Mt. St. Helens Expedition II - June 2000

Camping

There are more hikers than there are permits for climbing Mt. St. Helens (especially on weekends), so if you aren't one of the lucky few who reserved your tickets months in advance, you have to show up at Jack's Restaurant below the mountain to participate in a lottery. They only have tickets for the first 50 non-reserved hikers.

JohnW met us at the restaurant, having spent the day climbing another peak in Rainier State Park. So we ate a quick meal at Jack's, then stood around in the parking lot with a crowd of other hikers, waiting for the lottery.

As luck would have it, we were the first ones chosen in the lottery. It was a good omen for the trip. We paid our money to Jack, and then headed off to the campsite.

At Jack's Restaurant (volcanic hazard: low)

We stopped off at a lake (Lake Cougar?) to enjoy the view before setting up camp.

The lake.

At the camper's bivouac (3500 feet) we set up our tents, made a small fire with very wet wood, had a bit of food before turning in for the night.

The sun setting on Mt. St. Helens, above our campsite.

We woke up at sunrise to get ready.

Red sun hitting the trees with the moon above as JohnG makes coffee.

The morning sun hitting Mt. St. Helens.

Around 7:30 we were all packed up and ready to hit the trail.

The Ascent

To get to the summit, you start at the climber's bivouac and hike up Monitor Ridge, a 4600 elevation gain to the summit at 8100 feet. I was worried that the day would be cloudy like the last trip ( Mt. St. Helens Expedition - August 1999 ) but those fears were groundless. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Hiking up below the treeline.

Admiring the view at the treeline. Mt. Hood in the background.

Traversing a snowfield, with Mt. Adams looking on.

JohnW cresting a snowfield. Got a problem with that?.

JohnG hiking up, with Hood behind him.

Dylan taking a breather.

Snowboards among the rocks.

JohnG hiking up, again with Mt. Hood in the background.

JohnG hiking up, now in front of Mt. Adams.

Almost there....

The Summit

The last time I summitted Mt. St. Helens, you could barely see 50 feet away (again, see Mt. St. Helens Expedition - August 1999 ). This time, the view was spectacular. We were completely exhausted, and after eating a bit and drinking a LOT of water, we slept for almost two hours.

At the summit. Note the brave (or extremely stupid) man behind JohnW standing on the cornice. We may have a Darwin Award winner!

Mt. Rainier behind us.

Peering over the cornice: Spirit Lake, with Mt. Rainier beyond.

The view back down Monitor Ridge, with Mt. Hood in the background.

The four of us (JohnW, Dylan, myself and JohnG) at the summit.

After the nap, we readied our snowboards for the ride down.

The Descent

We talked to a ranger at the summit, and he suggested a decent run down to the bottom. So after a short traverse at the summit, we strapped on the boards and pointed them downhill.

Making tracks down from the summit. The snow at the top was pretty dirty.

Dylan shredding the volcano.

JohnW traversing.

JohnG gliding by.

Making tracks, further down in cleaner snow.

The same shot, zoomed back so you get a taste of the scenery.

Running out of snow: we had to pick our way through the snowfields at lower altitudes.

Hiking back to the main trail.

Back at the bivouac.

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