Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Mount St. Helens, Worm Flows
Technical Information
- Mountain: Mount St. Helens
- Elevation: 8,363ft
- Route: Worm Flows
- Length: 5,563ft
- Grade: I, Easy Snow
THE CLIMBING ITCH
In April of 2024, I was going crazy not being able to climb all winter and needed to get a climb in ASAP. If I was a more experienced climber, Id have had plenty to do, but at this point, I wasn’t very well versed in technical winter/early spring climbing. My daily scouring of Meteoblue paid dividends when I found a perfect window on Helens. I planned on skiing it solo C2C, but just a few days before leaving, I mentioned it to one of my kayaking buddies and she was instantly down. She convinced more kayaking buddies, and Just like that, we had an awesome crew. Also, heads up this is a retro report.
2 BURRITO STRATEGY
The 2 burrito strategy is unbeatable. On the way to the climb, stop at your local spot and get two massive burritos. Eat the first one for dinner, and the second for breakfast and lunch on day one of your climb. Absolutely bomb for C2C climbs and a great way to kickstart multi-dayers without adding too much weight or bulk. Ever since this climb, I’ve employed the 2BS and its never failed me.
THE APPROACH
Anyway, on April 19th, at 2am I was woken up by a few knocks on the side of my car. Getting up was nice and easy because it was such a warm morning. After suiting up and meeting the rest of the crew, I attempted to use the bathroom to no avail. 2am just ain’t the time…
We walked on dry trail for a quarter mile before finding solid snow-cover. I was glad to click into my skis because trail walking in my $50 dollar beater AT boots was BRUTAL. As we passed Chocolate Falls, the sky became light enough to see the beautiful gully we’d be descending. We were also thankful for the sun because it meant our skins would have more bite on the snow. Almost everyone in the group took a slip on the way up in the icy darkness.
UPPER MOUNTAIN
After stopping at the weather station to finish off burrito #2, I strapped on my crampons. Im really glad I decided to pack them, as the slopes got steep enough that we had to start booting. On the final stretch, a duo of skiers cruised past me both using ski crampons. I have yet to get a pair, but they sure seem a lot nicer than booting up with skis strapped to my back.
SUMMIT
Right below the summit I heard someone yell “helmet!” and I looked up to see one sliding down towards me. I managed to snag it just before it slipped away. The owner was super thankful, and it felt great to help out another climber and meet someone to chat with while I waited for my group. I’d trail-blazed out front and got to the summit 45min before them. After helmet guy started his ski down, I found a little chair someone had dug and kicked my feet up. Feelin good.
The rest of the crew made it up soon after and we all congratulated each other. This was a first mountain for most of them.
After catching some sweet views of Adams and Rainier, we hit the north slopes down towards the gully I mentioned earlier that ends at Chocolate Falls. One of the guys with us sent it off of a pretty big cornice and took a full rotation tomahawk during his tumble. Love to see it. After turning at the falls we had a quick hike back to the cars, and dove into a few beers while we talked about the climb. Great day.
After this trip, I’ve added traversing the crater rim to my list of future climbs. Keep an eye out for that one! Also, fun fact, the Crater Glacier in Helen’s crater is one of the only glaciers in the United States thats actually increasing in size year to year. Pretty rad.
BETA
Not much to say here. Follow the trail and wooden posts marking the way. Don’t get too close to the crater rim because massive cornices form every winter. Check avy forecasts and pack your crampons. If booting, consider snowshoes. Afternoon post-holing ain’t fun. Make sure to check your GPS on the ski down, Its easy to get off track fast. Watch for boulders lined up in the gully marking Chocolate Falls. every so often, a skier bombs straight off the cliff…
Gear: Skis, Crampons, Ice axe
