Mount Lassen

Mt. Lassen at sunrise

One of the coolest things about California is the incredible variety of terrains and climates, which allowed us to follow our balmy Pinnacles hiking trip of a few weeks ago with another ski trip. This time we went to Mount Lassen, a dormant volcano located about 5 hours north of SF, with our friends Nat and Eric. The high altitude, coupled with some of the greatest snowfall in CA, makes it skiable well into the summer.



We woke-up at 4am on Saturday so we could get to the top of the mountain and back down before the afternoon, when the sun-warmed snow would turn into slush and be more prone to avalanche.



It was chilly as we started climbing, and the mountain’s slopes were so icy that it was hard for our ski edges to dig into the snow. It was also quite windy, which made for really awesome clouds.





There were several frankly scary moments on the steepest sections of the ascent when we were afraid we’d lose our grip on the steep slope and start sliding down the mountain.

It was worth it though, as we enjoyed sweeping vistas of the surrounding region as we rested at the summit.

Mt. Shasta in the distance

A highlight was the clear view of Mt Shasta, the even larger volcano located another hour farther north.




We’d been hoping the snow would have softened by the time we started skiing down, but no such luck- our descent consisted mainly of a semi-controlled slide down the icy flanks of the mountain. Being east-coast skiers, we were fairly adept at this.

After a leisurely lunch in the sunny parking lot, we climbed back into our car and were home by 5pm; early enough to have a quiet dinner, go see a movie , and still have an early bedtime. It’s amazing how much you can fit into a day when you get started before sunrise…