Climbing St. Helens has now become part of my regular training for Mt. Rainier. Hit the trail at 0545, snow free for a little more than a mile, then intermittent for another half mile, and then solid after that. Snow was firm but didn't require crampons until hitting the climbing trail itself at the end of the Swift Creek Loop trail. Foggy up to about the 6,000ft level when the mountain popped out.  Last year, on the final 1,000 foot push took a route the skiers were following slightly to the east, this year followed the other climbers on a steeper more direct route to the summit, which shaved off a nice bit of distance and time. Great views of Adams once above the cloud layer, light breeze kept it nice and cool.  Hit the crater rim around noon, nice view of Rainier.  Only one yellow wand to warn climbers of the cornice, which is very large this year. Glissades were epic, perfect conditions, close to 3,000 feet of drop in about half an hour. Cloud layer totally burned off for a nice sunny final descent to the parking lot. 

Seeking some sunshine and views, we elected to take the Swift Creek trail / Worm Flows route (trail 244) to the 4,800 ft level where climbing permits are required.  After a brief snack break we returned to the Pika Trail (#244 D) to June Lake and returned via the June Lake Trail (#216B) and the still-gated FR 83. 

The trail was mostly snow-free for the first mile and then fully covered from there on. We had snowshoes with us but never used them since the trail was hard pack and frozen from the night before.  Even as the day progressed and the snow softened we did not use snowshoes though we did wear microspikes on the return.  

Be careful on the Pika Trail since the snow is melting very fast and the lava field makes for very precarious travel.  We broke through a few time even when we walked slowly and carefully.

Only climber today past climbing permit marker.  Seems like 6-8 inches of snow fell above this marker.  Broke trail up to near top.  Some things of note is snowshoes were helpful halfway up and then I switched to crampons.  The snow to halfway point was powdery and a lot of postholing.  After the halfway point you’ll only sink in 5 inches and hit hard pack.  To the right of the weather monitor station there is quite a snow cornice building.  I recommend not going up and not going to the right.  Go to the left up a small rock field and you can climb up gravel to the weather station.  Head straight up.  Be careful not to head left.  I stayed straight.  To the left appears to be unstable with cornices building and the rim on monitor ridge route appears unsafe.  I was trying to avoid and stayed straight up from weather center.  I had heavy clouds move in and could no longer see the cornice overhangs and that new snow started icing up.  I sat on a rock for 30 minutes and never cleared.  It was beautiful up there with all the fresh snow.  I used a hiking pole and held a Petzl sum’tec.  If you want to attempt the summit, I recommend really early before the sun starts melting out.  It was a 10 hour day for me total.  Have a great time!  

As per the MSHI Climbing report on 4/7/2025: (read the full report HERE)

Trail is intermittent snow free for the first 1.5 miles, then deep snow above. Ice axe and traction devices such as microspikes, crampons, and/or snowshoes are CRITICAL for the entire route. 

The cornice is substantial and overhangs the rim 30+ feet and obscures views into the crater. STAY BACK at least 30 feet from the visible edge. Warning flags may not be present near the rim and there is no indication of the danger area underfoot.

Snow depth at 3,440 feet is 94 inches (7.8 feet). Snow depth at 4,440 feet is 178 inches (14.8 feet).

The road to Marble Mountain sno-park was snow free, as was the sno-park itself. There was ample parking when I arrived Friday night. Started up around 5:30AM on Saturday. The trail did not become snow covered until about 0.75-1.0 mile up. We used microspikes and trekking poles the entire way to the rim. Only the last 5-10 feet just before the rim were hard-packed and icy.

Relative to previous years, at about 7,000 ft, the route begins veering east, and you end up at the rim about a quarter mile east of the "normal" location. If you plan to traverse along the rim to the "high point" you'll be adding about a half mile to account. Given the uncertainty around the "Monitor Ridge collapse" area and the frigid winds, we were happy to skip that.

On the descent, we mostly plunge-stepped and the snow was good for there. There were some nascent glissade chutes that we enjoyed. As reported, the postholing began below the seismic station. Once we reached the trees, we switched to snowshoes to make life a little more bearable for the new couple miles before carrying them the last bit to the trailhead. Finished up around 3:30, for about 10 hours round trip.