Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route — Friday, Jun. 24, 2022

The guides from Mount Saint Helen’s Institute gave us an experience of a lifetime. We had a bluebird day with 50° at the summit. Rainier was practically touchable and we could see south as far as Mount Jefferson and Middle Sister in Oregon. We had individuals in our group who were intimidated by the slope and the guides could not have been more supportive of this process of conquering one’s fears in order to reach the crater rim. It was truly an incredible day. As the trip report from a couple of days ago indicates, cracks are forming and climbers should be very aware of the quickly melting and shifting snow. Snow starts just above the seismic station and this is where we strapped on our micro spikes and grabbed our ice axes. A word of caution: We saw a couple of ill-prepared climbers later in the afternoon in T-shirts with small packs. While this may be a summit for beginner mountaineers, it still has the power to shift from what some may hope for as a wonderful adventure to a risky undertaking. If you’re looking to get up on this volcano, gain some knowledge of indigenous history, natural history and geology, as well as being guided by some of the most compassionate, engaging  and wonderful humans, do not hesitate to visit the MSHI website and sign up for a trip. They fill up fast!