My girlfriend and I were looking for a proper way to kick off 2016, and since we both had a winter climb of Helens on our list and the forecast was favorable, we felt there was no better time than New Years day. We stayed in Cougar the night before knowing that we had an early start ahead of us. While weather was a concern, the road into Marble Mountain Snow Park was garnering most of my attention. I loaded my cables and a shovel into the car just in case but felt pretty comfortable with my Lancer being able to make the drive in as long as the road was covered in compact snow. Road was clear until about seven miles out of the parking lot, then we began to see ice on the roadway, a mile or so further in, it was mostly compact snow with stretches of ice. My car made it fairly easily but it is front wheel drive and I have all terrain tires on it. I also have just a bit of experience driving in snow (yes, a bit of sarcasm there. I have driven in snow. A lot.). I will say that once we were down from the mountain and driving back home, we saw all kinds of inexperienced drivers doing very dumb things along this road. Unfortunately, they are hazard not only to themselves but to others on the road. Once again, people assuming that there AWD vehicles are immune to sliding were the main culprit. There is plenty of snow at the TH to just strap on your snowshoes and go. The trail for the most part is well marked and also very broken in. We made good time up this trail, looking forward to getting above the trees and into the sun and scenery. There was a bit of apprehension as we could hear the wind blowing fairly strong through the treetops. Once we broke out of the trees and got near Chocolate Falls, we could see the wind was going to be a factor. We had run into several groups that had already turned around. One gentlemen went so far as to say the wind had nearly knocked him down a few times. But we trudged onwards, often looking up to see the spindrift blowing off the mountain ridges and crater rim. The trail was still well broken in and easy to follow despite the wind. While we noted several areas that had recent avalanches, and there were some signs of slabs, the route itself was on safe ground. Unfortunately, the wind began to become more and more of a factor as we not only struggled against the climb itself, but the force of the wind. The infrequent gusts had become almost a constant dull roar and often we had to stop and plant ourselves to keep from being blown over. We took a break near the giant sign that says "permit required" just a short way up the ridge. Hidden from the wind behind a massive boulder, we were optimistic about continuing the climb and having a chance at the crater rim. We did however, take note that a group that was ahead of us seemed to be crawling. After refueling, we begin to climb again. The snow was dense enough at this point that it would have probably been an easier option to ditch the snowshoes and go to crampons. It was at this point though that the wind knocked me over. As I lay laughing at myself in the snow, I realized that at the rate we were going, we would be descending most of this in the dark and that wasn't high on my list of things to do. We made the call to turn around and we not alone in our decision. It seemed most who had the intent to climb the mountain were making the call to turn around. We took our time, snapping pictures and admiring the shapes in the snow made by the wind. Eventually we got back down to the parking lot which resembled a parking lot at an outdoor rock concert. Gear I would recommend; snowshoes, trekking poles, traction devices, ice axe (I had my whippet). Then obviously, whatever layering system works for you given the weather forecast.

Decided at the last minute to #optoutside Black Friday and take a run at Mt. St Helens on a beautiful late November day. I did Mt. Adams in September decided afterwards to put climbing the five WA volcanos on the goal list - this would be number 2 - though I was thinking more 2016 as I hadn't firmed up my glacier kit with crampons after doing Adams with just microspikes which was sketchy at times. However, a friend of mine climbed it on Thanksgiving and based on the info I got from them I decided to give it a go. It started at 3a up near Seattle and drove 4+ hrs to the trailhead. Roads were quiet in the morning which was good as there was a fair amount of snow/ice on the way up from I5. The trailhead at marble mountain was already covered with about 6 inches of snow which increased my anxiety about not having crampons. I set off about 8a up through the fir trees. After a couple miles of steady up hill, the trail breaks through the trees and I got a good look at the climb ahead. From this point on, it's pretty exposed making the wind a factor throughout the hike. I almost immediately put on my microspikes as the fresh snow covered trail made the footing somewhat slick and tenuous as sometimes my steps would go an inch under the snow before hitting ground and sometimes 12 inches. A bit later I followed the wrong footprints and didn't realize I was two ridges east of the ideal route until I'd been off route for around 30 minutes. Rather than backtracking, I decided to go cross-country, following a single set of footprints that apparently had done the same thing. As I was going cross-country, I realized the microspikes had come off one of my shoes at some point. As I looked at where I'd come from, I thought about whether I could make it up with just one. Realizing it wasn't likely I backtracked and luckily found it about a quarter-mile back. I finally got back on path then a bit later had my other microspike fall off, requiring another backtrack - this day was getting more and more interesting. After finding that one, I integrated them with my laces to make sure they wouldn't completely fall off again. As I got higher on the mountain, the winds really picked up leaving a mixture of glare ice and crust-covered snow. With just the micros on, I was avoiding the ice, which led to a lot of postholing. Finally I got part way up a steep section about 500 vertical feet from the top where I couldn't get any footing, and the only way I was making progress was with an ice axe in one hand and jabbing in a trekking pole with the other. When I got to a spot that was level enough to check on the microspikes, I realized the insert with the carbon spikes had fallen out of both sides - epic fail! There was no chance of getting to the summit, and when I looked at the glare ice, rock strewn terrain I just climbed, I was no longer worried about going up, but getting down. I started to glissade but it was too icy to control speed, so I tried going a few feet at a time hammering in the axe, which didn't work well either - sketchy section for sure but eventually got past it unscathed. The rest of the descent was uneventful and I got back to the trail around 2p. 6 hours total time with ~5K feet of vertical climb. Hopped in the car and was back in Seattle by 7p... at which point I immediately ordered some Grivel crampons! Looking forward to giving it another run in 2016.

Initially it looked like we might have been able to squeeze in a summit before the snow rolled in, but the weather beat us. We set out at the trail head around 5:20 AM, getting to the end of the tree line at about sunrise. The trail was posted through the trees, but once you got on the ridge, that was it. The clouds were looming covering the mountain, but we kept on. We had plenty of gear/water/food with us so we felt pretty comfortable. I would NOT go on this trail without at knee length gaiters and some sort of traction devices. We felt stable in our microspikes - there were times when snowshoes probably would have been nice, but other times when they would have been cumbersome, so I think that'd be a personal preference on that one. As we kept on, the clouds got thicker - there were moments when we thought we were about to break through, but it just wasn't happening. At about 7400 ft we called it - the ash field was covered in knee deep snow, and we were worried that when we got to the top we wouldn't be able to discern our ridge on the way down, since the wind was wiping our tracks as we walked. Will definitely been coming back. It was awesome to glissade a little down, and great to have some hefty white stuff this early in the season. :)

This was my husbands and my first climb on Mt St Helens. We were super excited! We had trained the week before by hiking to camp Muir, which ended up being excellent training for this hike. The snow started at about 6500ft at which time we put our microspikes on. It was very steep at times but I don't feel the route was dangerous because if you fall and slide there aren't any dangerous run outs. It was a great thrill getting to the top and seeing the crater. I believe it took us 4hrs to get to the top. I always recommend bringing super delicious food to eat at the top as a reward for all the hard work! (giant cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting) I was nervous about glissading with an ice ax because I had never done it before. It was actually pretty easy, fun and a little scary too! we descended as fast as we could and jogged the last section when we got to the woods. Our total trip took 6hrs 40min. It was a wonderful experience!

A great clear day to climb, would be even greater if the snow level was lower than 6,000 ft. The sun in the afternoon make the snow icy and a little harder for those without any traction devices. We found a camera left on a ridge west of seismic station on the way down late afternoon. It might have fallen out of someone's pack while resting there. If you lost your camera, or know someone who might lose a camera on Mt. St. Helens, please let me know. The mountain didn't get your camera, we got it and we want to return it back to the owner as it seem like there's a lot of important memories in there.