I had packed away my ski gear in late April and recently passed up opportunities to ski Shasta and Lassen in favor of warmer weather pursuits. And though I am not the most patriotic or symbolic person, something about the chance to ski the 4th of July chutes on the 4th of July was irresistible. I knew if I used the hang over or awful night of sleep as an excuse to stay home, I’d regret it. The skies were warm and cloudless when I woke up. We even had a babysitter. So we loaded up on caffeine and greasy breakfast sandwiches and drove from Truckee through Tahoe City, along the West Shore and into Blackwood Canyon.
At the top of the windy road, we met up with Robb, Scott and Noah Gaffney and some of their friends. We strapped our skis to our packs and began walking along a ridge on the Pacific Crest Trail. No beacon or shovel, no skins or crampons, no jackets or gloves… it felt like freedom to me. Climbing up a short, steep patch of snow, we reached the ridge and spied the chutes ahead. The snow turned to wild flowers once we wrapped around the side of the ridge, with Desolation Wilderness as the sweeping backdrop.
I watched in amazement as Robb Gaffney dropped into an extremely steep, narrow, closeout chute, then stopped once his skis touched the cliff below, strapped on crampons and hiked back up. I was comforted to hear there were easier options. The kids breathed a sigh of relief too.
I dropped into a steepish chute at the far skiers right, which was smooth and corny. It opened up at the bottom providing some scary-fun sun-cup GS turns before the hike back up. Robb and Scott headed skiers left for some more rowdy lines and we all met up on the lunch rocks to bask. Showing off our ex-stream skiing, we wound back down to the road on snow that was just barely covering the creek below it.
A 10-minute walk up the road brought us back to the car. Even the traffic in Tahoe City was bearable after a morning like that. We made it back to Truckee in plenty of time for a leisurely float down the Truckee River, topping off my personal Independence Day.
My good friend and neighbor Rob McCormick put out the word in early May. The email said, “Is any one interested in hitting Mt. Shasta over Memorial Day weekend in an RV?” Easy decision right? The calendar was marked and plan was made. Credit for the pimpin’ RV goes to Chris Stewart. Chris is toying with the idea of buying an RV and wanted a test run. This trip would be quite different from the standard drive up in the middle of the night, sleep in your car, hike, ski, and drive home afterward while your legs set up like concrete. This was going to be plush!
Rob picked me up at 7am on Saturday and we were off to Roseville to meet Chris and get settled in the RV. I originally met Chris earlier in spring while guiding for Points North Heli Adventures in Alaska. I knew Chris had a friend joining us but I didn’t realize until we pulled into the driveway of Tom Hick’s house in Chico that I already knew him. It turns out I had met Tom the same week as Chris as he was also a guest at PNH. Tom is the kind of guy you don’t easily forget. He immediately showed us his expedition supply chest that included basically everything you need to stock a full bar. Exactly what you need when you are going to climb and ski 7,000 vertical fee the following day right? If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Tom you will know him for life. This is a good thing because he is about as fun as it gets. Tom and his buddy Mark were ready to roll with another packed car. Chris was a good friend of Rob’s, Mark was a good friend of Tom’s, Tom a good friend of Chris’s and now a degree of separation had come down and Chris, Mark and Tom were now friends of mine. I love it when trips start off this way.
As we closed in on the beautiful volcano we passed by Lake Shasta which I’m happy to report is full to the rim! What a difference one good season of snowfall can make to the state’s water supply! We made the obligatory stop at the Fifth Season climbing shop in Shasta City and loaded up on power treats and other supplies. We then headed up the road to the trailhead. We parked the RV at Sand Flat as the upper lot was still packed with holiday crowds. Tom said he knew a great place for a pre climb dinner and it was on him so we headed back into town to feast on steaks and wine. Thanks again Tom! After dinner we shifted the rolling palace to a front and center parking spot at Bunny Flat.
We woke up at 3am Sunday morning and after a stiff cup of joe and a light breakfast we were skinning by 4:00. Starting out with head lamps and following some sucker skin tracks, we broke tree line to find ourselves at the base of the Green Butte Ridge, way to the right of Horse Camp. This wasn’t our plan but the idea of losing elevation to meet up with the standard Avalanche Gulch skin track didn’t seem to make sense. We started up the Green Butte Ridge which offered spectacular views in all directions. We marveled at the “trail of ants” which was actually a tremendous number of climbers between Lake Helen (el 10,400) and Red Banks (el 13,000). Most climbers take two days to ascend Mt. Shasta and establish camp at Lake Helen before making summit bids the following day. Our crew opted to go light and fast and try for a single day push. We climbed Green Butte Ridge until we were about 400 vertical feet above Lake Helen at which time we traversed west and joined the Avy Gully thoroughfare. Our route selection had allowed us to climb the lower half of the mountain away from the heavy traffic in the Gulch. Although Green Butte Ridge takes longer than the Gulch route, it is far more interesting both aesthetically and from a climbing perspective.
We skinned to 12,000 feet then hopped on the staircase toward Red Banks. At this point the altitude began to affect everyone and we began to spread out. Mark and I stuck together and started to put some distance between Chris and Rob, who also stayed fairly close together. When climbing in a group it is typically poor form to split up but when in the company of a couple hundred other climbers I think it’s acceptable. Mark and I put skins back on after clearing the Banks and headed up Misery Hill. As we toiled in misery, clouds started forming and two rangers passed us on their way down encouraging us to turn around. We topped out at 13,900 feet looking across the milky plateau toward the summit and made the call to…call it. The idea of trying to find our way back across in a white out wasn’t worth it. Mark was bummed as this would have been his first Shasta summit. As we headed back down clouds engulfed the top of the mountain. Rob and Chris made it just above Red Banks before turning back at 13,000 feet. Tom, bless his heart, aborted at the foot of the headwall and returned to the RV to stock the bar before we got down.
We descended Avalanche Gulch and the skiing from 12,000 to 8,500 was fantastic corn snow. We made huge buttery GS turns for thousands of vertical feet, the kind Shasta is legendary for. By the time we reached Bunny Flat, most of our party had skied 6,000 to 7,000 vertical feet. Back at the RV we took off our boots, pulled out the beach chairs and enjoyed cocktails and beers as we watched clouds lift away from the summit. If only we had waited at 13,000 feet for the clouds to magically disappear. Oh well, who knew?
For beta on weather and back side road openings contact The Fifth Season in Shasta City. 530 926 5555 or www.thefifthseason.com
Jason Mack has been a heli ski guide for Points North Heli Adventures since their inaugural season in 1999. He lives with his wife Maura and son Declan in Truckee, CA.
After a great tour at Squaw Valley on Saturday I teamed up with Chris Stewart for a Sunday outing. Both of us are trying to get/stay in shape for an upcoming trip to Shasta so Chris suggested Tallac based on its vertical drop of over 3,000 feet. Mt. Tallac is located on the southwest shore of Lake Tahoe between Emerald Bay and Fallen Leaf Lake.
We parked at the end of Spring Creek Road and began hiking through forest and then traversed manzanita bushes until we reached consistent patches of snow and finally a skin track. We clicked into our AT setups and began to climb.
I used to ski Tallac frequently in the 90’s but had not skied it in nearly a decade. I’d forgotten what a “real peak” it feels like with its rugged cliff bands and overhung cornices. This was enhanced by the fact that the summit was enshrouded by clouds for most of our climb and it was snowing lightly. Instead of taking the typical ascent route to the lookers right we opted for the knife edged ridge that travels up to the rowdy exit couloirs just below the summit. The ridge provided great views of Lake Tahoe and the basin below the famed cross route. We were able to skin about halfway up the ridge and then strapped skis onto our packs continued hiking. Avoiding a cornice on the right and covering mixed terrain including some rock but mostly good bootable snow gave this route more of a mountaineering feel then a typical skin tour.
By now there was about six inches of new snow and we started to realize we might have some really good ski conditions. At the top of the ridge we decided to forgo the summit and ski from there. Chris had more energy but I was tired from touring the day before. We had climbed about 2,500 vertical feet. A fun option would have been to boot up the couloir just above us and start from there…next time! We dropped into the north face of the ridge we just climbed. It was pow! Although you could feel bottom during turns it was not enough to be even a slight nuisance. About half way down we traversed hard skiers right to gain access to the ridge once again to get another good shot of vertical on north facing terrain.
Back to the car by noon followed by brunch and a beer at Firesign Cafe…what more could you ask for from a May 23 ski day?
Here’s video of Chris Stewart on our May 23 Mt. Tallac effort:
It’s April and I am sitting here having a glass of wine and jonesing for some powder. All I can think about is my recent trip to Points North Heli Adventures and skiing in Cordova Alaska.
Nothing I have seen or stories I have heard can convey the feeling of skiing the Alaskan Chugach. It’s bigger, more powerful and steeper than anything I ever imagined. It is something that one must personally experience in order to fully understand…it is unlike anything else.
Last month I took my first trip to Alaska…the year prior I set a goal for myself. I was overweight and wanted to get into “ski shape”. My goal was to lose 35 lbs and my reward AK. I had achieved my goal of losing the weight and getting in the best shape I knew possible to take on Alaska but was it enough?
I am an average skier. But I wanted to test my ability and take my skiing to a new level. So I booked my trip to Cordova Alaska with legendary skier Chris Anthony from the Warren Miller Team.
Upon arriving in Alaska the Points North Team was very accommodating. I flew directly into Cordova and was picked up at the airport by the one of the staff members from PNH. Points North Headquarters and the Orca Adventure Lodge were just a short drive from the airport. The accommodations turned out to be great. After checking in with the PNH team, they took our photo and handed out probes, beacons and harnesses. The kitchen staff then offered us a hot meal that tasted wonderful especially after spending entire day on a plane.
Before departing from the Sacramento Airport that morning the weather forecast indicated seven days of rain in Cordova which translated to our entire trip. So upon departure I wasn’t feeling very optimistic about the possibility of clear skies. When I inquired about the weather situation Jessica Quinn responded with “Oh don’t pay attention to that…weather here in Cordova changes by the hour”, and sure enough our group had the opportunity to ski three of the seven days while in Cordova.
All skiers staying at the lodge and all PNH crew are required to have in their possession a Motorola Radio. When it’s time to fly the groups are notified via radio to prepare for departure in the staging area. When you get the call for the first time it’s an unbelievable feeling. As one of the skiers described it “this must be what it feels like to come out of the tunnel at the Superbowl”, because it is….It’s the Superbowl of skiing. You can hear Kevin’s “Magic Carpets” warming up outside as your heart starts pumping and the adrenaline starts flowing. As one PNH guide put it “the sound of the heli never gets old”.
The first day of skiing the snow was very similar to Sierra Snow. Somewhat heavy but still wonderful powder. The next day we received over two feet of new snow at the higher elevations. Our second day out was one of the greatest days of my life. The velvet that I have been told about for years lived up to its reputation. It is very forgiving yet the mountains are steep which makes for an unbelievable experience in the most challenging terrain imaginable. The average run that day was about 2200 vertical feet with the longest run of the day being 3200 vertical feet. We were fortunate to get eight runs in that day. As one of my good friends Tom Hicks (and fellow private pilot) said to me after skiing a run called Sweeter Than Wine.. “Chris…It’s kind of like flying huh?” At the time and to this day I have a hard time putting it into words but Tom’s description fit it perfectly.
My advice to anyone contemplating on going would be the following. Make sure to go with a group of four friends that you know well. And when I say “know well”, I don’t mean that you know them well personally. You need to know how well they ski. Can they ski crud? How about wind effect? Can they ski steeps? How are they in the pow? Most importantly are they all approximately the same level of skiers? Ski with all of them in as much as possible prior to going to make sure everyone is of the same ability level. The varying conditions can be challenging. If you go with an odd number of people you will most likely be grouped with someone that you don’t know or that is of a different ability level.
After watching countless Warren Miller and Matchstick films I have always dreamed of skiing in Alaska. Skiing with Chris Anthony and experiencing PNH was like hanging with the band. There is no way to convey in words the feeling or the experience of skiing the Chugach. If you love to ski and you haven’t been…. it’s very simple ….you just have to go.
March is off to a stellar start both in bounds and in the backcountry. We found heaps of pow on what ended up being a nine hour tour last Saturday. We skied several different lines along the way with vertical drops ranging from 400 to 1,800 feet per run.
Robb Gaffney and Rob McCormick somewhere between here and there
If you look east from downtown Truckee you will see a cluster of mountains that comprise the Mt. Rose Wilderness. With five peaks over 10,000 feet these are the tallest mountains in the North Tahoe Region. If you gaze toward the southern tip of the range you will see a steep cirque that tops out at the summit of Relay Peak. I always thought this looked like a great ski descent but was unsure of the accessibility. This Saturday I decided to check it out with a few friends. With in-bounds ski conditions deteriorating we figured a cool tour into new territory would be fun regardless of whether we found good snow.
We started from the parking area just above the snowpark on the Mt. Rose Highway and used the Relay Peak access road as our approach route. This road is a veritable freeway for snow-machiners. With a steady flow of traffic, this three and a half mile route does not feel like deep backcountry. It is, however, one of the easiest skin approaches in Tahoe to good ski terrain at high altitude. If you are lucky enough to have a snow machine, this is the perfect place to use it on the approach and stash it before heading into the wilderness area to the west. Taking slightly different routes, our party of five reconvened at the microwave towers on Relay Ridge. From there we left snowmobile traffic behind and skinned up the ridge to the summit of Relay Peak proper. The view from the top is amazing. You can see Lake Tahoe to the south, the Carson Valley to the east and as far as Mt. Lassen to the north.
I took a few steps below the summit to survey snow conditions in the cirque we hoped to ski and discovered a crust layer over depth hoar. Poor conditions on that aspect were not necessarily a bad thing as we started super late and would be flirting with darkness if we had to hike back up and out. We spotted a very enticing northeast facing couloir on the ridgeline past the cirque that would make coming back for a double shot of both very tempting.
We descended the rock-strewn bowl that heads back to the highway. Grant Kaye skied a steep line through the center of the rocks on good, edgeable snow. The rest of us picked more gradual north-facing lines and were surprised to find dry powder. We stuck to the shadowed portion of a gully that kept our skis on good snow for about 1,100 vertical feet before joining up with the access road. Looking back we realized if we had followed the ridgline south of Relay Peak it would have lead us to a perfect northeast pitch with good snow. Next time!
Relay Peak is a worthwhile adventure for Tahoe backcountry skiers. It is especially attractive during lean snow years when lower elevation routes like Jake’s and Tallac are melted out at the bottom. Although the snowmobile traffic on the approach is heavy, skier traffic in the motor vehicle prohibited wilderness to the west is very light. This makes for a great combination of easy access and good snow in some of the slightly more intriguing and obscure ski terrain in the area. -Rob McCormick
A few friends and I rallied for a quick tour up Silver Peak in Squaw Valley on Sunday morning. A nice skin track made for a fairly quick approach on the ridge to the lookers right of Silver Peak. Once on the ridgeline we found fantastic cold powder on the northeast aspects and skied about 500 vertical feet of the good stuff. We then skinned the ridgeline west to the summit of Silver Peak and descended the southeast facing slopes back into Squaw. The conditions were slightly sun affected pow on top of a firm bottom layer…still quite manageable. Perhaps the best thing about this tour is the phenomenal view of Squaw Valley. You can see virtually all of the quality terrain at Squaw, not to mention the backside of Broken Arrow and a birds-eye view of Tram Face. The vertical gain on this hike is 2,200 feet to the peak which is higher than both KT22 and High Camp. -Rob McCormick
Robb Gaffney with Squaw Valley in the background. Photo by Matt Berry.
Rob McCormick Skinning up Silver Peak. Photo by Robb Gaffney.
