SummitPost.org

Has anyone been up Lassen Peak recently? I'm thinking of heading there this weekend and am assuming offtrail climbing would still require snowshoes, ice axe, crampons. i gather from the NPS website that the summit trail will be open this weekend from 1-4 July. If the peak still has significant snow coverage (as it looks is the case from the webcam) does the fact that the trail is "open" make any difference, other than the fact that (I assume) one isn't restricted from snow travel in the trail area as one would otherwise be?

http://www.redding.com/news/2011/jun/29/fourth-of-july-camping-forecast-hot-and-full-for/

The middle section of the 30-mile road through the park remains closed and likely won't be open until July 8, Haner said. Park officials had hoped the full road would be open by the Fourth of July, but road crews are encountering high snow drifts as they try to clear the road.

"They are still hitting snow depths of 20 to 22 feet," Haner said.

The road is open for 10 miles to the Devastated Area from the park's Manzanita Lake entrance and eight miles to Bumpass Hell from the park's southwest corner.

Road crews also were working to clear the parking lot for Lassen Peak, but it may not be open until after the holiday weekend, Haner said. As of Wednesday people Lassen Peak climbers were parking at Bumpass Hell.

The trail up Lassen Peak is open, Haner said, but anyone going for the top should expect more than a hike. She said the trail is covered in snow so climbers should have crampons, ice axes and helmets.

"People need to be prepared to climb through snow," she said.

Have fun! I'll admire views of Lassen as I drive farther to the northeast to avoid crowds and have less snow to deal with. It sounds like it would be fun to drive through Lassen to see the snowy conditions on the way home, but it doesn't sound like the road through the park will be open, so I may not have enough time.

Hwy 89 was in fact closed at Bumpass Hell on the south side though plowed up to the Lassen Peak trail. Snow there looked to be 10'+ deep though was melting fast down at the Visitor center. We spent the night at the Southwest walkin campground and were (barely) able to give the kids an easy introduction to snow camping; we set up the tents on about 2' of snow but the ground was starting to show through in spots.

The Lassen Peak trail itself was open this weekend and wanded on the snowy portions, though a fair amount of the trail was snow free between about 9500'' and 10K'. I gather it was closed again today but will reopen when trail work is complete in August; between now and then there will be restrictions in travel near the trail construction area to avoid interference with the construction. I started a little after dawn and had the mountain to myself, though the snow was hard and I was happy to have crampons and an ice axe handy for sections where path crossed steep/exposed snow. By 10:30, when I got back to the road, snow was softening and trail packed out, and I saw people heading up the trail with nothing but shorts, running shoes, a camera and a pint of Arrowhead water in their hand.