Trip: Mount Saint Helens - Worm Flows Trip Date: 03/24/2019 Trip Report:
Last weekend @Bronco, @Kit and a couple others went down to join the gong show that is the pre-limited entry St. Helens spectacle. It has gotten a bit more popular in the 18 years since I last skied it, making for a loud and chaotic TH bivy. There was plenty of snow from the car, however, making for an efficient skin to the crater rim (if you had ski crampons). The sheer humanity visible along the way was pretty entertaining, although I think the entertainment value was lost on the two older Asian dudes we saw consulting a map, who were later rescued by helicopter (cold, but fine). We escaped the masses by traversing west to the highest point on the rim (we left our skis where we hit the crater).
The ski down was OK, but the visibility less than ideal. Still, it was pretty great to be drinking beer at the car less than 30 minutes from leaving the summit. That, at least, hasn't changed.
Gear Notes:
skis (or a splitboard if you are mentally deficient like me), ski crampons Approach Notes:
Follow the conga line up the snowshoe superhighway from the Marble Mountain SnoPark