marksandler

Thanks guys, the trip was a blast, the glissading at the end was a lot of fun too. We brought snowshoes with us, but ended up not using them (oh, well, some extra exercise), nor did we really miss crampoons, though probably 80% of the people around us used them. Otherwise it was a really an awesome experience, thanks everybody for advice!

Thanks RaisedByPikas, Did you go winter route or the summer route is now open? At what level do you get snow? thanks?

Thanks, that was a very visually scary description, we definitely won't be coming anywhere close to the edge.

Thanks! Heh, yep, the only time i've used them was with poles (after switching from snowshoes), but you've got a point, we probably shouldn't even bother. Thanks, that's probably what we should do then. Btw, what's the current snow line around there? Can we expect to be wearing snowshoes all the way from 2700 feet?

Thanks! Is there an opportunity to rent snow shoes and/or crampoons in the neighborhood? I am afraid we've never really used ice axe, so we might be in a bit of a problem here.

Hi guys, East Coast Noob here so bear with me. We have a permit to climb St. Helen next friday, which was purchased assuming that it will be summer by now... (Ha!) Does anyone know what are the current condition like on St. Helen? Any recent experiences? I realize that summer route is still closed, so presumably winter route requires snoeshoes/crampoons/poles? Do we need anything beyond that? Internet seems to suggest no, but then internet seems to say that normally even crampoons are optional at this tie of the year. What about boots? Plastic or regular hiking shoes would do? Is there a place to rent them in the area? Or Portland? We don't have any glacier experience (though reasonable amount of east-coast snoeshowing), so how crazy it is for us to go there? thanks a bunch in advance!