AS OF 10/31/2024: THE GATE TO CLIMBERS BIVOUAC MAY BE CLOSED due to the winter storm rolling in this week through to next week. Call Mount St. Helens at the front desk for current conditions and updates on road conditions and closures. 

SAFETY NOTE:

We have a winter weather advisory for today into the week with more snow accumulations possible. Please use EXTREME caution if climbing in adverse weather - or cancel your trip altogether and attempt a summit another day. 

For now, it looks like the Bivouac may remain snow free, but above the tree line climbers will face winter conditions with deep snow, ice, whiteouts, very cold temperatures, and high winds. There will NOT be footprints or paths to follow. Expect intense and dangerous winter conditions for at least the next week. 

From today onward, expect snow, white out conditions, winds at least 20mph and more, with a wind chill hovering around 0-3 degrees F. Tuesday may have lower windspeeds, but it will remain cold and foggy, making navigation difficult. Routes and paths may be buried in snow, and snowshoes/crampons may be needed. 

From Friday November 1 and onward, the storm looks like it will continue and may intensify. If you are planning to climb the weekend of November 2nd, it is highly advisable to account for safety and assess your ability to climb in adverse conditions, and ultimately re-scheduling your trip due to the storm. 

TRAIL CONDITIONS REPORT (October 24-26)

As per Mount St. Helens Institute: 

October 26th high winds and heavy rain melted all the snow, but there is a lot of new snow in the forecasts starting Saturday night and continuing all week. Mountain-Forecast has 6 feet on the summit in the next 5 days. That will probably change. It looks like just snow and rain mix at the Bivouac. There is lots of water, but there is no snow (yet). Gravel is solid in the mornings usually, and snow in the boulders has melted out in between the rocks.

In a few places in the forest, the trail erosion is creating a pronounced 'V' shape, which is really uncomfortable to walk on (unless you have ankles made of rubber). Pockets of snow appear at 5000' (in shade). More continuous above 6000'. You can fiddle around on the rocks if you really want to avoid the snow. Or just learn to love the snow and it's easier walking. Summit run cornice (the high point) is up and running, for sure.

Was incredibly excited to check this one off the bucket list!  Arrived ~9 PM night of Sat. 10/5 w/ a friend.  The dirt road on the approach has a few deep potholes and washboard spots, but we were OK in an SUV.  Lower clearance vehicles should go slow.  Was worried about finding a spot for my friend to pitch his tent, but there were several open grassy spots right off the loop available even at this late hour.  I had no issue finding a spot to park my SUV that I'd be sleeping in.   Clear, crisp night and the stars were OUT.  Lows in the upper 40s.   Was impressed at how quiet and calm the trailhead was tonight, despite the fact that there had to have been at least 30 cars in the lot.  No doubt everyone resting up for the next day.  I noticed that a few sites have fire rings that people were making use of.  There are also (2) enclosed pit toilets.  Make sure you post your recreational pass on your vehicle - when we printed a permit it came with a special page that served as our pass.

Woke up at around 6 to most of the parking lot already up and mobilizing.  Set off ~7.  The first 2 miles are beautiful forest, pretty open.  Confidence running high here ;).   We got to watch the golden light of sunrise illuminate the trees as we ascended and you get sneaky peeks of Adams and Hood at a couple clearings.  (Due to recent reports of some tectonic rumblings around Adams, I was wondering if I might witness an eruption - but no such luck).  An eerie lack of birdsong, besides the occasional raven.   There appears to be a restroom just before you hit the Loowit Trail intersection, but it looked to be closed.  Whether it's permanently or for the season, I wasn't sure.

We hit the treeline, and began our ascent.  The initial climb up the rocks is an easy-to-moderate scramble.  Footing is occasionally sketchy, but nothing too bad if you go steady.  I found I didn't need to use my gloves here nor my poles at this initial portion, but YMMV.    Kept our eyes searching for the trail-marker poles as we climbed (some are loose, bent and broken, but there are enough present to make way-finding not too difficult).  There were also enough fellow climbers visible in this open area to constantly course-correct when we veered off course).  We were thankful for the early hour casting long shadows behind the ridges, keeping the sweat at bay.  After a time we hit the BIG boulders, which was where the real scrambling begins.  At certain points you need to heft your body weight up and over obstacles.  The boulders were so rough they were fraying my cut-resistant gloves - make SURE you bring gloves!  There are multiple ways up through the boulders, some easier than others.  With a keen eye we could usually find the easiest, most trafficked way up.  But scrambling up these boulders was such a treat for my inner child.   

Didn't really see much wildlife besides the occasional chipmunk and flock of ravens.  Was hoping for mountain goats, but was told by a volunteer with the MSH Institute that they prefer the north slopes.  As for flora there's a few hardy scrubby looking things dotting the boulder fields ...but that's about it.  But who needs these things when you have the VIEWS....as we ascended, we got treated to better and better views of Adams, Hood...and then eventually even Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters way down in central Oregon as we rose past the low-lying haze.  It was in this large boulder field that the wind really hit us with full force - it had been dead calm before then.  Make sure you also bring a shell layer to combat this, cause it gets cold fast.  

After clearing the large boulders, the final 1,000 feet is a pebbly, ashy slog.  Morale was lowest here.  You can see the specks of folks at the summit, but it feels like they don't get any closer!.  Just keep your head down, feet moving, and try and distract yourself with the scenic vistas all around.  We also found the minor amounts of packed snow ironically helped with foot traction, when present.

Finally, the summit! The view is as spectacular as advertised, with Rainier greeting us to the north, and a smudgy hint of Baker beyond.  The weather reports said that the rim temp would be about upper 30s at this time of day, and with the wind I wouldn't be surprised if temps were around freezing (check weather link below).  A friendly MSH Institute volunteer at the rim gave us some fun facts about the volcanoes in the region, as well as the crater itself.  A small rise to the east was flagged off, due to it becoming recently unstable, but you can still get amazing views down into the rim from where we were standing. We opted not to hike the extra 1/3 mile west to the true summit, but instead soaked in the view, took some photos, lunched, and reluctantly descended the way we came.  

The descent is fun through the ash, as you tactically slip and slide your way down past hikers enduring the same ashy slog we had been suffering 30 minutes prior.  I wish I had worn my gaiters I packed, as ash and pebbles inevitably & repeatedly found their way into my shoes.  (Side note - I wore tennis shoes based off of some advice I found online, but I think hiking boots would have been far more stable.  Not to mention they keep ash out better).   The descent through the boulders is less fun, as what was a thrilling ninja-like scramble on the ascent becomes a tentative, slightly scary exercise in not tripping and face-planting into sharp boulders.  We thankfully only stumbled a couple times, but without the hiking poles it would have been a lot more due to our leaden feet.  Once again gloves were donned for this portion, and much appreciated.   

At this point we were ready for the treeline, and much thankful when we stepped past the final boulder into the trees.  AllTrails came in handy here, as we couldn't find the trail into the trees for a solid 5 minutes. (We must have followed some different trail marker poles down the final slope ) .  The final 2 mile descent through the forest is lovely and a breeze compared to the rocky slopes, as we silently walked and ruminated on the beautiful day we had just had.   Finished the trip off with some brews @ the Lone Fir Restaurant in Cougar, and some drive-thru coffees @ Dutch Brothers in Woodland.

I loved this hike, and would do it again in a heartbeat - I was especially impressed with the consistency of the trail markers, the well-maintained Ptarmigan Trail during the first 2 miles, and the courtesy and respect all of the other climbers afforded each other on the climb.  I think the permitting system seems to be working as designed, in that it is limited enough (100 climbers per day) to where you truly can appreciate the remoteness of this alien topography you're traversing, but also allows enough entrants in to create a sense of relative safety and camaraderie amongst the climbers.

I hiked this with a group of four people and the weather was perfect. It had snowed up there the night before, but it was very patchy and didn’t start until beyond the ash field. It was not in the least an obstacle, nor did it require any traction.

This was my second time climbing, almost ten years later. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be like before. The two miles in the forest is a breeze. Then the two miles of boulders is FUN! The worst part is the last mile on the ash field. Luckily it had rained/snowed the night before, so the sliding was pretty minimal. 

I rarely use trekking poles when hiking, but I’d say it’s almost mandatory to have them for this hike. Although, I did see at least one person without them, but they were struggling. I only used gloves part of the time when climbing up the boulders. It was just so hot that I didn’t want to wear them. My hands didn’t get all torn up from the lava rocks though. I brought a hat but didn’t wear it most of the time. The sun was on my back the whole way up. I’d recommend wearing one if there is going to be full sun. I also brought three liters of water but only drank two. I had plenty of food/fuel. Ribeye steak, carnivore bars, boiled eggs, and had ample amounts of energy. I brought base layers and a thick sweater and ended up just wearing a tank top the whole time. I don’t think the weather could’ve been more perfect than it was. Our total moving time was under 8 hours. Coming down was quick, just three hours, maybe a little less. We spent almost two hours at the top. We did not, however, traverse to the true summit. There was a good amount of snow up there and we didn’t feel the need to make the extra effort with the sketchiness. This was definitely a trip to remember!

Reports from Mount St. Helens Institute:

No changes have been notable in the last few weeks. As the snow continues to melt, there are some areas where the trail may need a lot of work in places, and other sections where the trail is in great shape. A lot of work has been done on the posts that mark the climbing route. Some have been reset after falling due to a storm occurring before a conditions report submitted on September 25th. The vertical beach is slightly less slippery than usual ater the melted snow. 

A friend and I hiked Mount Saint Helen's on a beautiful bluebird day. 

We stayed at the Cougar RV park and campground the night before to get an early start - we had no trouble getting a campsite arriving ~6pm on a Monday night in mid-September. The road to the trailhead in the morning was a bit rough - if you are well practiced in driving on forest roads with potholes, washboarding, and a bit of an incline, I imagine you could probably manage in a low clearance vehicle. Otherwise, it might be a little much.

The hike itself can be divided into three sections: forest hiking, a boulder/rock section, and a sandy section. The variation was interesting. I found the boulder/rock section to be harder than I expected and the sandy section to be easier than I expected. The boulder/rock section is not scary or exposed but it can be slow and tedious - at times, it requires careful foot placement and the use of hands for balance. Having GPS available also helped with routefinding, because sometimes the navigation aid wooden poles can be hard to see from far away. The sandy section was straightforward (just sandy!). If you are wearing trail runners for this hike, you might need to dump sand out afterwards :) The view into the crater itself is 5 stars - one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen.

A warm day in September also felt like the perfect time do to this hike, since once you leave the forest section there's no shade at all. I drank a lot less water than I thought I would - I carried 5L and drank 2.5L. If I hike this again in similar, fall weather conditions, I'll probably bring 4L. Next time I'd wear SPF chapstick, too.

Overall, a great day outside. I'm so glad to have finally done this iconic hike, and I definitely want to come back to do it again!