Skiing in the snowy mountain backcountry is a superb experience. Areas that are often over-run with backpackers in summer are completely empty and quiet in winter, when the peaks, lakes, rocks, and trees are blanketed under 20 feet of snow.

This view is in Desolation Wilderness, near Lake Tahoe, where I went on a 3-day trip with the guys you see here. One night we dug out a palatial snow cave and slept inside, cozy and warm.

Here I am camped on the slopes of 14,214' Mt. Shasta, the southernmost of the volcanic Cascade Range, in Northern California. The time: late July. We climbed to the summit the next day and skiied down 7,000 vertical feet.

For more info on backcountry skiing, try Pat Bates' Backcountry Ski Page.