Mount Saint Helens

Mount Saint Helens is an active stratovolcano most famous for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980 which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the U.S. 57 people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed.
A massive debris avalanche caused by the 1980 eruption reduced the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 ft to 8,365 ft and replaced it with a 1 mile wide horseshoe-shaped crater.
The Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was created to preserve the volcano and study its aftermath.

Routes

Climbers Bivouac

22 summits • 52.3 mi • 11,243 ft gain • 42 hr 14 min

Worm Flows Winter Route

21 summits • 10.4 mi • 5,517 ft gain • 6 hr 11 min

Mount Saint Helens 10.3 mi route

1 summit • 10.3 mi • 5,543 ft gain

Mount Saint Helens 11.7 mi route

1 summit • 11.7 mi • 5,768 ft gain • 10 hr 18 min

Mount Saint Helens 8.9 mi route

1 summit • 8.9 mi • 4,437 ft gain • 7 hr 8 min

Latest summits

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"We started at 1:30 A.M. and hiked by a full moon and headlamp. We made it to the weather station at 5:30 A.M. and had to wait for the wind to die down. We were able to continue at 6:30 A.M., being the first to summit that morning." — andrealanejacobs • Jun 18, 2019

"Conditions were perfect! We hit the trail a little after 5:30 am and summited at ~ 10:30 am using trekking poles and micro-spikes, leaving time for an early lunch break and several rest and snack/hydration stops. No need for crampons or ice axe. Where possible we hiked on the snow in the foot steps of those that preceded us next to the rocky ridge. After taking some photos and having a snack at the summit we enjoyed a long series of glissades and sliding on our decent, putting on our waterproof pant shell and using a large garbage bag. It took us about 2.5 hours to return to the Trailhead parking lot. Great day! I really enjoyed the Winter route even though it is longer than the summer route and more elevation. The snow is easier to hike on than the ash which tends to move you backward on every step." — joeerickson • May 22, 2019

"First Coast Mtn ascent, first Cascade volcano, and first volcano ski for Rick. Bluebird +14C at trailhead at 8am. 1700m over 7 hrs to true summit (everyone else only went to south summit). Nice 4km ski descent with 2km of walking back to parking lot where guy was playing guitar and serving up local brew! A day in Hood River chillin and off to ski Mt Hood tonight..." — alexjoseph • May 9, 2019

"Started out at Climber's Bivouac and climbed up the Ptarmigan/Monitor Ridge Route. Excellent and demanding non-technical climb with Clara Erickson; harder than I thought it would be given the moving ash/sand during the final mile to the summit. Beautiful hike with a variety of conditions: lower portion through forest with some older growth Douglas firs during the Ptarmigan trail transitioning to the rugged and rocky scramble portion on the ridge and finally the sandy / ash portion. Wear short gators! It keeps the sand and ash out of your shoes /boots." — joeerickson • Aug 24, 2018

"Summit with the crazy Mother's Day crowd. Snow from about 20 minutes from Marble Mountan Sno-Park. Didn't need snow shoes or crampons. 4000 vertical feet of glissading. But some of the really in-cut glissade chutes are so melted out that rocks are starting to show. Watch out." — mathiasricken • May 13, 2018

"Started out in the rain and fog with my friend Sean. Once we got above the clouds we could see Adams and Hood. Gorgeous day with good snow on the way up. Insane views at the top. Rainier looks super intimidating. We could see a mountain southwest of Hood. Jefferson maybe. Snow was uber soft on the way down but we were able to glissade a good ways. " — MatthewWinterberg • May 3, 2017

"This climb holds a special place for us, as it feels like the start of "climbing season" when we are on Mount St. Helens in early spring. This year is the latest that we've done the "winter route," but this was by far the most snow that we've experienced. The 503 road closure is well documented now, just be sure to leave a bit of extra time to get to the mountain. The detour definitely costs a bit of time, but allows for a different and interesting drive (at least from Seattle), and the road is clear of snow all the way to Marble Mountain Sno Park. Because of the last minute change in the avalanche forecast, people were getting a much earlier start from the parking lot than the usual 5:00-5:30 am - the first party left at 2:00 am, and since we were woken up by the activity outside, we fired up the coffee and breakfast and hit the trail at 3:45 am. Leaving this early turned out to be a blessing in several ways. There is deep snow from the beginning of the trail, and so it was nice to be able to just walk without snowshoes since it was still so cool. Over the course of the day, we saw people with snowshoes, crampons, micro-spikes, and of course, skis. We had crampons and snows..." — BryHong8 • Apr 16, 2017

"My buddy Jared and I--along with 498 of our closest friends--summited Mount St Helens on a bluebird spring day. Left the parking lot at 4:45 AM and reached the top at 10:15. Snow was inconsistent until roughly 3900 feet and we had some false starts with our skis, eventually settling on leaving our skis on our backs and just following the boot pack up. The snow was so slushy outside of the pack that skinning was no easier than hiking. Skiing down was a blast, despite the soggy conditions. I'm glad we didn't dilly dally longer than we did at the top, or I would have been pretty concerned about wet slide avalanches (we did see the remnants of a recent wet slab avalanche just below the crater rim). This was my first introduction to ski "mountaineering" and I think the hook is set." — TynanRammGranberg • May 1, 2016

"Left Portland at 4:30am. Started hike from Marble Mountain Sno-Park at 6:30am. Summited (crater rim) around noon. Left the crater rim around 1pm and made it back to the car around 4pm." — aweygandt • Mar 31, 2016

"We weren't the only ones with the idea to take advantage of the brief weather window and head up the Worm Flows route on Saturday. We did the hike on April 4th of last year, which was permit season, and we were 2 of 26 people on the mountain. This year, there must have been more than 250 on the mountain by mid-day, as we headed down. Fortunately we started early enough (5:15 am) so that we were ahead of most of crowd. At this time, the route is well worn, and the signs and blue diamond marks make it easy to follow in the dark. It was wonderful seeing Adams, Hood, and Jefferson as the sun presented itself just as we emerged from the tree-line. As for the route itself, it was nice that there was good snow coverage almost the entire way, although with a few more warm days and a lot more climbers, the lava rock will expose itself more and more, making the lower part of the route up the ridge a bit more of a challenge. There were a lot of very deep holes already exposing themselves yesterday, especially near rocks and trees. As climbing conditions stand now, the climb is about an equal mix of needing snowshoes and crampons, especially if you want to go to the actual summit. As we exp..." — BryHong8 • Mar 19, 2016

"The first two miles of the trail were an easy walk through the woods. After that, the next 2500 feet or so were through a boulder field. There was an obvious path for most of it, and tall wooden markers to help orient if you got off track. We climbed up into some misty, gray clouds and were treated to an ethereal view of Adams and Hood once we climbed higher than the clouds. That made us pretty excited for the summit, since undercast makes for a dramatic view (for those that don’t know, undercast is when the clouds are all below the summit, so it looks like you’re floating on clouds). After the boulders, there was another mile or so of ashy scree to climb before the summit. It was not as steep or as loose as South Sister, so we were grateful. We reached the crater rim before all the masses, and traversed over to the true summit, which we had all to ourselves. On the other side of the crater rim is a treacherous drop to the enormous volcanic crater. Before the 1980 eruption, St. Helens was 1300 feet higher, and technical knowledge was needed to reach its summit. When the volcano did erupt, the entire North face of the mountain slid away in what became the largest recorded land..." — justinraphaelson • Jul 24, 2015

"Got a 5:45 am start from the Climbers Bivouac. Temps were very warm and humid through the 2 miles of forest trail, everyone in the party were peeling layers like mad. Once we broke out onto Monitor Ridge a nice 5 mph breeze brought some relief and the water consumption was back to normal. The first snow field wasn't until the 7000 ft. level and very brief, no need for any extra traction. About 100 ft. after that you could use the snow field to the east of the ridge to make good time then transition over along the glissade chutes on the west side of the ridgeline to make the ascent quite a bit easier. I slapped some yak traks over the tennis shoes and felt pretty solid. I made the rim at 9:10 am and waited for everyone to catch up before traversing to the summit. I was a bit surprised by the length from the rim over to the summit- most reports just call it a traverse, but you drop about 50 ft to the saddle then have to regain the last 200 up the true summit. The snow was very iced up and a few times I had to chop it back to level with my ice axe before making my next step. There were no other obvious signs of activity from the few people we passed on the way up to the rim that we al..." — oregon-mt-goat • May 30, 2015

"With the weather changing day to day as spring begins, it's difficult to provide a good idea on what to expect climbing this route. We read all the trip reports, checked the weather conditions daily and packed for just about every contingency, since it seems that all types of conditions have presented themselves on the mountain over the past few weeks. A couple of general comments: For anyone taking the time and effort to do this climb, leave early enough so that you can climb to the true summit, and also so that you can enjoy some time at the top, if you're lucky enough to have the weather that we did. We were surprised at how many people (approximately 20 for the day), just stopped at the rim before heading back down. Sure, after climbing almost 5,500 feet and being on the trail for five hours, it's tempting to stop, but the views are so much better for those willing to take the extra half hour to head west towards the true summit, or even heading east to the false summit. Only one other pair did this, while the remainder of the groups grouped together right at the rim. Snow covered the ground very soon after leaving the parking lot, but the blue-diamond marked path is..." — BryHong8 • Apr 4, 2015

"Great weather. Great views. No snow on trail until the radio tow er. Then chains and ice axe should be used. There were some hikers going without. But I would not recommend it. " — rebecca1 • Mar 7, 2015

"We didn't actually summit because days are too short in November (we started to head back down app. 2 hours before the summit), but we'll sure do a second attempt. It was an a-m-a-z-i-n-g experience!" — annielafreniere • Nov 1, 2014

"I took the Monitor Ridge route expecting no snow based on the most recent route conditions report at the Lone Fir Resort where I picked up my climbing permit. Based on the report I opted to leave all of my snow gear in the car to lighten my load. That report was about five days old and it was mostly accurate with the exception of the last 1000' of the climb. I walked through mist and drizzle until I emerged above the clouds just past the tree line. It was here I first glimpsed a bit of snow near the top of the mountain. The route was snow free until I made it above the last of the boulders and onto the ashy, rocky soil. Patches of snow were actually favorable to walk on compared to the loose soil. I had brought my trekking poles, mostly because my camera was mounted to them. I didn't regret leaving all of my other traction devices in the car until I made it to the crater rim. The cold wind had created an icy layer along the rim. I guess I wasn't the only person who didn't expect the snow and ice, because nobody on the mountain was equipped with any traction devices and so everyone seemed to be content with stopping here. I'd been forced to turn around at this point once..." — Al-Rashid • Oct 1, 2014

"Finally got a chance to hit this classic on a perfect spring day. Snowline is around 4000ft. We booted up the entire way (no snowshoes/crampons needed). The fading boot marks and ski tracks of the record Mother's Day turnout 3 days ago were everywhere. We gained the crater rim and a fellow climber shared his secret spot with a view down into the gaping void of the crater. Steam from multiple vents rose from the building cone and made eerie bubbling sounds. Dave said the cone looked a lot bigger since he was last up here in 2008. It was amazing to see distant lakes filled with thousands of fallen trees blasted down the mountain in the 1980 eruption. The force required is hard to imagine. Some great glissading down from the summit, but on the way down saw many cornice point-release avy debris paths. Snow was so heavy and balling/pinwheeling all over the place by early afternoon. Swift Creek, bone dry on the way up, was gushing on our way down. It's melting fast, get out there before it's gone! Up in 5hr, down in 2hr30min (huge glissading)" — scott • May 14, 2014

"Climbed this via Monitor Ridge under whiteout conditions. Strong rain and winds the entire trip. Required good navigation skills. Approximately 12 people made it to the summit all day, and we were two of them! Still a very phenomenal trip. After a failed attempt and another set of permits that went nowhere last year, I was determined to summit Mt. St. Helens this year. And I did it! :) " — aimk13 • Jun 23, 2013

"Nothing exceptional occurred during the trip. It was a little cloudy and windy at the top, but that cleared off and there were some good views of the inside of the crater. Great Trip" — JePerk32 • Sep 15, 2011

"Had fun, hard hike and then slid dwn on my ass all the way to the last rock scramble. Since there was snow there my group and I slid down the snowbanks to get to the bottom and it was an absolute blast!!!" — jammingjn • Aug 27, 2011