Hi folks,

Was thinking about climbing Lassen and/or Brokeoff in early-mid May, and am wondering if it'd be worth it to haul the snowboard up. Anyone have insight to this?

I'm a California newbie (and not a particularly experienced mountaineer) so please lay some wisdom on me.

Absolutely! Getting more fresh this weekend. They had just opened the North entrance on Monday, guessing it will close again for a little while. It's got a healthy snowpack, so skiing (at least on Lassen) should be good most of May, and well into June provided we don't get a crazy uber-hot extended heatwave.

Haven't done a descent of Brokeoff, but I've boarded Lassen with both a solid and a splitboard. With a solid, your best (easiest) option will be from the summer parking lot once they plow the road that far. The N/NE aspects can be accessed from the Devastated Area much earlier, but it'll involve much more mileage. I'd say you hope they've reached the summer parking lot from the South entrance and do Lassen, if not then plan for Brokeoff unless you really want to hump that board a ways.

While you don't need a whole lot of technical mountaineering skill to get up/down Lassen, you at least should be proficient with ice axe/crampons and know self arrest techniques. And I'd hope you have a fair bit of backcountry descents and/or are solid in riding any type of snow/ice conditions. My $0.02

Awesome, thanks for the info! So just to be clear, if you do the northeast route you can just park at the Devastated lot?

zbwener wrote:Awesome, thanks for the info! So just to be clear, if you do the northeast route you can just park at the Devastated lot?

Yes, provided the North entrance is open. You can see the other gate closure to the SE of the parking area on the NPS park map. Here's more beta on this option.

zbwener wrote:Hi folks,

Was thinking about climbing Lassen and/or Brokeoff in early-mid May, and am wondering if it'd be worth it to haul the snowboard up. Anyone have insight to this?

I'm a California newbie (and not a particularly experienced mountaineer) so please lay some wisdom on me.

Skied off Brokeoff and Pk 8662 24-26 April. Excellent coverage, albeit very wet and heavy. Road was still closed at visitor center (south entrance) but it keeps getting plowed....if it would stop snowing. I'll be headed back up mid-May to ski Lassen but will need a bicycle to ride in because the road will still be closed after Sulphur Works. Definitely bring your board!...and a bike....

Deb wrote:I'll be headed back up mid-May to ski Lassen but will need a bicycle to ride in because the road will still be closed after Sulphur Works. Definitely bring your board!...and a bike....

No bike needed if you go in the North entrance and skin to the NE aspects

Late to the party here but just wanted to add... spring/early summer conditions at Lassen (and Shasta) should be epic. They got hammered all season. Hell they're still getting snow now. I predict you'll have a blast!

Was just up there on Brokeoff mountain on 4/23 with Darren after the last big dump. Legit awesome pow! Of course it immediately got heavy when the sun hit it, but it's making for a great base. We lucked out and got to ride the Neutrino couloir in great late-season pow conditions. Here's Darren dropping in: