July 1, 2010, Diamond Peak,Lassen Natl Park
7/1/10
US elsewhere
1297
1
We aint comin home till Cliff Mass says summer has begun. Yup, its another sunny, warm day. We stopped looking at weather forecasts when we left Seattle¦.
Last week Boot graciously gave me a heads up on the great skiing on the north side of Lassen, but warned me about the required walking on dirt in the Devastated Forest and sun cups on the flats. We listened and drove around to the south entrance because, unfortunately, the road through the park is not scheduled to open for another week. The south entrance has become our favorite area because of the variety of tours available. Sadly, we arrived too late for any of the longer tours. The south side has spotty patches of snow even on Lassens south side.
I finally found another roadside attraction with a continuous steep fall-line descent on the north aspect of Diamond Peak. The road circles around three-fourths of the peak and provides easy access to the unique rock formation on the summit. We parked in a spot with half of the campervan in the shade so Jill could read, and the other half in the sun where she could see my route. It was another trip that had big sun cups on the flats and smaller, soft sun cups on the steep terrain. I love my ski crampons. They bite into the sun cups and provide the security when things get steep and firm. As I was climbing, I could see Jill walking along the shoulder of the road taking photos of the wildflowers. It was another short climb with pleasant views of Lassen and Eagle Peak, Pilot Pinnacle and Mount Diller, and fumaroles and hot springs along the hillsides. The top half skied smoothly, but the bottom half was a bumpy ride. The heat wave is continuing to enhance the sun cups. Our next stop should solve this problem. ;D
Last week Boot graciously gave me a heads up on the great skiing on the north side of Lassen, but warned me about the required walking on dirt in the Devastated Forest and sun cups on the flats. We listened and drove around to the south entrance because, unfortunately, the road through the park is not scheduled to open for another week. The south entrance has become our favorite area because of the variety of tours available. Sadly, we arrived too late for any of the longer tours. The south side has spotty patches of snow even on Lassens south side.
I finally found another roadside attraction with a continuous steep fall-line descent on the north aspect of Diamond Peak. The road circles around three-fourths of the peak and provides easy access to the unique rock formation on the summit. We parked in a spot with half of the campervan in the shade so Jill could read, and the other half in the sun where she could see my route. It was another trip that had big sun cups on the flats and smaller, soft sun cups on the steep terrain. I love my ski crampons. They bite into the sun cups and provide the security when things get steep and firm. As I was climbing, I could see Jill walking along the shoulder of the road taking photos of the wildflowers. It was another short climb with pleasant views of Lassen and Eagle Peak, Pilot Pinnacle and Mount Diller, and fumaroles and hot springs along the hillsides. The top half skied smoothly, but the bottom half was a bumpy ride. The heat wave is continuing to enhance the sun cups. Our next stop should solve this problem. ;D
Zap - Glad to hear you're enjoying your trip to Lassen and other points south. It was good to meet you at Bachelor. Just put in my first turns-all-year post from today on south sister. I'll be posting as "DesertSnowDoug" Happy 4th!
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