The 2011 Shasta Snow Trip will be held February 4th-6th, 2011!
WELCOME TO
THE SHASTA SNOW TRIP Site
OK, who's ready for Shasta 2011?
Drivers Beware
I'm pleased to have you investigating the trip this year, however, you must assume the risks in the adventure before you. While participating, you may crash and kill everyone in your bus.
This adventure is an exclusively pre-1967 VW Bus journey from lower Mendocino County to Mt. Shasta City via up to 350 miles of dirt and paved back roads. The trip's "off the grid" routes have reduced -not eliminated- the probability of a fatal accident involving another car with it's remoteness, however, it brings fast to the forefront numerous other, more exciting ways to die, like: flying off cliffs, hitting trees, live stock, or being run over. If someone does hit another car, it's going to be a head- on; reduce this serious risk by skirting the right ditch or cliff around blind turns. You'll have from roughly 4:30am to midnight to reach Shasta, and traversing half a dozen mountain passes, sometimes dozens of streams and miles of fire roads will mandate solid driving skill, mechanical ability, and the longevity to keep a brisk pace.
This trip is so fun because in the course of the weekend's events, the dangers are not just limited to vehicular accidents. Merrily, we all -by willfully coming along- invite injury and death by way of burning, asphyxiation, drowning, animal attack, heart attack and… hypothermia –if not by the elements, by way of our OEM heating -to name a few. Threats to you and your vehicle shall be based on your own judgment and ability to drive, not the passable roads over which you shall willingly travel. Participation in this trip is at your own physical, psychological and mechanical risk.
Background and Concept
The Mount Shasta Snow Trip was initially conceived from the 2000 mid- winter, solo-crossing of Mendocino Pass from Willows to Covelo via the very snowed-in Hwy 162 in a stock, 6 volt 1965 VW single cab. Being programmed for survival by, and recently separated from the US Marine Corps had me looking at this trek militarily. Ready for my own personal war, I prepared. Before setting out on this trip, I inspected and practiced installing the old style chains I was to use and had confidence in them. If I broke a chain, I had repair links. If I tossed a set of chain rubbers, I had a second set and trucker's bungee cords. If I punctured a tire, I had plugs and a full air tank. If I blew a tire, I had a spare, and another one just in case. If the six-volt battery went dead, I had an auxiliary twelve-volt and cables to jump with. If I got struck for some reason, I had a fifty-foot cable and a come-along. Additionally, I carried a floor jack, my full tool box, ten gallons of gas, a fire extinguisher, three quarts of 20/50, food for a week, warm clothing including gloves, good rain gear, military mummy bag, two flashlights, propane lantern, comprehensive first aid kit, camera, HAM radio, cellular phone and most importantly, a Delorme Atlas and Gazetteer. If all my contingency planning wasn't enough and the truck got thoroughly stuck, I still had either of two dirt bikes in back I could ride out on.
It turned out to be a war too, an amazing, completely crazy adventure that left me both exhausted and invigorated at the same time. When it was all done, I decided that others should be able to experience something like this; to enjoy these most remote and amazing back roads and the related contingency planning not ordinarily required in normal driving.
Fortunately, you'll not likely experience all the insanity, problems and emotions I did with this "out of the box" type adventure, but that you're here, reading this now, is near-proof that I have succeeded in making a little of this chaos and fun more available to the people. Thank you for showing interest, the weekend's challenges should offer memories for a lifetime.
Stay focused, remain vigilant, obey logic and be good to one another. I really hope you can make it.
Brian Piercy
Thanks to Paul "Frog Boy" Cullen, we have some words and photos in Ultra VW magazine. Good stuff. Go check it out.
Richard's "Almost Unabridged SST 2008 Photo Album" is now available for your viewing pleasure. In the near future a subset of highlights will be available in a separate album for those that don't want to spend 2 days looking through all 500 photos.
Almost Unabridged SST 2008 Photo Album
Additional albums of others photos will be coming soon. If I get my act together, we might just see last year's photos show up here too!
Below you can see what Shasta looks like right now.
Em's Tips
- Sleep is not important. Caffeine and cat naps RULE!
- Warm clothes are important
- It is possible to catch fish with out a license or a pole (Ask Richard for details)
- Beer can freeze
- Cooking chicken while driving up a mountain is a great way to multi task
- Belly flopping on snow is not advised
- Doing cartwheels in the road while your fellow caravan members are being harrassed by a scary truck is not the best plan of action
- CB's are essential
- Prepardness is key...
