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Page Type:
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Trip Report |
|---|---|
Date Climbed/Hiked:
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Nov 30, 2014 |
Activities:
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Mountaineering |
Season:
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Winter |
Mount Saint Helens
The weather forecast for Saint Helens was looking PERFECT for a Sunday summit this weekend. And it really was. Aside from frigid temperatures (we were both
burritoed/cocooned in our sleeping bags on Saturday night), and some
windy patches, this 12 mile climb was characterized by clear skies and
sunshine. The snow down low on the route wasn’t enough to completely
fill in the talus fields, so navigating through those sections was slow.
However, higher up on the mountain some fresh power made for gleeful
turns on the way down.
Our 5am start was pushed back to 6am due to the fact that making coffee/breakfast is much slower when you’re trying to do it from inside the warmth of a tent. The timing was perfect, however, because the sky began to lighten as we came into view of the mountain, and we were gifted with glittering, pink snow during our first stretch of climbing.
The snow pack was lovely on the way up and it made our skis and snowshoes unnecessary.
The climb to the summit was relatively straight foreward and crampons were necessary during the final stretch - once we reached the summit- avoiding the edge (thanks, cornices!) we snapped a few summit-selfies and panoramas, and made our way back down to a less- horribly windy ridge. We got a bit … Off the trail at one point and had to navigate back to the appropriate ridge line. This made for some exciting scrambling!
See This Post for additional photos, info, equipment list, and stats.
First glimpse
Sunrise
SkiMo
Saint Helens in all her glory