Trip Report: Mount St. Helens Climb
When: 06/26/2017
Location: Mt. St. Helens
Conditions: Upper 60's. Clear and sunny with a midday thunderstorm thrown in for fun.
Duration: Single Day
Dificulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly: No
Pet Friendly: No
Useful links: www.fs.usda.gov
The Full Report:
This trip started out with a late night drive up to Marble Mountain Sno-Park on Sunday. We pitched our tents quick and got a few hours of sleep with a 3am wakeup call coming far too early. The cool temps were nice and the early morning light offered nice photo opportunities for the first half of the hike. We took the traditional south route which was easy enough to follow this time of year due to lack of snow on the lower elevations. Even with the great snow year of 2016/2017 the ridge line running straight up the mountain was fully exposed already. The last 200 feet would have been an easy walk up with an ice axe and crampons but we had neither so we improvised a route. We traversed east to another ridge line that was fully exposed all the way to the summit.
This is when the fun really began. We saw the thunderstorm looming on the horizon but didn’t give it much attention since we were close to the summit and it looked to be passing south of the mountain. The last 100 feet was comprised of brutally loose scree. One step up and three-quarters sliding back down. Naturally, reaching the summit took far longer than we had anticipated and the storm was quickly approaching. The view was fantastic regardless, but we didn't linger long. If you take the traditional route along the SW side I would recommend traversing east once you reach the summit. The crater rim was exposed and free from snow and you could look directly down onto the steaming bulge that is developing within the crater. It was humbling to see this bulge up close and recognize the mountain is growing before your eyes.
Que the craziness of experiencing a thunderstorm on top of a mountain. We made it about a third of the way back down quick fast and in a hurry before having to take shelter under a large boulder with the storm passing directly overhead. We lucked out and having come away unscathed, it’s something to laugh about now and a great tale to tell anyone who will listen. The good news is, everyone else who was hiking that day also came away unscathed and many laughs were shared with a group of about 20 that had assembled about half way down the mountain.
After waiting out the storm for about 45 minutes we got some fun glissading in as far as we could with the rest of the hike in pleasant sunshine.
Helens requires a permit. Make sure you get one. If you miss out on the initial application there is a re-sell website. We acquired ours through the re-sell website and it was easy and hassle free.
The Full Report:
This trip started out with a late night drive up to Marble Mountain Sno-Park on Sunday. We pitched our tents quick and got a few hours of sleep with a 3am wakeup call coming far too early. The cool temps were nice and the early morning light offered nice photo opportunities for the first half of the hike. We took the traditional south route which was easy enough to follow this time of year due to lack of snow on the lower elevations. Even with the great snow year of 2016/2017 the ridge line running straight up the mountain was fully exposed already. The last 200 feet would have been an easy walk up with an ice axe and crampons but we had neither so we improvised a route. We traversed east to another ridge line that was fully exposed all the way to the summit.
This is when the fun really began. We saw the thunderstorm looming on the horizon but didn’t give it much attention since we were close to the summit and it looked to be passing south of the mountain. The last 100 feet was comprised of brutally loose scree. One step up and three-quarters sliding back down. Naturally, reaching the summit took far longer than we had anticipated and the storm was quickly approaching. The view was fantastic regardless, but we didn't linger long. If you take the traditional route along the SW side I would recommend traversing east once you reach the summit. The crater rim was exposed and free from snow and you could look directly down onto the steaming bulge that is developing within the crater. It was humbling to see this bulge up close and recognize the mountain is growing before your eyes.
Que the craziness of experiencing a thunderstorm on top of a mountain. We made it about a third of the way back down quick fast and in a hurry before having to take shelter under a large boulder with the storm passing directly overhead. We lucked out and having come away unscathed, it’s something to laugh about now and a great tale to tell anyone who will listen. The good news is, everyone else who was hiking that day also came away unscathed and many laughs were shared with a group of about 20 that had assembled about half way down the mountain.
After waiting out the storm for about 45 minutes we got some fun glissading in as far as we could with the rest of the hike in pleasant sunshine.
Helens requires a permit. Make sure you get one. If you miss out on the initial application there is a re-sell website. We acquired ours through the re-sell website and it was easy and hassle free.