We ski toured at Mount St. Helens - worm flows route - today.
Arrived to the parking lot at 4:30am. Most all of the double long spots were full. We parked along the side of the road in the main lot. Didn't see into the overflow lot.
Toilets were clean and both had TP.
Signed the register at the trailhead bulletin board - with our permit number and other group details. 5:30am start.
Had to carry our skis about 100 yards to hit snow, not far. The snow was patchy the first half mile. It's melting out fast. The carry distance is going to quickly grow over the next week. It's not deep snow the first mile.
Skinning was okay. Slushy snow made some sections harder than they should have been.
Personally - I'm out of shape and had to stop a bunch.
We only made it to 5700 feet by 11am. Decided to chill out, rip skins, and ski down. The snow was already warm (and I was knackered).
Many skiers and some snowshoers. By 11am many people were glissading / skiing down. The snow was getting warm fast.
1 hour ski down, with breaks. Solid coverage for skiing down to treeline. We stuck to the main drainages / basically next to the skin uptrack.
Hiked the last half mile. Other people pushed it and skied further towards the trailhead. This won't last much longer. Next week - walking the last half mile will be required for sure.
Overall a great ski tour. Wish I was in better shape to make it to the rim.
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