My friend and I got a later start than most hikers, beginning our ascent from the Climber’s Bivouac around 6:00 a.m. The first ~2 miles wind gently through the woods—a pleasant warm-up, but a bit daunting knowing the real elevation gain was still ahead in a much shorter stretch.

Eventually, the forest gives way to rocky terrain, and just past the permit checkpoint, you enter the boulder fields. From here, it's a steady climb over large rocks, with the route marked intermittently by wooden poles. There are several ways to ascend through the boulders, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself route-finding a bit.

Once we cleared the boulders, we hit the ashy section—which is... tough. Progress is slow and slippery. We found that short steps and frequent breaks helped the most. If the skies are clear, the view from the top of this section is jaw-dropping—you’re standing on the edge of the crater. Many hikers stop here, but the true summit lies roughly another 0.25 miles to the left along the rim.

We decided to continue to the true summit. Honestly, the views aren’t much better (they’re already incredible). The rim trail is steep, ashy, and feels structurally questionable in places. You’ll want to make sure you’re staying within your personal risk tolerance. WTA’s warning about the unstable rim is no joke—we heard rocks tumbling down the crater walls the entire time we were up there.

If you want a visual overview of the hike (with spoilers), I documented our experience on YouTube—link below.

7-18-25

The climb can be broken down into three sections. 2 miles in the forest, 1.5 miles on the boulders, and 0.5 mile on the ash. Though, I would guess that around 0.5 mile of that boulder field is more or less a faint trail that winds through the boulders rather than climbing over the boulders. You gain most of your elevation on the boulders and ash field. The forest section is relatively flat.

The summit will always look deceptively far, especially from the base of the ash field, but it took our group of eight 45-60 minutes to reach the summit from the base of the ash field. Doing rest step going up and plunge steps going down will make this section a whole lot easier.

The entire route is snow free, but there is plenty of snow off route. There were no bugs. The general consensus from our group of eight was that it was harder going down than going up or equally as hard.

Start early (5:00-6:00 A.M.), take your time, bring plenty of water (4L at least), and be safe near the crater rim and cornice. The views are incredible, and the view into the crater is unbeatable! Such unique terrain!

I set out for Mt. St. Helens via the Monitor Ridge route early Friday morning with a mix of excitement and a bit of unfinished business. A few years ago I attempted the climb but turned around at the ash field after battling headaches and nausea for seven hours.

I camped at the Climber's Bivouac trailhead the night before, which made for an easy early start. As I was settling in, I overhead a hiker planning to leave around 11 PM to catch the sunrise from the summit. I passed him coming down on my way up and it sounds like he was successful. I can only imagine the experience and the photos!

I hit the trail at 6:15 AM. The hike through the forest and up the boulder fields was warm and calm, but conditions changed dramatically once I reached the ash field: strong winds that were pretty chilly at times. I was wearing a baseball hat and opted to take that off for fear of it blowing away. As many other trip reports have mentioned, the ash field is a slog. The slow pace and frequent breaks allowed me to soak in the awesome views, so it wasn't all bad.

I reached the summit at 10 AM and soaked in the views. Before heading back down, I put gaiters on. I didn't feel like I needed them on the way up, but I was grateful to have them on the way down. The loose ash easily swallows whole shoes in places.

The descent on tired legs was one of the hardest parts of the hike for me. I really had to take my time on the boulder fields. The warmer weather made for a sweaty, hot trek back to the car. I made it back at the trailhead at 1:45 PM, redeemed from my first failed attempt at Mt. St. Helens.

Gear notes:

• Gardening or other types of gloves highly recommended for the boulder fields.
• Gaiters recommended, especially for the descent.
• Through several experiences, including my first crack at climbing Helens, I've realized that I might be prone to altitude issues. I took ibuprofen for headaches and dramamine for nausea before starting this hike. That worked for me, personally. I good throughout the hike.
• Lots of water, sunscreen, layers, etc. All the good and normal stuff.

I volunteer as a climbing steward for the  Mount St. Helens Institute and completed a volunteer shift on 7/13/25 to train another volunteer. We climbed to within 1,000 feet of the summit and stopped at the beginning of the “vertical beach” where it’s all ashy gritty sand, no more boulder fields.

The snow travel season is over so no need to bring ice axes, crampons, etc. No more glissades either - the snow coverage is too thin and dicey.

Ptarmigan Trail is in good shape although there is some bad erosion near the junction with the Loowit Trail.

The summer climbing route is as usual HOT, very SUN EXPOSED, and the boulders are quite abrasive and grow hot to the touch in the sun. I use work gloves for the boulder scramble.
Bring sunscreen, good sunglasses and at least 4 liters of water. We had to give water to some folks!

It was very windy up high on 7/13/25- which is pretty common for her majesty Mt. St. Helens- and the wind whipped up the sand and gritty ash into what we affectionately call a GRITNADO!! So good wraparound sunglasses or even safety goggles are very helpful. Plus perhaps a buff /neck gaiter to protect your face.

Be careful with your food and trash due to the wind. I picked up at least 1 lbs of garbage including a broken trekking pole and also one full and used wag bag (yes, that means I carried out someone’s poop in a bag).

💩 ⚠️ Don’t be the person who leaves a full bag of poop on the climbing route!!! If you’re tough enough to climb the mountain you can carry out a bag of poop. Dog owners do it for their dogs and you can too!

It was a beautiful day to summit Mt. St. Helens! The views, of course, are amazing. Even with the dangerous cornice, you could still see into the crater... steaming vent and all! There are flags to remind you not to make a dumb mistake and step on the cornice. 

While there is snow, you do not need to walk on it. We chose not to glissade, as it appeared unsafe with the melt and rocks here and there. The trail was in good condition and bouldering field is as it sounds, hiking through and climbing on boulders. And it is tough. But the last part of the climb is tougher, in my opinion. Walking up the scree, and I mean straight up. It's tough. However, I am a 53 year old woman, for context.

This is my 5th time doing this in 5 years. This was my best climb so far. For first timers, I highly recommend gaiters (short ones do just fine) to keep dirt/rock from getting in your shoes, trekking poles - they will save your knees and help with stability - (my 18 year old son said " I don't need those!" and he slipped and slid ascending and descending) and layers (it can be super cold on the top even if it's not in the boulder field). Helpful items: gloves, sunglasses, sunscreen, and a hat. And obviously, plenty of water and healthy snacks. 

We started out at 3:15am, summited at 7:00am, back at trailhead at 10:15am. We did not stop a lot. If it will be a hot day, I suggest starting very early - you are very exposed for the majority of the climb, it gets hot this time of year. The road to the Climbers Bivouac is quite rough, but passable by most cars, no low riders.

We stayed the night in Cougar at the Lone Fir resort to make our commute to the trailhead short. Highly recommend. We followed up our hike with a quick paddle board and soak in Yale Lake - so refreshing! Enjoy!