IF you are coming to ski in Mt. Shasta at Mt. Shasta Ski Park they do rent equipment there which is what I usually do. I own Mountaineering Skis for skiing up to Horse Camp or skiing down from Bunny Flats to Lower Sand Flats Road or from Skiing from Bunny Flats to 7 mile curve (even though friends said) they all fell down on ice at a certain point in the conditions they met below the big clear area (manzanita bushes) when they are covered by 5 to 10 feet of snow like now (hopefully). So, in order to cover this area you need at least 5 feet of snow and then it is beautiful skiing if you know the route down from Bunny Flats. But, like I said friends said just after this beautiful skiing place they hit a lot of ice and all fell down at least once. So, if you are going cross country skiing on Mt. Shasta for your own safety please use metal edged skis so you survive any ice you hit especially if you are skiing on 35 degree slopes and traversing them sideways. Without metal edges you can slide sideways up to several hundred feet and if you hit a tree then often that's it for you. Even with no metal edges here is what you do to survive a sideways slide. If Hopefully, you have poles with a spike at the bottom you use a spike on one pole to stop on full ice before you hit a tree or rock or other obstacle. This is an emergency maneuver to stay alive while skiing on ice without metal edges.
You quickly pull your glove from the handle loop and grab the base near the spike and jam it into the ground to stop. Expect to be sprayed by ice and snow when you do this from the spike as it grabs the ice and stops you.
I had to do this also on Coyote years ago now (which which is one run I won't ski now at mt. Shasta Ski park because of this experience) when I first switched to parabolic skis which if you weren't used to them then cause you to oversteer so I was going down a slope backwards on a black diamond run and almost didn't survive this without this maneuver. So, to survive many difficult situations you might encounter skiing on ice or black diamond runs this is often a last resort so you can stay alive in a difficult situation.
However, it helps to have quick reflexes, coordination and nerves of steel to survive these situations as they arise in the moment unexpectedly.
Location: Most people coming to ski at Mt. Shasta Ski Park are going to be coming north or south on Interstate 5 from somewhere. This is because most populations centers in the area are north or south on Interstate 5 because once you get on highway 89 there is almost no one except for places like McCloud for miles and miles. So, you get off on Highway 89 heading towards McCloud. As long as you are heading up the hill you haven't got to the left turnoff yet to Mt. Shasta Ski park yet which is at Snowman Summit on Highway 89. You might see people sledding at Snowman Summit to your right also when you get to the left turn up the road to Mt. Shasta Ski Park. It's good this time of year to have either all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive whether you are going up or down this road because often it is ice covered and you want to stay alive too going either direction. If you are not used to driving in snow or ice conditions the general rule is you have to stay under 20 to 25 miles per hour. This way you and those around you will tend to stay alive too. And if it is really slippery you go as slow as you can and still keep your car or truck on the road.
IF you are in a front wheel drive car, hopefully you have a hand brake to the right for coming down. The problem with a front wheel drive in ice and snow is that the rear end of the car will often come around on you. To straighten out often a little pressure by pushing the button down on your hopefully hand brake and lifting up slightly will straighten out your car so it heads straight down hill once again. Otherwise just slowly push your emergency brake in enough to slow down or stop to correct this but this is dangerous and tricky so practice this maneuver if you are going to be driving a front wheel drive vehicle downhill in the snow or ice on the road.
So, basically with or without chains on a front wheel drive car this can be dangerous obviously if you aren't a very experienced driver in snow or ice to begin with.
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