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When one considers a 14,000ft peak, it is usually for climbing or mountaineering.  What about ski mountaineering?  Combining downhill skiing with mountaineering.  NASTC offers a ski mountaineering trip on Mt. Shasta in the heart of the spring, when conditions are at their peak for this kind of adventure.  No mountaineering experience required.  What?! Genuinely, you do not have to have any mountaineering skills to do this trip, in fact it is a great introductory trip to ski mountaineering – think Haute Route in Europe.  This trip is ideal for combining experienced backcountry skiers and mountaineers with first timers.  Summiting this 14,000ft peak is an achievement and fun adventure, the beauty of Mt. Shasta is that there are several different ascent routes to choose from, we choose the route that first and foremost is the safest.  Mt. Shasta is not a technical climb like other famed peaks, though there are some ascent routes that are challenging.  It is still a difficult challenge to summit the peak and then ski back down to base camp, the total descent is about 7,000ft.  It’s an exciting story to relay back to your friends that you stood on top one of California’s highest mountains and then skied back down on a glacier.  You usually have to fly several thousands of miles, to do something like that. 

Trip dates:  May 10-12
Price: $595
Includes, guide, tents, cooking utensils & two meals per day