Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route — Monday, May. 5, 2025

Started the ascent at 3:40am. Snow cover was constant at 1-1.5 miles in. Used microspikes for the duration of the climb. The snow was nice and firm. Many boot paths to follow with ease. The weather was so amazing, sun all day with a slight breeze and occasional gust. Once on the crater rim the wind picked up a bit, but nothing over 10-15 mph. Summit trail was the spiciest of the climb with a couple sections that made me want to put on my crampons, but in the end micros and ice axe in hand did the job.

I got to the summit at 7:40, had a snack and soaked in some views. Pretty sure I was the first ascent of the day and had the summit to myself. Even though the snow was firm and icy, I couldn’t resist glissading on the way down. Some fun chutes but I did pay the price of completely destroying my rain pants, lol. Saw lots of folks climbing up on my descent, tons of skiers and snowboarders as well as climbers.

Beautiful day, perfect weather and easy climbing conditions. Back in the car at 11am.