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