
