Friday morning I wake up to a text, “What do you think about tomorrow? Looks like [skiing] anywhere will be safe. Could be a good day to ski summit Mt. St. Helens.” Friday’s are usually the best day anyways, but what a way to start the weekend! Less than a half hour later, Adam, Chris and I were figuring logistics for the summit attempt. In the spring/summer, a lottery style permit is required for any travel above 4800 ft on the mountain. Pre-April, no permit is required, but finding a good weather window, with enough daylight can be an issue. Yes, it seemed that the stars had a lined for this trip.
Some car issues lead to sleeping in a tent on the snow rather than sleeping in the back of the tran (my half truck, half van vehicle, which really is 100% van). The constant arrival of fellow summit enthusiasts throughout the night, lead to about 2 hours of intermittent sleep. Adam cooked up a breakfast of bacon and hash browns and we were out of the parking lot by 6 am. About 7 hours later we had finally made it to the top (a bit of a jump I know, but the top is the best part and you really only missed out on how the leg I had surgery on, kinda quit, 1000 vertical feet from the top and I had to dragged it the rest of the way. Oh yeah, and the guy who climbed with a hand gun strapped to his chest, out in the open for everyone to see. Weird.)
The clouds had been looming over the peak most of the approach, but seemed to break open as we got there. With very little wind we were able to sit and enjoy views of Rainier, Hood, Adams, and Jefferson from the top. It is wild to sit on the rim of a volcano that has erupted. St. Helens lost around 1000 vertical ft of elevation (which probably would have amounted to another couple of hours of hiking).
The descent was incredible! Since the avalanche conditions were relatively stable (we only heard one all day!), we were able to ski terrain that would normally be off limits. Some of my favorite lines were through the gullies, made by the lava from the eruption, which basically made natural half pipes. Snow conditions changed from amazing powder to dense snow as we made our way down. We were able to ski all the way back to the parking lot, in just over an hour. A bit a of a commitment just to ski, but definitely would recommend!
for my friends who are moms 