Portland, OR (February 2, 2010) – Contributor Justin Kious checks in upon return from Tahoe–deep snow at Sugar Bowl, shut down at Shasta, and back to Baker.

From Kious: “We spent three consecutive days riding over fifteen inches of fresh a day at Sugar Bowl–it just kept snowing. With serious cases of pow leg, we decided to head north to Humboldt County to see Byron’s family and relax for a day. Going from blizzard to beach was rad, aa beautiful rugged landscape and some sun breaks made for a much needed chill day.

Mt Shasta recieved 11 feet in four days, but the power was out. I checked the weather, Hood was supposed to get a foot, so we red-eyed it to Portland, slept for a few hours and headed to meadows. Perfect timing resulted in many pow turns and we checked the baker forecast: a foot of fresh and sun on the horizon. Blue skys, good friends, and about 10 inches of some good old baker duff made for a memorable day hiking the arm. As a photographer, if it’s sunny in the NW, i feel quite obligated to shoot photos. But this time, I decided to just snowboard with my friends, and be free of getting the shot. I love snowboarding and even though i opted out of shooting, another amazing day at mt. baker will not be forgotten. so our gypsy-shred journey has come to an end for now…it’s always dumping somewhere, that’s where we all wanna be.”

Sounds like the snow chasing worked out–from Portland to Baker, to Tahoe and back in a week, and more memories than a lot of people might stack in a season. So take a cue from Bagwell and Kious and get on the road when snow’s in the forecast. If you don’t, you’ll just be one day older when you do.

Photos: Byron Bagwell at Sugar Bowl, CA