Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route — Sunday, May. 30, 2021

   Saturday was a beautiful day to climb Mount St. Helens. Started early from the Marble Mountain Sno-Park to get the best snow conditions before it got too slushy. As others have reported, snow starts at about 1.5 miles from the trailhead but is easily navigated without spikes. However, as the day progresses and the snow starts to melt, watch for post holing near boulders and tree wells. Gorgeous sunrise over Mt Saint Helen got the heart pounding for the climb to come.  The first part of the hike is in the woods until you get to Chocolate Falls and Swift Creek. The stream is easily crossed. Followed the posts along the rocky ridge line until it was time to descend onto the snow field where we put on crampons. Some people were able to use just micro-spikes but we preferred the grip of the crampons, especially during the very steep section of the climb. One of our friends saw someone slip and slide down the hill for a bit before being able to stop. Luckily, she was okay. We didn’t pull out our ice axe during this very steep portion (you’ll know when you get to it!!) but in retrospect, it probably would have been a good safety measure.

   Views at the top were epic and we had 360 degree view of Mount Rainer, Mt Baker, Mount Hood, Mount Hamilton, Mt. Adams, Glacier Peak, and Mount Elinor. The view into the crater of Mount St Helen is surreal and beautiful. Enjoyed a quick bite to eat and glissaded down the mountain. First time for us and we were able to get a “mini-lesson” from an experienced glissader at the top. (Thank you!!)  This made the trip down much quicker and we were able to glissade to near the antenna before the snow got too sloppy with rocky exposure. Met a ranger and his trainee checking permits on our way down (they go off a list that they have) as they were going up the summit. Apparently they routinely go up Mt St Helens 2-3 times a week….I was impressed, considering how hard this hike was for me.