Home > Trip Reports > December 3-4 Mt St Helens

December 3-4 Mt St Helens

12/15/11
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3469
4
Posted by mnipper on 12/5/11 2:49am
Made the first conditioning trip to St Helens Saturday and Sunday.  Clear sky and 20 degree temps in the evening gave way to morning fog and slightly warmer (29-30) morning temps on Sunday AM.  Our camp was quite cozy and with the fog and hard snow we decided to wait and let the sun soften the snow a bit before we set out so was the excuse for sleeping 13 hours. 

Snow was hard and wind blow or sun crust boiler plate.  Skiing was awful.  Ice skates would have been a more useful tool.  We bailed at 7800 because it meant we had to ski that much more of that misery.

A fun weekend but more snow is needed.  When parking at Marble Mountain, carry your skis about 200 yards past the gravel pits before skinning.     



Sound like not much had change from my trip up there on Dec 1. I did find better conditions and snow yesterday further to the west.

High Flying Pilot and I skied it yesterday and it was surprisingly good. I had fears of boiler plate ice, but things softened up just enough to make for some pretty good skiing.

Rob and I did the trip on 12/6 and aside from the thin coverage it was very nice.  Softening by 9 am.  Left the rim at 1pm on really nice wind buff, which gradually transitioned into soft corn at about 6800'.  Skied lookers left near the pinnacle on monitor as coverage was better on that side.  The only negative was a strong wind above 7k after 12pm.  Surprisingly calm at the rim, although i could hear it swirling in the crater.  It's hard to imagine December on Helens with pants rolled up above the knees, and down to a light base layer, and still too warm for the climb.  We encountered full cover for the tour right from the parking lot at Marble. 

That looks much better than Sunday.  You can actually see your tracks.  The sun above the valley fog must be loosening it up a bit.  Glad you all got to enjoy it. 

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december-3-4-mt-st-helens
mnipper
2011-12-05 10:49:19