RaisedByPikas Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 (edited) Trip: Mt. St. Helens - Worm Flows Route Date: 6/12/2011 Trip Report: I climbed St. Helens last Sunday in what was my first solo climb and first ski descent from the top of a mountain vs just a saddle or something. My wife and I hiked in Saturday night and camped at the tree line but she wasn't feeling well in the morning so I went alone. Consistent snow started about a mile from the trail head. The route was straight forward and the only decision occurred about 1000 ft below the rim. You can either go climbers left up a lower angled ramp and join the summer route or head straight for the rim up a steeper rollover. Joining the summer route looked about twice as long so everyone went straight for the rim. There were some wands about 5 feet back from the rim so I hope someone got an angle to see if there was a cornice vs placing them blindly. Not wanting to make my wife wait in camp any longer than necessary I didn't traverse over to the true summit, the rim is good enough for me. I left the rim at 11:50 and was back in camp 50 minutes later. Skis are awesome. The snow was a bit firm at the top but quickly transitioned to perfect corn. The bottom of the route was a little chopped up for my beginner legs due to all of the footprints and skiers being funneled into the same areas. We packed up camp and headed out. Coasting down the trail at 5mph with no effort is extremely satisfying. Gear Notes: Ice Axe, Crampons, Skis are recommended but Slowshoes not needed. Edited June 23, 2011 by RaisedByPikas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhrmabum Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Wow, that looks great. Looks like the ridges are melting out. Good work. And play. Skiing down is the way to go. Yahoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pypej Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Thanks for the information. Does your post say at the bottom that none of the four items are required, or that only the slowshoes are not required? I borrowed some crampons and an axe, but won't take them if I don't need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zane Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 We were up wed 6/22. Warm weather made it fairly sloppy and definitely used our snowshoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisedByPikas Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 I updated it to make it more clear. What you bring depends on your comfort level. I didn't bring and ice axe because I left it at home but I certainly would have used it if I had it. I brought crampons but didn't use them because the boot pack was good. The average mt st helens slogger will want an ice axe. Crampons and snowshoes are dependent on the time of day and weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.