ADK4Life
New member
- Joined
- May 14, 2004
- Messages
- 281
- Reaction score
- 6
Flew from Montreal to San Francisco, my plan was to drive north to Redding and climb Shasta & Lassen before going south to the Sierra.
Lassen is a beautiful volcano and the largest peak seen in northern California before Shasta comes into site. It is also the southernmost Cascade volcano. Our first views were in the evening and it was covered in the most beautiful pink.
The drive to Lassen Peak is at least 1 hour from redding. The temp drops and you enter a beautiful forest full of pinecones 12 inches and larger. The volcanic park is full of examples of the destruction volcanoes cause to the ecosystem, this is a place of many contrasts. Lassen sits as king peak of this area without question. Wildlife viewing is rich on the way up to the trailhead at 8,000ft.
The trail starts nice and easy with views of snowmelt, snowfields and volcanic peaks nearby. You follow switchbacks up the base until you reach a ridge that leads to the summit. At 9,000ft I started to feel almost drunk, this was my first time above Mount Washington elevation. There were 2 snowfields that needed to be crossed as you gained the ridge, many glissade options available for descent.
The trail follow switchbacks up the ridge until you reach a plateau where the trail drops and summit reveals there is at least 200+ feet left. There was no definite trail due to snow covering parts of the peak that are usually open. There are easy class 1 options from the plateau.
Instead I went off trail and ascended the direct ridge to the summit, this is a known class 3 variation. The exposure was awesome following the ridge as there was thousands of feet drop to your left. The rock was solid most of the way up and hands were needed for all points to the summit. You end up a bit above the summit marker with this variation but makes bagging the peak that much sweeter.
I started the trail at 4pm and reached the summit a bit before 6pm. The views are outstanding from this peak. Your immediate view is the Lassen crater and 2 other volcanic peaks. You can also see the awesome drop from the north east face.
I met 2 women from Alaska on the summit and chatted for 30 mins waiting for my GF to summit. We started down around dusk and were treated with many colors of dusk bouncing off volcanic peaks.
Great hike with a little scrambling in a fantastic park, I have to hike cinder cone next time I come back.
Lassen is a beautiful volcano and the largest peak seen in northern California before Shasta comes into site. It is also the southernmost Cascade volcano. Our first views were in the evening and it was covered in the most beautiful pink.
The drive to Lassen Peak is at least 1 hour from redding. The temp drops and you enter a beautiful forest full of pinecones 12 inches and larger. The volcanic park is full of examples of the destruction volcanoes cause to the ecosystem, this is a place of many contrasts. Lassen sits as king peak of this area without question. Wildlife viewing is rich on the way up to the trailhead at 8,000ft.
The trail starts nice and easy with views of snowmelt, snowfields and volcanic peaks nearby. You follow switchbacks up the base until you reach a ridge that leads to the summit. At 9,000ft I started to feel almost drunk, this was my first time above Mount Washington elevation. There were 2 snowfields that needed to be crossed as you gained the ridge, many glissade options available for descent.
The trail follow switchbacks up the ridge until you reach a plateau where the trail drops and summit reveals there is at least 200+ feet left. There was no definite trail due to snow covering parts of the peak that are usually open. There are easy class 1 options from the plateau.
Instead I went off trail and ascended the direct ridge to the summit, this is a known class 3 variation. The exposure was awesome following the ridge as there was thousands of feet drop to your left. The rock was solid most of the way up and hands were needed for all points to the summit. You end up a bit above the summit marker with this variation but makes bagging the peak that much sweeter.
I started the trail at 4pm and reached the summit a bit before 6pm. The views are outstanding from this peak. Your immediate view is the Lassen crater and 2 other volcanic peaks. You can also see the awesome drop from the north east face.
I met 2 women from Alaska on the summit and chatted for 30 mins waiting for my GF to summit. We started down around dusk and were treated with many colors of dusk bouncing off volcanic peaks.
Great hike with a little scrambling in a fantastic park, I have to hike cinder cone next time I come back.
