Climbing Mount St. Helens
Location: Outside the town of Cougar
Mileage: 12 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 5699 feet
LENGTH12.0 miles, roundtrip
ELEVATION GAIN5,699 feet
HIGHEST POINT8,364 feet
This is the go-to route to the summit when Mount St. Helens is covered in snow. (We did it on mothers day! ) It is direct, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Long miles of snow travel can be grueling, but luckily this route is not too technical. It is considered a good intro to mountaineering, and the views at the top are stunning.
Highlights:
- I made it on the summit! YAY!
- Clear sky! Amazing day! The most amazing view I’ve ever seen of the crater, Mt Rainier, Mt Adams, Mt Hood.
- Glissading down was sooo much fun!
Low lights:
- It was very hard to carry 15kg (33 lb)
- The sun was unexpectedly strong!
- Lesson learned, next time less food and more water!
- Waking up at 3am was not fun either 🙂 I couldn’t sleep in a tent from 9p to 3a. I probably slept 2-3h.
