Mount Shasta

Merry Christmas! A winter storm warning is in effect until 10am PST Friday. The avalanche danger is high and travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended. Avalanches may be capable of running into lower angle slopes. Know where you are within the terrain. One to three feet of snow accumulation is expected today and tonight with strong southerly wind. Snow levels will linger near 4,500 feet.

’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,The wind crept like footsteps, then hushed like a mouse.Windows lay frosted, chimneys snow-laden,While mountains stood watchful—stark, silent, and patient.

The children lay dreaming of warm fires and light,As blizzards spun stories outside through the night.Then out from the hills came a thunderous roar,A deep, rolling warning the earth could not ignore.

I leapt from my bed with my heart in a race.And ran to the window snowstorm in the faceMoonlight on drifts of the new-fallen snowTurned valleys to silver and peaks all aglow—When there, to my widening, terrified sight,A river of snow surged down from the height.

An avalanche thundered with power and speed,While the blizzard whipped wildly like some frozen steed.The wind shrieked and howled, sharp as ice-bitten stone,Calling the mountains in voices of their own.

No sleigh bells, no laughter, no reindeer in flight—Just winter reminding us of its raw might.

The blizzard pressed on through a cold Christmas Eve,Not a summit stood clear, not a ridge to believe.The wind spun in spirals, the snowfall grew dense,And the mountain stood guarded by winter’s defense.

Then high above treeline, through cloud and through squall,Came a sleigh riding waves along the storm’s outer wall.Santa leaned forward, the reins pulled in tight,As Rudolph and the reindeer pushed on through the storm-shrouded night.

“Easy now,” Santa called through the driving snow,As Dasher and Dancer fought gust after gust’s blow.The slopes below groaned with a dangerous load,Wind-built slabs stacked deep on each leeward-side road.

Blitzen snorted, Prancer stepped careful with care,As cornices curled in the freezing night air.Santa knew well what the mountain could doWhen fresh snow lay heavy on old layers too.

They skirted the ridges, stayed high and stayed light,Avoiding the faces primed to slide downright.For even St. Nick, with his magic and cheer,Knows patience is wisdom when avalanches near.

At dawn the storm faded; the mountain lay still,Blanketed deep from the peak to the hill.The sleigh bells rang faint as they vanished from sight,Leaving snow, silence—and lessons—in white.