Want to ski the Southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range of the Western United States, Lassen Peak?! At an elevation of 10,457', this peak is an ideal place to hone in your ski mountaineering skills, or to just ski incredible snow!
Lassen is an excellent precursor to skiing Mt Shasta, one of California's highest peaks, or a great add-on to a Mt Shasta trip.
Requisite Experience
This program is for experienced backcountry riders and to make sure everyone has a good time, we require that you:
- Are Proficient at Using Your Gear including ice axe, crampons, and ski crampons. If you are not, consider taking our Ski Mountaineering Skills course, an excellent way to gain the skills you need to get started climbing and skiing mountains with exposure to steep, firm slopes.
- Can Ride Advanced Terrain at a ski resort. It's important that riders have an advanced riding ability to manage the highly variable snow conditions we experience in the backcountry. These conditions are typically very different from those found at ski resorts, even in off-piste resort terrain.
Itinerary
.Equipment
Mount Lassen Ski Mountaineering Gear Guide
Backcountry Touring Gear
❏ Alpine Touring Skis or Splitboard - Light to Midweight Setup with “Tech Bindings”
❏ Alpine Touring Boots or Splitboard Compatible Boots; Scarpa F1
❏ Climbing Skins - Mohair Mix is Best; Black Diamond GlideLite Mohair Mix,
❏ Ski Crampons - Specific to your Skis/Board;
❏ Ski Strap - Voile Ski Strap or Similar
❏Ski Touring Backpack - Lightweight pack that holds all your gear, ideally with an avalanche tools compartment
AVALANCHE GEAR
❏ Avalanche Beacon - Digital Avalanche Transceiver; Black Diamond Guide Recon BT
❏ Avalanche Shovel - Collapsible, Aluminum Shovel; Backcountry Access BT2 Shovel
❏ Avalanche Probe - Quickdraw Style Probe; Backcountry Access Stealth 300
TECHNICAL GEAR
❏ Climbing/Ski Helmet - Dual Rated Helmet; Petzl Sirocco or Black Diamond Vision
❏ Climbing Harness - Light Alpine Harness; Petzl Altitude, Mammut Zephyr Altitude
❏ Two Locking Carabiners - Petzl Attache, etc
❏ Crampons, Steel OR Aluminum - make sure they are compatible with your boots!
❏ Ice Axe - Petzl Ride, BD Raven Ultra
❏ Ski Poles - Lightweight, Adjustable Poles with Baskets; BD Expedition 3 Poles
HEAD AND NECK LAYERS
❏ Sun Hat - A Baseball Hat; Blackbird Mountain Guides Logo Hat
❏ Sunglasses - Dark Lens Glasses with Side Coverage; Julbo Shield
❏ Goggles - Ski Goggles with a Storm Lens; Julbo Aerospace Reactive
❏ Warm Hat - Lightweight Warm Hat that Fits Under Your Helmet;
❏ Neck Gaiters - Light to Midweight Neck Gaiters; Buff or your favorite Face Masks
UPPER BODY AND HAND LAYERS
❏ Long Sleeve Base Layer - Lightweight, Synthetic/Wool; Patagonia SunHoody
❏ 2 Insulating Top Layers - Light to Midweight Insulation Layers; Patagonia R1 & Nano Air
❏ Puffy (optional) - Midweight Down or Synthetic with Hood; Patagonia Fitzroy or similar
❏ Hardshell Jacket, Hooded - Waterproof, Gore-Tex, NOT insulated; Arc’Teryx Alpha FL
❏ Light Gloves - Light to Mid Weight for Warm Temps; Flylow John Henry Gloves, BD Tour
❏ Midweight Gloves - Mid to Heavy Weight for Cold Conditions; BD Legend
❏ Sports Bra - Wool/Synthetic;
LOWER BODY AND FOOT LAYERS
❏ Socks - Midweight Wool/Synthetic; Darn Tough Via Ferrata
❏ Underwear - Wool/Synthetic
❏ Long Underwear - Wool/Synthetic “Long Johns”; Patagonia Capilene Air
❏ Softshell Ski Pants - Breathable, Weather Resistant Pants; OR Trailbreaker II
❏ Vented Hardshell Ski Pants - Waterproof Pants for Extreme Weather; Flylow Compound
FOOD AND WATER
❏ Food - Bring enough snacks water for a full day in the field
❏ Water - Bring enough water for a full day in the field
***Please bring at least one hard sided water bottle.
OTHER ESSENTIALS
❏ Sun Screen (SPF 30 minimum)
❏ Lip Balm (with SPF)
❏ Hand Sanitizer
OPTIONAL
❏ First Aid/blister Kit
❏ Chemical Hand Warmers
❏ Hydration System - Flexible Water Bladder with Hose; Hydrapak, Camelback, Platypus
GROUP GEAR
Blackbird Mountain Guides will supply all of the group gear for the trip, including:
✓ Ropes
✓ Guide’s First Aid Kits
✓ Wag Bags (Solid Human Waste Disposal Bags)