Fall rain has brought mushrooms to the forests around Mount Shasta, while young ski racers in Southern Oregon are preparing for a season that depends on snow.
On JX Outside, mushroom guide Jayme Castro and ski coach Jerry Fitzpatrick joined Nicole Larsen and Alyssa Winkelman to discuss learning to identify fungi, building strength before ski season and adapting when the snow doesn’t arrive.
Learning to identify wild mushrooms
Castro, founder of the Mount Shasta Mycological Society and the guiding business Shasta Forage, said recent rain and the variety of species that appear in fall make this a good time to look for mushrooms.
For him, the appeal goes beyond finding something to eat.
“It really helps people connect with nature,” Castro said.
Larsen has hunted mushrooms since the early 2000s, beginning with morels and gradually learning to recognize other species. This month, she plans to take a class with Castro alongside her local homeschool group.
Winkelman also started with morels. She and her father now collect a variety of mushrooms, cut them open and try to identify them together.
Castro said his guided outings focus on recognizing mushrooms and distinguishing them from look-alikes. Recently, he has been taking groups out to look for matsutakes. He said he has found a poisonous species growing among them and uses those encounters to explain the differences.
Before participants leave, he checks their bags to make sure they haven’t collected something they shouldn’t take home to eat.
Even with years of experience, Castro said, he sometimes finds no mushrooms or finds mushrooms he can’t identify.
He recommends telling someone where you’re going and carrying navigation devices, a harvesting knife, a basket or paper bags, a whistle and snacks. He carries both a mapping device on his phone and a separate Garmin device.
The Mount Shasta Mycological Society will host its first Fall Fungus Fair from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at the McCloud Dance Hall. The event will include educational speakers and workshops.
Getting ready for ski season
For Fitzpatrick, an assistant coach with the Southern Oregon Ski Education Foundation, preparation for winter starts before athletes reach the mountain.
The program teaches ski racing to high school students and some younger students. Fitzpatrick said coaches typically work with about 50 athletes from schools in the Rogue Valley, Roseburg and Klamath Falls.
They train together but compete for their own schools.
“They’re friends on training days and enemies on race days,” Fitzpatrick said.
Athletes race in slalom, which requires quick turns through closely spaced gates, and giant slalom, which has wider turns and faster speeds.
Fitzpatrick said skiing puts heavy demands on the lower body and core. His conditioning sessions include stretching, agility drills, short runs and balance exercises. Building strength around the joints helps reduce injury risk, he said.
Winkelman, who previously helped with the program’s fall conditioning, prepares for the ski season with gym workouts, balance exercises and uphill mountain biking.
“It also makes the beginning of the season more fun too because your legs aren’t just getting totally worked at the beginning,” she said.
Larsen grew up skiing on Mount Ashland, where Fitzpatrick coached her brother. She describes her own routine as “farm fit,” combining farm chores with mountain biking, yoga and lifting weights.
Conditioning is something skiers can control. Snowfall is another matter.
Winkelman said that during lean snow years when she worked with the program, athletes traveled to Mount Hood and Mount Bachelor. Fitzpatrick said the program has also traveled to find places to train and race when local conditions fell short.
“We always have a can-do attitude,” he said. “We figure out ways of making it happen for the kids.”
Guests
- Nicole Larsen, JPR outdoor guide
- Allysa Winkelman, JPR outdoor guide
- Jayme Castro, founder Mount Shasta Mycological Society and Shasta Forage
- Jerry Fitzpatrick, assistant coach, Southern Oregon Ski Education Foundation
