Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route — Saturday, May. 24, 2014

South Cascades > Mount St. Helens

Great trip up to the crater rim, about a week earlier than last year, but with lighter snowpack. In fact, Swift Creek did not exist this year whereas last June 1 we actually had some water to cross. Six of us got to the Marble Mount Snopark TH by noon, hit the trail by 12:30, and arrived at that great bowl at 6,500 ft to the left of the main route by 5 pm or so. Melted 18 liters of water. Clear weather, but rough winds overnight. 90 minutes up in the morning, views inside the crater, serious winds at the summit, and then headed down. (My 13 year-old curled in a fetal ball at the top, did not like the winds or cold, but the climbing part was fine. Go figure.) Glissading, plunge-stepping, and then regular hiking down. Back to the cars roughly 2 pm and home to Seattle 3.5 hours later (after stopping for food and coffee). A fantastic way to spend 26 hours on the mountain.