Mount McLoughlin - Mt. McLoughlin Trail, June 2010

Oregon’s forgotten volcano they call it, and rightfully so I might add! For a ~9500ft mountain I was expecting something a bit more alpine, but with vegetation to within a few hundred feet of the summit I found the ascent to be total bore. Wet, unconsolidated and at times knee deep snow also made for much more tedious going than seemed worth the effort. You know, I figured I was in the area so what the heck…might as well check it out. At least I had the good sense to leave the splitboard back in the car this time.

Lassen Peak - North Face, June 2010

I climbed and rode down Lassen Peak’s North Face the day following my Shasta climb. The normal south-side approach was inaccessible still due to snow but a chance encounter with fellow splitboarders I recognized from SplitBoard.com, Jim and Storn, salvaged the Lassen trip for me. They had just spent the previous day schralping Lassen’s north-side slopes and gave me the scoop. Despite being all on my own and without a map or any navigational aids, the approach and climb was pretty straightforward. It certainly helped that I had both a skin track, and boot path to guide my way to the summit. 3.5 hours to summit and 30 minutes back down to the car, and as an added bonus I was able to take advantage of continuous snow to within a 10 – 15 min walk of parking lot. Thanks guys! The SplitBoard.com report and photos can be seen here: (scroll down to 10th post)

Mount Shasta - Avalanche Gulch, June 2010

Tired of the recent weather and needing a change of scenery, I decided it was about time for a road trip down south where I was hopeful to find some sun and corn snow. First up on my volcano-bagging agenda was Mount Shasta and being that I was flying solo, just the standard Avalanche Gulch route would do.

The big draw of course would be the ride down off of the summit, or more accurately from somewhere above the infamous Red Banks. Alas I only 'boarded Shasta back to the car from Lake Helen camp (10,400ft to ~ 7000ft) as the upper mountain was way too firm and windy for my taste and I was in no mood for getting knocked around with a couple sails on my back. With the snowpack reportedly 140% of average and conditions unseasonably cool and icy, I was content just with completing the route on foot. Though the winds subsided somewhat in the afternoon, the icy slopes from about 11k and upwards weren't going to soften anytime soon.

more...

Colonnade huckfest (and more) - May 2010

Looking out my window as I type these words, day has turned to night in advance of yet another deluge. This is the “winter” weather that had eluded us much of winter this year. Periods of dry weather have been few and far in between lately but occasionally suitable for a quick spin - be it on the asphalt around nearby islands, local (and not-so-local) singletrack or Colonnade when I’m jonesin’ for some park riding action.