Mount Saint Helen Summit (March 2nd, 2021)

Miles hiked: 12

Elevation gained: 5,700ft

The weather today looked good for a summit of Mount Saint Helen (8,363ft). The forecast called for clear skies and medium winds at the top. I got up at 3am, gathered my gear, and made the hour and a half drive to the Marble Mountain Sno Park at the base of the mountain. The temperature was right around freezing with no wind. In 15 minutes I was all set and on the trail. The first couple of miles are a gentle climb in the forest. I used my headlamp to see the trail but after an hour it was no longer needed. When I broke out of the trees I got a good look at the mountain in the morning sun. From down here it looks deceptively easy to climb but I knew better.

I traveled a little further then stopped for a rest and food break. I also strapped my crampons onto my mountaineering boots as the climbing was soon to begin. Dark clouds had formed behind me and were advancing in my direction.

I traveled up the worm flows route, named after the lava flows that formed down the mountain. I put my legs into low gear and started the slog up the slopes. There is a monitoring station at 5,600ft so I made that my goal to stop for the next rest break. When I got there the wind picked up so I put on my ski mask and goggles. I could look back and see that the clouds were now below me and the snow was glistening in the sun.

After 15 minutes it was time to move on so onward and upward I went. It got progressively steeper so I switched to a rest step method. I would take 2 steps then stop to breathe once, then repeat. This cuts down on the fatigue of climbing. When I looked to my right I could see Mount Adams appearing above the clouds.

Higher and higher I went as the hours passed. It was becoming a mental and physical game of not giving up and pressing on. It was nice to just sit down and admire the views.

At about 12:30 I could sense I was getting close to the top. The views were really opening up.

There was one final really steep part that required me to dig deep to make it through. My legs were cramping so I’d have to stop to let it pass. One final check of my GPS showed I had just 200ft to go. I gutted it out and with sweet relief I could see the crater rim!

The view to the north was spectacular. I could see Spirit Lake below and Mount Rainier on the horizon.

I didn’t want to venture to close to the edge to look down into the crater. There’s usually a dangerous cornice that forms there. The wind was blowing hard, at least 40mph making it hard to stand upright. It had formed these cool patterns in the snow.

There was a great view looking back at my route up. Mount Hood was visible to the south on the horizon.

I sat down and had a food and rest break, enjoying the summit all to myself. Besides me there was only 5 other people on the mountain today. The cold wind made me cut my celebration short so it was time for the long slog back down the mountain.

It was about 2pm when I headed down. Sunset was around 6pm so I should have enough time to get back before it gets really dark. Even though it’s much quicker going down it’s still punishing on the knees and ankles. I didn’t try glissading as that’s not recommended while wearing crampons. In an hour and a half I was back at the monitoring station. The slopes were looking beautiful in the sun.

After several hours I was finally back on flat ground and could take my crampons off. Before heading back into the trees I took one last look back at the mountain in the setting sun.

I still had an hour left of hiking so I was chasing daylight to make it back. When I got to the car there was just enough light to still see the trail. My feet were so thankful when I could take my boots off and sit down in the car. I was beat but it was an awesome day on the mountain.