Winterfest 2004

“This sucks!!!!

Back to the old ways of cut & paste.

www.grandshelters.com”

“I'm having a problem with the link, but if it's what I think it is, we will have one up there.

One of my buds has one, it's been in my gear room for the last two years. Rodney and Tamara have used it to build a Gloo at the last two New Years party's. We will have it up there again this year.”

“Thats it”

“Sounds like a cool tool.
But a lot of work.

And $150 !!???”

“It does work..lots faster then building one from scratch.
The guy who bought it went in with two other folks.”

“All I'm bringing is a tarp and poles and a 3-season cheapie tent for storage. I'm relying on a snow shelter for sleeping, since Wanderer and Mtnsteve are experts.”

“We'll keep you alive.....but it's gonna cost ya ;-)”

“Hopefully I'll be able to make it and check out that little jewel.”

“I'm bringin beer in the space on the sled that the tent would have gone. Everyone wins!”

“wow! That igloo tool looks pretty awesome! I'll be looking forward to seeing that. But, wow! What a steep price! I wonder if we could make something like that ourselves. Hum...a great discussion for around the igloo.

So Phaedrus you're bringing beer? I'm not sure what alcohol I'm bringing yet. I was thinking of Sake and warming it up on the stove. Love beer but it's soooooo cooooooold! But then again, that's just how I like it.....ice Cold!”

“Rodney assures me a keg won't freeze, still working on that. I can guarantee your beer will be cold.

I'm bringing Hot Damn and Rum.....might bring up some Ouzo, depends on when I have to go back to work..LOL

I just confirmed that Rodney is going to be able to head up on the 30th...that means Buddha Bear, Rodney and myself will most likely be going up together, anyone else going to be there on the 30th?

Rodney will be heading back down to meet Tamara on the 31st and haul a second load back up..don't have the exact time nailed down yet.”

“I'll be leaving Reno around 11:00 if all goes well. I guess that means I should arrive at the trailhead by 3:00? I'll be driving very cautiously!”

“Heck yeah! I'm planning to be up there on the 30th also.

If you do the keg you should probably get a CO2 canister w/tap. Don't wont flat beer now, do we?

Also Steve, what is the best Lassen weather page to be following for snow updates? Do you have one bookmarked?”

“You guys are seriously going to get a keg?! I'm amazed! Who's bringing the winery?”

“Ladyhiker is a wino, er, winer fancier.”

“Rodney and I may have to leave before you BB, it takes awhile to set up the Tipi....we'll work it out. I would like us to have it up, along with the Kiva, so that the rest of you will have a place to warm up if you get there near dark.

We're batting the keg thing around, it would take a special trip to get it up there, depends.

Rockman..great to have you up there on the 30th, did you have a ETA?

I could have just given you a link for the weather, but nooooo

Lassen is really tricky when it comes to the weather, it actually gets two different storm patterns, quite often at the same time. It will get hit with Northern Sierra weather on the South side and Southern Cascade weather on the North side. The difference between snow depth can be as much as 20'.

To answer your question though....I usually hunt through these..

Upper Shingletown & Northeastern California Weather Conditions ...you can hit the link at the left (Manzanita Lake and Eskimo Hill Summit Weather) and get the actual weather from Manzanita Lake. I use this the most.
National Weather Service will show everything from Reno to Redding, depending on where you click on the map.
Lassen Park weather is here
The offical Lassen Volcanic National Park Weather Page
is here, it has forcasts for the whole North State just about.”

“Well, it would take me about 3 hours to get to Redding (200 miles from home) and then whatever time it takes to get to Lassen. I would guess around 1:00 pm.

Is the kiva different from the tipi?”

“Your probably looking at another 45 min/1 hr from Redding. I'll find out in a day or so exactly when we will be in the parking lot.

On that note, If we had a list of when everyone thought they might be there, we could set up some "trail pooling" so folks could meet in the parking lot and come up together if they want.
If anyone is interested, let me know. I'll set up something on the trips page.

If anyone has one of the FRS radios, bring it along (we set ours to 7/03) they will come in real handy. In good conditions we can sometimes reach the parking lot from camp.

The Kiva is like a 5 sided Megamid, it goes up fast and sleeps 2/3. I use it to store gear and as an emergency shelter. I also have a Megamid I might bring along, hell when your pulling a sled you can bring it all.

Last note...because of the size of the group we will have up there, Rodney and I have decided to move the main camp a couple hundred yards to the east of Silver Snag. This area is very large and flat with many beautiful campsites. We camped there in the past when we had more then 5 tents to pitch.

I'm getting sooooo pumped.”

“OMG you guys I am so jeolous! a keg on a trip????? DANG! I need to buy myself an airline ticket...”

“I'm bringing homebrew and one of those small party kegs... No CO2 needed.”

“Wine? Did someone say wine?”

“Two Buck Chuck!”

“I'm driving up with trailbum the 2nd. It looks like it'll take about 4 1/2 hours from Stockton. So if we leave at 8am, should put us at the parking lot between 12:30-1:30. Gives us about 3 hours of daylight to make the igloo.Does that sound about right?”

“It will take you about 1 to 1.5 hours to get to camp...even using the igloo machine, your looking at 2+ hours or more to build a gloo from scratch.

The worst part is getting it started. Rodney and I will probably get a couple started, then it should only take a short time to finish one. Have extra gloves, your hands will get wet...having a nice dry pair to wear while the others are drying in the Tipi would be a good thing.


We should also have a tent available that night anyway, just in case...the Kiva or the Megamid.”

“How is the snow? It looks like CA got these storms before NM.”

“Pathman, when do you plan on arriving?”

“I just got off the phone with the Ranger and there is 14" on the ground at Manzanita Lake (they had a lot of rain at 5,000/6,000' last month) and it's snowing hard. There should be at least 3' + at Silver Snag (6,500'), along with a good solid base. The forecast for the next 10 days calls for lots more snow.

Rodney and I are going up on Monday to check it out and perhaps haul a load of wood in for the stove. I'll update the snow level then.”

“I should probably warn everyone... chains or 4WD may be required to get to Lassen, especially if you are coming in from Reno.

Most of the time the chain requirements are at Eskimo Hill Summit, just past Manzanita Lake entrance... but once in awhile they will be required at Viola, about 6.5 miles before the Park entrance.”

“I have to work on Monday 1/5, but I could arrive in Sacramento 12/29, return 1/4.

Bah Humbug”

“Steve, I'll have a 4WD vehicle, do you still think I'll need chains?”

“I wouldn't think so....I've only seen once around here when the CHP said you needed chains even if you had a 4WD, and that was on I5 up near Oregon.

Ebenezer...does tht mean your going to try for it?”

“Maybe. It's been nagging at me since it was first brought up. I have to check the piggy bank and see how Mrs. Scrooge feels about it. Looks like I could get into Sacramento for $235 RT by 1015 12/29 and return as late as 530 pm on the 1/4.”

“I think I can swing this! Posted in the ETA thread on the trip page.”

“I spend most of my winter driving crossing the Sierra on the two east-west routes, I80 & Rte. 50. I know on both those roads as long as you have 4WD you're not required to have chains. If you have 2WD and no chains, they WILL prevent you from proceeding. There will almost always be checkpoints as you climb up, they're usually about 4500 - 5500 ft. range, depending upon the snowfall.

If you have 2WD and end up having to buy chains from the roadside vendors, BE PREPARED with your checkbook, they will absolutely rape you! They kow it's law, and they know you can't get around having chains!”

“SNOW SUCKS!!!!!!!! :) I want WARM AND GREEN. Maybe when its WARM AND GREEN again I will come out for a visit eh?”

“Snow is good....


Living in a neighborhood where they bury boys in their basements sucks.


You gotta get your priorities straight kiddo.”

“ROFL!”

“300 PM PST Sat Dec 13 2003

... The National Weather Service is continuing the Winter Storm Warning tonight and Sunday for western Plumas County... including the Lassen park area... and the West Slope of the northern Sierra Nevada...

Periods of heavy snow are expected later this evening through Sunday... with the precipitation decreasing to scattered showers by late Sunday. Snow levels will start out around 5000 to 6000 feet this evening... but lower to around 3000 feet on Sunday. Total accumulations of 1 to 2 feet are expected above 6000 feet. Very strong south winds... gusting in excess of 60 mph at times... will accompany the heavy snowfall overnight into early Sunday creating white-out conditions.”

“YEA Winter! C'MON DOWN SNOW!

I cleaned up & checked out my snowshoes 2 WEEKS AGO, packed my BP for a weekend of snow camping, & STILL haven't been able to get out yet. BRING IT ON!”

“It be blowing like a bad dog right now. We got a wind advisory for town and a winter storm warning for the mountains...yea baby!

Rodney and I are heading up to Silver Snag on Monday to check things out. We were going to haul a load of wood in, but the Rangers want us to show them around the area (their all new to the park) I think we'll haul wood in later and use this trip to gain some brownie points......we may need them ;-)”

“Steve. If I have to charm the hot ranger chicks in oreder to make this trip a success, I will. Anything for the team.”

“I'm gonna remind you of that that.....

We will probably be going out with the SAR coordinator and the guy thats in charge of security.

Now Kelly, in the front office could use a little charming.....”

“Kelly, hmmmmm. I think I'm in love.”

“It's 14° at Manzanita Lake right now.”

“I noticed in the SF Chron this morning that the rainfall so far this season for Redding is way over normal - I would imagine that translates to lots and lots of snow up there. Woo-hoo!”

“A 4WD is probably required? Hummm....we'll probably have to rent one. They aren't cheap are they? I'll check it out.”

“No, just chains if you have 2WD. Some places will let you return the chains at the end of the year if you haven't used them.”

“I just got back from skiing up to Silver Snag...perfect powder, tracks already set from yesterday, cold enough to keep the pow in perfect condition, clear weather, sunshine, the whole nine yards. Best day of skiing in a long time. The run out took only a couple pole plants, the rest of the trip was a ride.

The Rangers browned out on us, so we hauled up, in about an hour, found the best site to camp too...perfect views of Lassen, Chaos Crags and Loomis Peak. 3+ feet of snow on the ground now. There is enough room to pitch 8/9 tents if we want.

Rodney and I are going to start hauling in fire wood later this week.

Man, just a great day!”

“Sounds like a blast Steve! Thanks in advance for hauling/supplying firewood. I'm hauling in the sven saw just in case. Man am I getting pumped. I spent an hour today uploading the trip planning info on my website. Everything is set and double checked, even the professional in-room massage at the hotel on the 6th..hehehe.

I can't wait to get some climbing/winter camping in!”

“With the limited availability of sites, should I bring my massive Walrus Tarp? I could make a huge quinzee that could sleep about 6 with it.”