[Snow Weasel]

This all started for me in the fall of '02. A bunch of us at work were talking about things that we'd like to accomplish during the next 12 months. At the time, I was an avid backpacker, had been traipsing all over the Grouse Ridge backcountry area on snow shoes for years, and was a very average resort skier. Anyway, my response was that I'd like to climb a "big" mountain, like Shasta. One of my buddies there immediately said, "We'll do it next May. Of course, the only cool way to do it is to come down on tele skis". Such was my introduction to The Turn, the gear, backcountry skiing in general, and eventually, these hallowed pages.

By the following May, I had a season of face plants under my belt (which is a hard place to put them), had picked up crampons and an ice ax, and was ready to go. We set out to do the Casaval Ridge route. We skinned and hiked up to about 10,000 ft., set up our camp, and found out that the stove (my buddy's) was malfunctioning. No stove, no water. No water, no summit.

The following year, right after the '04 Virginia Lakes gathering, Mark AT and I were considering taking a go at it, but I suffered a bad muscle pull, and that took care of that season.

In '05, I simply didn't have time, due to work and family obligations.

So, now we're in here in '06. MJG and I had sent each other a couple of PM's discussing gear, and Shasta came up. He said that he had been on mountain a number of times, had summited via Avy Gulch twice, and suggested that we give the Clear Creek route a try, and so the game was afoot.

Now, those of you who've chuckled through the experience of skiing with me doubtlessly realize that I don't have any business skiing from the top of Shasta - and I didn't, leaving my skis about a third of the way up. MJG, though, did ski most of it.

We had the good fortune of meeting up with a party of 5 really good guys from Chico shortly after leaving our high camp, and hung out with them on the way up and down. Their leader, Kurt, knows that side of the mountain like the back of his hand, and was eager to share his knowledge with us.

I don't have any good action shots, but here goes:

Our destination ahead of us:



We saw a lot of this on the way up:



Our high camp:



MJG on the summit:



The view from the top, very similar to the shot that BCR posted. The range in distance along the horizon is the Trinities.



Yours truly, contemplating the true meaning of "Alpine Start":


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Montani Semper Liberi

Pride goeth before a face plant.

[Guest]

My "alpine" starts always involved a headlamp. Looks like the sun was up for you.

[Snow Weasel]

Naw, actually we left camp at 4:15, headlamps gleaming.
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Montani Semper Liberi

Pride goeth before a face plant.

[bcrider]

[Snow Weasel]

[Baaahb]

Next year!
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Other vegetables have a hard time competing with potatoes.

[televisionary]

Nice one, Mr. Weasel. You might be a card-carrying member of the Crack O' Noon Starting Club, but it looks like a great time.
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私はスキー好む

[Tri-Ungulate]

TRs going strong on the board, almost July!. Great to see the culmination of a long-planned objective there SW, how very satisfying that must have been. Now you and BCR have me wanting to get up there even more, though maybe not this season.







(edited to add tripreport search term to thread)
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[Guest]

okay, it has been made abundantly clear that I don't recognize a joke if it does not have the little laughing face attached (and sometimes not even then)

[randonoob]

Hey, give him a break. The sun rises early this time of year!

[granpa]

Nice 4 year follow through and TR SW!

Shasta just made to the top part of my list!
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.....clueless....

[Snow Weasel]