When I arrived Friday night around 10:30 pm, both the main lot and the overflow lot were nearly full. I started hiking at 3:30 am along with quite a few other people who were on the trail early. The snow was firm and snowshoes were not needed.
Further up the mountain, about 2000 vertical feet from the summit it got pretty icy and I put on my crampons, which helped a ton. This was my first time doing a mountain that was somewhat of a mountaineering trip, so using crampons and an ice ax definitely helped in the steep, icy sections.
I reached the crater rim a little after sunrise, around 8:15, and took in the views with 3 other people up there, and a dog! I love that dogs can do this hike. The true summit is couple hundred feet higher and about a quarter of a mile from where the Worm Flows route ends so I made my way over there.
The views were incredible! Rainier, Adams, and Hood were all easily visible. There was one other large mountain that I couldn't identify. Looking southeast, it was between Adams and Hood and had a similar shape as Adams. If anybody knows, please share :)
I spent a few hours taking photos and time-lapses before making my way back down around noon. Once I made it back over to the main trail I was blown away by the number of people! It was a continuous string of climbers.
On the way down I was really wishing I had brought my snowboard as I watched lots of others skiing and boarding down, some with dogs chasing after them! The snow turned mushy and soft, especially at lower elevations. Having an ice ax was nice while glisading down.
Comments
hikingwithlittledogs on Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route
Wow! Beautiful photos. Thanks for the report!
Posted by:
hikingwithlittledogs on Apr 01, 2018 09:40 PM
BoundlessJourney on Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route
Thanks a lot :)
Posted by:
BoundlessJourney on Apr 02, 2018 09:13 PM
ScottieRex on Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route
Nice pics man! I was one of those few people at the crater rim with you. Always cool to read others' trip reports for different perspectives.
Posted by:
ScottieRex on Apr 12, 2018 09:32 PM
Hiking_RN on Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route
Looks like an awesome time! Question for ya, I'll be going up on May 4th. Do you think I can get away with microspikes instead of crampons? Thanks in advance!
Posted by:
Fe.Fi.Fo.Francis on Apr 22, 2018 06:22 PM
ScottieRex on Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route
That's going to depend on the temperature when you climb. Check Mountain Weather Forecast a day or two beforehand. If the temp is going to be below 40F when you're going to climb, you're going to want crampons. The upper part of the mountain is very steep and can be treacherous when solid ice. If I had to guess, it will likely be warm enough to go with microspikes on May the 4th (be with you). Just make sure to still bring an ice axe regardless.
https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Saint-Helens/forecasts/2549
Posted by:
ScottieRex on Apr 22, 2018 08:13 PM