TR: Shasta September 28, 2011

Headed up north with Mark Chon (aka-snowblasta). We were looking forward to some suncup dodging on the last of the summer snow.

Still tons of snow. I haven’t seen this much snow on Shasta this late in the season before. The view from below on I-5 looked promising.

The view of Mt. Shasta from I-5 looked promising.

The views are better a little further from the trailhead.

The next day we drove up to the TH and started hiking. 180 steps up the trail brings you to ‘the gully’. There is a trail heading up the left side. Our headlamps cast an eerie glow that was just bright enough to see the trail…at times.

The sun finally came up and lit our way.

This is what Shasta usually looks like in June or July – if it was a normal year. This past winter was extraordinary and we were sneaking in one last run before winter sets in next week. It actually doesn’t look that much different from my last trip back in the beginning of August.

The flowers were out all over the place.

Spring time in September? On Shasta's E side it is.

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We hiked up to treeline and kept hiking. The classic snow patch at the bottom (around 8800′), which usually disappears was still there, but no skinning yet – too steep and firm. We stuck to hikers right, by the rocks and were able to keep our crampons in the pack.

The top of the first snowfield looked like it ended and didn’t connect so we kept hiking up through the rocks. One thousand feet later, we got to the the base of the permanent snowfield where we could finally put the skis to the snow.

What a relief! I’m not a big fan of hiking. Skinning is much more fun, especially skinning in September!

We looked out over the land that lay below and wondered if we were the only jibbers up on the mountain.

The hiking had been slow going, carrying the skis and all, but once the skis hit the snow and we were skinning, the next thousand feet seemed to fly by. The snow was still pretty firm. Only a thin layer of corn covered the sun cups. We were approaching 11,000′ and I could see evidence of the new snow from last weeks storm at the bottom of some of the sun cups.

Route-finding our way through the maze of deep cups, we pondered how we were going to ski this stuff. By noon, we were beat. The snow was even firmer up here and there was a stiff, cold breeze. Rock fall wasn’t happening. The mountain stood still in the wind.

The lower angle of the September sun shone on the mountain, but didn’t move a thing.

The Hotlum Glacier was silent.

It was time to ski!

The snow skied better than expected. It was fun turning down through the maze of suncups. Nice firm corn.

We had one portage and then it was down the lower snow field to where the hike out began.

We refilled our water bottles at the drinking fountain.

The sand that we were cursing all the way up was our friend on the way down. Trying not to step on all the flowers, we hiked down and down.

The sand, our enemy on the way up, was our friend on the way down.

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Found the gully easily and on down to the Jeep. We had three days for this trip, so we were looking forward to kicking back after skiing and soaking in the views while savoring a few cold ones.

We didn’t last long. After sundown and dinner we faded to our tents and slept for 11 hours.

One last shot with some morning light on the east side.

It was a nice change from the usual two day trip where I have to make the long drive all the way home the same day after skiing.

More photos on Jibmaster’s Flickr page.

© 2011

Editor’s Note: You may recognize the photos and the trip report style but not the name. Brent is better known on the web as Jibmaster. I’m psyched to have him share his adventures here on EarnYourTurns.