Backcountry
Conditions Report
Mt. Shasta Conditions Report From Shasta Mountain Guides:
It’s mid-April in Northern California and the sound of raindrops continue to be the theme for the winter and spring of ’16-’17. We have officially surpassed the mark for the wettest winter on record for the Northern Sierra section of CA, yay! The weather station at 7,600’ on Mt. Shasta is measuring close to 20’ of settled snow, this is truly remarkable and we are going to have excellent alpine conditions on Mt. Shasta this year.
Although it’s Spring per the calendar, there is still plenty of snow falling in Northern California. As the ski resorts are closing, our season is just ramping up and the backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering will be truly epic for the next several months.
Today (4.18.17) was yet another perfect day of backcountry skiing on Mt. Shasta. We received 4-5″ of cold snow on a soft supportive base with light winds which made for pretty sublime conditions.
Our season is off and running. The last couple weeks have brought amazing snow quality and beyond stoked guests. Several of our guides have been leading ski tours, splitboard seminars, and climbing classes as we wait for the jet stream to bring more seasonal weather and we are able to get onto the upper mountain.
Eric Layton, senior guide and splitboard guru just spent 3 days on the mountain and racked up some serious vertical of untouched and butter smooth spring powder. To say they were stoked would be an understatement and they were thrilled by the untouched canvas of volcano ski touring.
The Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center has completed their avalanche advisories for the season; that’s not to say that the hazard has diminished, and it’s just the opposite. We have received several more storm systems this week and if the forecast is correct it looks like this weekend could provide the first real spring like weather this year. Sunny skies and mild temps are on tap. With all the new snow, and rapidly warming temperatures, we are very concerned with the possibility of wet slide avalanches this weekend. We strongly recommend caution and to avoid runout zones and gullies, especially below Lake Helen. There is a high probability of south and east slopes to become unstable and for large, destructive wet slides to run a long distance.
Once we have a few cycles of mild days and cold nights, the hazard will diminish and we expect a long and enjoyable season on Mt. Shasta. Our guided climbs and trips are beginning to fill and we recommend contacting us soon to secure your dates.
Upcoming Events:
- Guide training with Dave Miller and Rich Meyer 4/21-23. We can’t wait to see our crew back with such epic conditions!
- Mt. Shasta Ski Mountaineering Seminar 4/21-24 Senior Guide Dane Brinkley leads 4 days of advanced ski mountaineering with some excellent weather and conditions lined up
- The Geology of Mt. Shasta Presentation by Dr. William Hirt Friday April 21 at 7:00pm Sisson Museum
- Summit climbs and ski descents each weekend starting now!
