As the season changes and snow settles over Lassen Volcanic National Park, visitors trade in their hiking boots for snowshoes, skis and sleds to explore a land of fire now coated in ice.
The park is one of the snowiest places in the United States, with an average yearly snowfall of about 45 feet. Snowstorms come frequently, but in the gaps between those storms, visitors flock to the park for recreation and to take in the views of snow layered upon conifers, volcanoes and geothermal pools.
When visitors arrive through the southwest entrance of the park, they’ll see a roadblock about 30 feet from the entry station. This roadblock remains throughout the season. The narrow, curvy road becomes a safety hazard for visitors, explained Ben Garcia, park ranger at Lassen.
On the Manzanita Lake side, the road is blocked a few miles past the entrance. The remaining roads into the park close for winter, according to the National Park Service.
“If you want to explore the park, it’s going to be on foot, on snowshoe, on ski; there’s not going to be many options to those limited by their cars,” Garcia said.
So visitors drop their cars at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee — “Snow Mountain” in Maidu — Visitor Center, and take off into the wilderness. The trails remain open throughout the park, except for the Bumpass Hell Trail, because of the exposure and dangers that persist from the geothermal activity in the basin.
“For most people, if they’re going to show up prepared and want to go out, they’re going to bring snowshoes,” Garcia said.
The park service offers snowshoe tours, often led by Garcia, from the visitor center. During these tours, a ranger educates the group about the ecology and wildlife.
“It usually starts in January because you need a good base of snow before the snowshoeing is really worth it,” Garcia said. “And that’s also when our visitation is going to pick up once we’re really in the middle of winter and we have a lot of snow.”
For many, it’s going off the now-buried trails that make the national park worth it in winter. Visitors come with backcountry skis and splitboards to carve down a landscape forged by volcanoes.
For over 70 years, until its closure in 1994, the southwestern side of the park contained a ski lift known as the Lassen Ski Area. The single chair lift had a series of runs ranging from beginner to advanced, according to an article from the National Park Service. During its time, the Lassen Ski Area brought competitions and visitors coming to ski a volcano.
Now, skiing is much different than how it was then. Instead of ski lifts and rope tows, visitors bring splitboards, snowshoes or backcountry skis to hike up the slopes they’ll eventually ride down. While the majority of traffic comes in spring, visitors ski all season long, Garcia said.
By the time of the first snowfall, when trees and rocks still peek their heads above the snowpack, people are already carving their first turns on the mountain.
Quincy residents Nathan Friden and Garrison Dyrr, both 20, have been snowboarding their entire lives. But in the past few years, they picked up splitboarding and quickly found a love for the sport.
“It’s pretty early in the season for us, so we tried to find some north-facing slopes. Those tend to hold the most snow,” Dyrr said.
Dyrr and Friden explained that splitboarding allowed them to slow down and enjoy the scenery. “Especially in a place like Lassen, it’s beautiful,” Friden said.
Another splitboarder, Redding resident Bradley Shingleton, 20, went to Sulphur Works, then hiked up to splitboard; he doesn’t have a favorite spot.
“They’re all great, anywhere, depending on the conditions and what’s going on,” he said. “You can go left or right, you can’t have a bad time here.”
But for all the fun the backcountry offers, it also comes with risks such as avalanches. The park doesn’t perform avalanche control, instead allowing natural forces to play out in the park.
That’s why anyone traveling into the backcountry should be prepared, Garcia said. He recommended bringing a communication device, making a detailed itinerary and bringing a friend to help mitigate risks.
Despite taking the necessary precautions, unforeseen dangers occur frequently in the backcountry, Garcia said.
The park has its own search and rescue team, but collaborates with other organizations to provide needed equipment, such as helicopters, for more urgent or difficult rescues.
“We’re using helicopters a lot if it’s going to be something we think is going to be urgent, or we’ll use people going out on foot,” Garcia said.
Many people may not have the ability to backcountry ski or splitboard due to the high cost of education, equipment and the acquired skill set.
But there are plenty of opportunities for families and people new to the snow.
Sledding is a popular family activity in the park. Garcia explained that while they don’t have an official sledding course, there is a hill by the visitor center that serves as a sledding hill.
Backpacking is another way to experience the park in winter; however, Garcia noted that the 2021 Dixie Fire impacted much of the wilderness that backpackers frequented.
Despite pets being allowed on roadways throughout the park, when snow falls, it becomes a designated wilderness area, prohibiting pet access. This was to the disappointment of two visitors who asked Garcia if they could bring their dogs on the road, which was now buried under a thin layer of snow.
With access and services limited in Lassen Park, it takes a little more effort to experience the expansive landscape that becomes a battle of fire and ice. But as Dyrr put it, “It’s the place to be.”