Mount St. Helens - Monitor Ridge — Monday, Jul. 10, 2000

South Cascades > Mount St. Helens

Climbing Mt. St. Helens: We started our trip from Climbers' Bivouac at 7:30am on this partly sunny Monday. The trail was mostly under snow but easy to follow. Around 8:45am we reached the snow/rock area outside the woods and started the climb. Ice axe was very useful for walking up relatively soft snow. People without axe/poles made it up just fine though. Walking up on snow was easier than scrambing on the rocks. Around 10am we took a break at this spot with some kind of triangle mark with rocks in it. The view to Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood was nice. Clouds were coming up from the valley. We kept going up, and walked up the last 1000 ft on loose rocks/sand. That part was quite steep and difficult. Finally we made to the crator rim, the top, at 12:10pm. Needless to say it was awesome looking down the crater to the lava dome. Spirit Lake and Mt. Rainier are further to the north, making the scene utterly grand. Lots of people climbed, including a couple that looked like they were to marry at the top (the woman wore a bridal veil). Surely a long way to celebrate for their guests. We left around 1pm and glissaded most of our way down. Again, ice axe was helpful for controlling the speed. We reached the timberline around 3pm and got back to our car at 4pm. A great day to remember.