April 9-10, 2016, Saint Helens and Camp Muir

I'm sure everyone is tired of seeing the same trip reports but I feel like writing something about this weekend. April 8th came quicker than I had anticipated and while I struggled mid-week to remain on board for our second annual Mount Saint Helens trip, I eventually gave in mostly out of obligation to my roommate who had already taken time off from college and work for the climb. After my shoulder setback on Mount Hood last week, I was eager to get out into the mountains again. This would be the fourth time I have had the opportunity to climb Saint Helens and I would be lying if I said I was not excited to finally have optimal snowboarding conditions! We arrived in Cougar late afternoon on Friday and set up camp at the Sno-Park, our same campsite from last year. I was surprised to find our group of six were tolerant enough of my absolute love for night photography to agree for a midnight ascent, which came with a promise to see an epic sunrise higher up. Snowpack Friday night was perfect with minimal post-holing. A well-beaten boot path can be found about 1.5 miles up the Worm Flows trail, where snow begins consistently after some patchy spots close to the parking lot. Our group took plenty of short breaks, which provided ample time for some decent shots of the night sky. We encountered heavy winds and icy conditions higher up as the sunrise hit and our group decided to split up. Half went for the summit, while I stayed with my roommate in search of the best starting point to begin an epic snowboard descent. We waited briefly to make sure the rest of our group made it up and down safely, which ended up being helpful as snow became slightly softer. The ride down was everything I had hoped for; easy soft snow and great turns all the way down to where the snowpack ended! Not car-car, but I was very pleased with the outcome even though I opted to avoid the summit. Fast forward to Today- After a triumphant and exhausting drive back to Bummertown (Bremerton) Saturday afternoon, I couldn't help but feel cheated out of an extravagant weekend, so I decided Saint Helens simply wasn't enough exercise for me. A quick resupply at the supermarket, some light cardio on the treadmill Saturday evening and a refreshing nap, I was awake bright and early Sunday for the long drive to Paradise! This part of the trip report will be brief, I promise. Start up at 10am and a (very) leisurely pace to Muir, not because I wasn't excited to be there but because I had absolutely nothing else planned for the day if I finished early. I made the mistake of forgetting my splitboard skins and ski poles, so I opted for the nostalgic slog in snowboard boots and couldn't have been happier! I ended up riding the small chute that runs just to the left of Muir and was surprised the snow wasn't in awful condition given the warm temps all day! The ride down was glorious as usual, with heavy and sticky snow off of Panorama Point, which was expected being late in the day. All in all, a great weekend spent with great friends in two very cool places! (My friends couldn't believe I wanted to do Muir Sunday, so I ended up enjoying the trip myself.)