Jan 1, 2007, Mt. St. Helens
1/1/07
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3803
7
New Years weekend at Mt. St. Helens:
A few of us enjoyed an awesome New Years weekend at Mt. St. Helens. Drove to Sno-Park on south side of volcano on Saturday morning (Dec. 30). Left the snowmobiles to their exhaust and followed the footpath up through the snowy woods. Planned to camp around 4,000+ feet in our tent. Near main footpath on a ridge we found a large, well-made snow cave at about 4,300' in 6 feet of snow. This proved a fantastic shelter for our two nights. Thanks to whomever did all that work!
We weren't thrilled with the surface conditions - hard, wavy and crusty. So we drank ice wine and slept on it. Sunday morning - New Years Eve day - we headed up. Nice sunny day, but crusty/icy surface. There were several other groups out, more snowshoes than skis. Walking was easy enough, so two of us elected to continue up, enjoying the alternating hot sun and cold wind. We ended up skiing down from above 8,000' at about 3pm; we resisted the temptation to go to the very brink and look over/down, lest we fall off a cornice. Still nice and sunny. We followed westerly aspects down and found them carvable. Not great, but plenty good enough for the almost 4,000' drop to camp. Delightful views of Adams, Hood, Jefferson.
Sunday night we drank in the moonlit scenery (and some port). Awoke New Years Day to a storm - not that we could tell in the cave. Sideways sleet was unpleasant, but after packing up we soon skid down out of the wind and found a thin layer of fresh snow. Our ski down and out was soft and easy. Raining in the smelly, noisy parking lot.
You can view my photos of our adventure online at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcoutside/sets/
A great start to 2007! 8)
A few of us enjoyed an awesome New Years weekend at Mt. St. Helens. Drove to Sno-Park on south side of volcano on Saturday morning (Dec. 30). Left the snowmobiles to their exhaust and followed the footpath up through the snowy woods. Planned to camp around 4,000+ feet in our tent. Near main footpath on a ridge we found a large, well-made snow cave at about 4,300' in 6 feet of snow. This proved a fantastic shelter for our two nights. Thanks to whomever did all that work!
We weren't thrilled with the surface conditions - hard, wavy and crusty. So we drank ice wine and slept on it. Sunday morning - New Years Eve day - we headed up. Nice sunny day, but crusty/icy surface. There were several other groups out, more snowshoes than skis. Walking was easy enough, so two of us elected to continue up, enjoying the alternating hot sun and cold wind. We ended up skiing down from above 8,000' at about 3pm; we resisted the temptation to go to the very brink and look over/down, lest we fall off a cornice. Still nice and sunny. We followed westerly aspects down and found them carvable. Not great, but plenty good enough for the almost 4,000' drop to camp. Delightful views of Adams, Hood, Jefferson.
Sunday night we drank in the moonlit scenery (and some port). Awoke New Years Day to a storm - not that we could tell in the cave. Sideways sleet was unpleasant, but after packing up we soon skid down out of the wind and found a thin layer of fresh snow. Our ski down and out was soft and easy. Raining in the smelly, noisy parking lot.
You can view my photos of our adventure online at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcoutside/sets/
A great start to 2007! 8)
Beautiful pictures; it looks like a hell of a way to bring in the new year! I checked out your Flickr site and you've got some killer pics. What are you shooting with? I picked up a Canon 20D but still don't have the quality glass I really want.
hey, warrior. yes, it was an awesome end to 2006 (good riddance) and the right start to "007!"
glad you enjoyed my shots - i take far too many on lovely days in pretty places (almost always mountains).
laughably, i have an "old" digital point-n-shoot Nikon Coolpix 4300; it's only 4 megapixel, and i've dropped it, cracked it, gotten it wet. it still works, so i stick by it. and once in a while i get a good photo or two. have fun out there! :)
glad you enjoyed my shots - i take far too many on lovely days in pretty places (almost always mountains).
laughably, i have an "old" digital point-n-shoot Nikon Coolpix 4300; it's only 4 megapixel, and i've dropped it, cracked it, gotten it wet. it still works, so i stick by it. and once in a while i get a good photo or two. have fun out there! :)
Nice photos & trip report. I've been wanting to get down there & ski it since it was re-opened. Two questions:
How much length does parking at the Marble Mount snowpark add to the trip---on the FS map it only looks like a couple of miles?
I've only been in the spring after the roads have melted out to the Climber's bivvy.
Were you able to see into the crater---I didn't see any pics of the growing lump or steam, but it might have just been covered with snow & I missed it.
Thx
How much length does parking at the Marble Mount snowpark add to the trip---on the FS map it only looks like a couple of miles?
I've only been in the spring after the roads have melted out to the Climber's bivvy.
Were you able to see into the crater---I didn't see any pics of the growing lump or steam, but it might have just been covered with snow & I missed it.
Thx
hi, jck. i recommend the trip! i guess the potential for ice/crusts is good, with all that southern exposure. but all-day sun softened things up plenty for us.
the whole tour is doable as a day trip (depending on how far you must drive). it's probably only about 4 miles to the top from the sno-park lot. very straight-forward. and you get to potentially ski more than 5,000' down to your car! camping is easy, though, as you can find fine, quiet spots within two miles from the lot. we enjoyed the views from treeline.
we did not attempt to look down into the crater. we were eager to get skiing (we'd taken our sweet time on the way up), and decided not to mess with the rim and potenital cornices. so no steaming dome or Rainier views for us.
the whole tour is doable as a day trip (depending on how far you must drive). it's probably only about 4 miles to the top from the sno-park lot. very straight-forward. and you get to potentially ski more than 5,000' down to your car! camping is easy, though, as you can find fine, quiet spots within two miles from the lot. we enjoyed the views from treeline.
we did not attempt to look down into the crater. we were eager to get skiing (we'd taken our sweet time on the way up), and decided not to mess with the rim and potenital cornices. so no steaming dome or Rainier views for us.
Looks like fun!!
Nice report,
I'm sure your pictures will inspire many of us to get up there and make the St Helens tour (myself included!). Even w/the variable snow conditions, I'm sure the views more than made up for it. Did you notice any evidence of avalanche conditions?
I'm sure your pictures will inspire many of us to get up there and make the St Helens tour (myself included!). Even w/the variable snow conditions, I'm sure the views more than made up for it. Did you notice any evidence of avalanche conditions?
hey, stoudema. yeah, i'd like to go back myself.
we didn't see any avalanche signs. we did not conduct thorough tests (shame on us), but noticed no discouraging evidence. we followed the primary footpath up; others were going up and down, a few skiing. coming down we let milder terrain and the softer snow determine our course back to camp.
we didn't see any avalanche signs. we did not conduct thorough tests (shame on us), but noticed no discouraging evidence. we followed the primary footpath up; others were going up and down, a few skiing. coming down we let milder terrain and the softer snow determine our course back to camp.
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