Lava Lines

Posted: 10.14.2019
Posted: 10.14.2019
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All photos by Mark Erickson

Team Riders Corey Nugent and Mark Erickson spend their winters searching out the deepest turns and biggest airs they can find around their home of Washington. Blessed with over 400" of snow a winter, their home resorts provide an ample supply of terrain to explore well into Spring, but when the lifts stop spinning they take refuge in the high elevations to continue their quest for shredding. Last spring Mark and Corey packed up the cars and head out to explore 4 of their favorite volcanoes, climb over 29k feet, and find some of the best late season corn available in North America. Check it out!

"First on our hit list for our Spring volcano tour was Mt. Hood. With some funky Spring weather rolling through the greater Seattle area early than expected, we loaded up the truck and sent it North to the Mecca of summer skiing. With an ample supply of snow still available up high, we spent the day Saturday touring and hiking our way to the 11,239 foot summit. Perfect corn conditions and Cinco de Mayo were enough reason to spend the rest of the weekend in Oregon poking around Hood and skiing with friends."

"With Spring in full effect and such a successful trip to Hood under our belt, our return home proved to be a quick one. Anxious for more corn skiing and bigger summits, we booked out another weekend to go explore Mt. Baker. Looking to pack light and move swiftly, we opted to get it in a day trip and bail of the overnight. With light packs and the promise of another perfect summit day we made great pace up the frontside and to the summit. Conditions ended up cooperating perfectly, a blanket of pow up high to a smooth transition into corn down low. Returning to the truck full of stoke, we blasted into Bellingham to link up with our Montana homies and catch an Odezza show. Powder to party!"

"With the spring shred bug fully infecting us, we lined up yet another volcano shortly after returning home. This time it was the big one. Mt. Rainier. Although the ski itself isn't overly technical, the 10k foot slog up to the summit is enough to deter the weak hearted shred enthusiast. The hardest part for me is knowing that the first three miles of the approach you are in shoes, searching for the snow line in order to transition onto your skis. At 9440 feet, we rolled into our camp zone, Camp Schurman. The sunsets here are hard to beat and the view of the next days route keeps the stoke extremely high. The 2nd day doesn't get easier. At 13k feet, every step become harder and your backpack weight becomes heavier and heavier. Once we reached the summit, the views make all of the doubt from the climb vanish, and your excitement to ski over 10000k feet back to the parking lot takes over. The Rainier ski did not disappoint. Sometimes the ski from the summit can be a gamble, however we cashed in on summit powder turns and perfect corn with only a few scary ice turns in between."      

"With the snow line receding and the urge to give our feet a break from the ski boot torture device, we circled Mt. Adams as our last volcano. We packed the truck one last time, and headed south. Driving through the night set us up perfectly for an early morning trailhead arrival. With just over 6700 feet to climb, the day mission is possible but needs to be swift in order to ensure decent ski conditions. This summit was a bit icy and funky, so we killed some time to let the sun heat up the SW chutes. With the spring sun being so strong, these funky conditions were soon transformed into beautiful corn snow, giving us the perfect run to close out the season. Cheers to another epic extended season here in the PNW!"


Mark & Corey's Gear

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