Lassen Peak - NW Ridge 3/30/2008
Posted By: Chriznitch in California
Trip: Lassen Peak - NW Ridge
Date: 3/30/2008
Trip Report:
Lassen from Lake Almanor, a week and a storm before the climbAfter a few years of thinking about this peak in winter, and at least 2 aborted attempts, my friend Chad and I finally climbed it. So what if it was officially early spring...
We climbed the Northwest Ridge in a day from Manzanita Lake. On the drive over the hill, everything had a fresh snow cover as we neared the park, which added to the scenery. The approach is basic--follow the east fork of Manzanita Creek and Chaos Crags will steer you right toward the NW ridge.
As we hiked through the trees, I thought about how warm things felt. This feeling would soon go away, as a biting chill set in as we climbed above timberline. This is a pretty straightforward route that is recommended only when snow covered. There was some frozen talus exposed on the route, but we were able to avoid this on the ascent by following the snow on the north face. We did encounter a couple hundred feet of 40deg snow and some 3rd class moves on the crater ridge traverse over to the true summit.
After topping out at the summit plateau area, the traverse over to the south side of the peak and the summit is beautiful & spectacular. We also passed quite a few fumeroles on the ridge and around the summit.
As we rounded the ridge we finally got our first looks at the summit, a hill atop the plateau:
We topped out in a cloud so the views were limited to the south, but it was still a decent day for climbing.
We had to snap a shot of the summit symbol:
As we neared the truck later that afternoon, we also neared the civilization of the north park entrance.
Gear Notes:snowshoes & poles, ice ax, crampons, balaclava
Approach Notes:head straight towards the peak, southwest from the parking lot at Manzanita Lake (visitor center). Head for the easternmost fork of Manzanita creek (west of Chaos Crags), this will lead you straight to the ridge.
