Road was rougher than expected. Made it in a commuter car staying in 1st most of the way, occasionally shifting up to 2nd. Didn’t go faster than 10mph, mostly hung around 5mph. Coming out was worse than the way in because the decline added unwanted momentum.

Funnily enough, the decline on the hike was the harder direction too. Not sure if it was the clouds that rolled in or if this is always true of the decline, but it was harder to stay on trail coming down. Visibility was to the horizon on the way up, but clouds were thick and decreased visibility to ~10ft. Used my GPS to get back on trail at one point, so would recommend having something like that with you.

Route was snow free. Still possible to glissade for sections along ~2/3 of the trail. Caveat that there are some rock sections in between the snow sections. 

Quick plug to say highly recommend an early ascent! Even though I wasn’t out of the trees until after sunrise, watching the sun rise over the ridge near Adams and the valley below was still beautiful. Meant the temp wasn’t too hot on the way up and down which was awesome too.  Worth the lack of sleep :)

There were a number of bees and other fliers on trail, but I wasn’t bothered by any of them. Plenty of pesky mosquitoes doing their pesky thing at the parking lot in the evening though.

Wildflowers included bears tail, tiger lilies, and possibly a wild lupine? Salmon berries are flowering. Saw deer in the morning in the wooded section and a hummingbird in the wooded section on the way back. Spotted one pika and numerous chipmunks in boulder section.

Conditions impeccable. Snow is definitely on its way to melting though. As of Sunday 6/29 there was enough snow to glissade (slide down on your butt) for a majority of the top 2/3 of Monitor Ridge. Be courteous and leave no trace, if you’ve got to go poop, please bring a wetbag. There are dry toilets at the start of the trail (forested section). Careful at the summit, don’t step of the cornice… 

Some snow patches on first 2.5 miles and then snowfields all the way up to the summit. Stay to the right of the posts going up the boulder field. Road to trailhead is free of snow.

Set out from climbers bivouac. Gate is open, but you can only drive maybe a mile after the gate before hitting impassable snow.

Road walked from there to the trailhead. Road is 100% snow covered. 

From the actual trailhead through the forest to the boulder field, it is 100% snow covered. Pretty tricky time navigating. Lots of boot pack paths that definitely don't follow the trail, and the blue trail markers can be easy to miss. GPS was necessary for us to stay on trail. 

Snow is spring corn and warm slush in spots. Lots of postholing up to knee deep. 

As per the Mount St. Helens Institute Climbing Stewards: 

Through the Forest: Patchy shallow snow with lots of exposed rock and dirt until well above the quarry. About 3' deep by the Chocolate Falls neighborhood (3500'). A nice packed ski and snowshoe track once the snow begins.

Chocolate Falls neighborhood(3500-3900'). Snow 3-5' deep. A nice packed ski and snowshoe track . Stayed too cold to post hole today (unlike higher altitudes).

Last trees to the seismograph (3900-5600'): Deep snow. Big cornice on east side of route over canyon. Icy in the AM, but deep and soupy post-holeville by PM. Very tough travel downhill.

Seismograph to 7000: Icy early, soft and deep my afternoon

East aspect of Monitor Ridge (7000-7650'): Thick hard ice AM, but softened 2-3 " by afternoon.

Monitor Ridge to Rim (7650-8250'): Heavy rime ice, frozen rain, and deep wind scoured snow. Soft enough to ski by afternoon.

Rim: Cornice is at least 20' into the crater.
*
AVI: Debris from several large slab avalanches triggered by cornice fails between 4500 and 5500 feet. Probably a few days old. No excitement today. Avi orange on Friday.

Ski: By afternoon, ice had softened for good rides from the rim well into the woods. Snow runs out well above the quarry (3,000' elevation, just over a mile up from Marble

Glissade: Conditions unsuitable. No tracks.

Future: Another storm moves in Friday with snow above 3500' and very high winds.

WEATHER OUTLOOK

Marble and Cougar Snow Parks 1/9 and onward:  Still no snow at Cougar and very little at Marble.   The road is plowed and currently free of snow and ice. The Friday storm is mostly rain with just a dusting of new snow Friday night into Saturday morning.   Roads and parking shouldn't be a problem.   The lack of snow at Marble does mean that skiers and snow machine folks will run into lots of bare spots below 3,000'.

Ski:   Plenty of snow above 3,000', but expect a lot of ice.

Climb: 

Thursday 1/9:   Summit temps just above freezing, lots of sunshine, but it may be breezy (25 mph+).   Climbers need skis or snowshoes and crampons and an ice ax.  Avi yellow.

Friday 1/10:   Stormy.  Rain at Marble. Summit 16 F with 45+ mph winds (wind chill -10F).  Heavy snow with whiteout conditions and increasing avi risk.  

Saturday 1/11: Lingering snow showers.  Summit 21F with 35+ mph winds (wind chill around zero F).  Cloudy with dense fog and very low visibility.  There will be blowing snow and new ice.  Climbers need skis or snowshoes and crampons and an ice ax.  Check the avi risk.  It is likely to be elevated.

Sunday 1/12: Summit 19 F with winds of 30 mph possible.   Cloudy with fog and very low visibility.  There will be new ice and blowing snow if it is windy.  Climbers need skis or snowshoes and crampons and an ice ax.  Check the avi risk.  It is likely to be elevated.

Monday 1/13 and onward: Back to sunny and warm.