When somebody famously requested George Mallory, one of many first to ever try and scale Mt. Everest, why he needed to climb it, he merely acknowledged, “As a result of it’s there.”
Love that quote.
So, why did I climb Mt. St. Helens earlier this week? Good query.
By no stretch of the creativeness are you able to think about me a climber. Sure, I really like the outside and even climbed Mt. Rainier a number of years again. However that was my very first climb, and St. Helens was my second. So, my mountaineering resume is kind of small.
It’s not that I don’t like climbing; it’s simply not one thing I search out. I keep in form and get open air as a lot as potential however would a lot somewhat play a spherical of golf than strap on boots and stroll up hill for a number of hours.
Nonetheless, when good friend despatched an electronic mail looking for climbing companions after he obtained a move to scale St. Helens, I stated, why not? I’ll admit I waited a bit to see who else raised their fingers, but it surely turned out a few of my favourite individuals determined to hitch in, so it made my determination simple.
“Let’s do it.”
What follows is an outline of my expertise; one which may assist different non-climbers decide about climbing considered one of our space’s most well-known and energetic volcanoes.
Within the Pacific Northwest, most everybody of age has a tackle “The place have been you when the mountain blew?” I used to be enjoying college baseball in Lakewood, Wash. and heard from my dad and mom that the mountain had erupted. As an eighth grader, I greeted the information with little greater than a “Cool.” Not a lot curiosity on my half, actually.
Quick ahead nearly 40 years and I used to be about to embark on a journey to the highest of a mountain I knew little about. So, I did some research and discovered a few issues.
1. You want a climbing allow. It may be obtained on-line someday in February. They go quick. In 2018, person demand crashed the Mt St. Helens Institute’s web site.
2. You want to prepare. A number of individuals informed me it was only a lengthy stroll. Nope. It’s a grind. It isn’t technical however rather more troublesome than simply mountaineering.
3. Get the appropriate gear. A great backpack, mountaineering boots and trekking poles are a should. I additionally suggest sturdy gloves for climbing over rocks.
4. Plan fastidiously and convey numerous water and snacks. You’ll be glad you probably did..
5. Convey layers of clothes. I used to be scorching, then I used to be chilly, then I bought scorching once more. It was windy and freezing one minute and ten minutes later it was blazing scorching. Temperatures can change at any second.
6. Convey a heavy-duty trash bag. Sliding down the snowfield in your descent not solely saves you a ton of time, however is plenty of enjoyable.
The night time earlier than the climb, we stayed in Woodland, Wash., bought up at 4:00 am and have been on the trailhead (Climber’s Bivouac) by 6:00 am. Staying near the mountain the night time earlier than was essential to restrict drive time and getting stiff within the automotive earlier than getting underway.
As soon as on the trailhead, we signed into the logbook and the enjoyable started.
The primary two-plus miles was a pleasant stroll by the bushes with a little bit of elevation achieve however nothing critical. It gave us an opportunity to get caught up with our climbing group as we labored up our first sweat.
Issues bought fascinating as soon as the bushes began to skinny and we bought nearer to the tree line. That is the place the boulder area begins and the work begins. Inside minutes the climb went from a stroll within the woods to a vigorous hike to an all-out scramble.
As soon as we have been out of the bushes, trying up towards the highest of the mountain was daunting as there have been rock fields so far as we may see. Not with the ability to see the summit to evaluate how far we had left to climb was a bit disheartening.
One saving grace (amongst many) was a GPS watch considered one of our staff members introduced alongside. Extremely really useful. The watch enabled us to precisely see our location, how far we had come and the way far we needed to go. It additionally helped with navigation on the best way down as a result of we didn’t take the identical route as we did on the best way up.
Scrambling over and thru the rocks was a giant a part of the climb. I might say about 75 % of our time was spent navigating the rocks. They went on perpetually. Lengthy stroll, my butt.
We took breaks for water and snacks about each hour. Each climbing group is stuffed with members with extensively totally different ranges of health. It was by no means a difficulty for our staff as everybody went at their very own tempo, however we made certain at every relaxation cease that everybody was on the identical web page. We took numerous photographs throughout our breaks and the views have been large. It was useful to have the ability to discover somebody to climb with and that’s the reason I like to recommend as massive a gaggle as potential. This lets everybody unfold their wings, or not, and simply climb.
As soon as we have been almost by the rocks, the summit got here into sight. That view gave us an enormous increase of confidence and power. Nonetheless, the final 500 to 800 ft are brutal.
With the rocks behind us it was all about making our method straight up by the ash. There was nothing to do however put our heads down, get in our completely happy place and put one foot in entrance of the opposite.
It was a giant assist to have individuals on the summit cheering you on the previous few ft. Huge smiles round as every climber made it to the highest. It took about an hour from first to final, however we put our total group on the summit. It felt nice to perform our objective.
We spent about an hour or so on high. The views are superb and attending to see the steam from the lava dome was thrilling.
My largest response to the summit was the conclusion of simply how a lot earth was moved through the eruption. The large destruction remains to be fairly evident, and understanding that the dome continues to develop is downright scary.
After rehydrating (with a ceremonial Rainier beer), a number of extra snacks and a change of socks, we have been prepared for our descent.
That is the place the trash baggage got here in useful.
Sitting on the baggage and utilizing our trekking poles as a rudder, we slipped and slid our method down the mountain on snow that surrounded the rock fields. It was loopy. It was quick and you actually needed to dig your heels into the snow to keep away from high-speed chaos. However the time it saved was properly value it.
We figured we descended the primary two-thousand ft of elevation in about quarter-hour. From there we made our method over extra rocks till we made it to extra snow and extra sliding. It was chilly on the behind and on our fingers dragging by the slush however very enjoyable.
As soon as the snow was gone we stripped again all the way down to our shorts and made our method again by the final of the rocks and into the woods once more. Once we hit flatter floor the ache in our ft actually turned evident. It made the final two miles powerful, as our ft have been burning. However the considered the car parking zone and taking off our boots was the saving grace.
We arrived to cheers throughout and the celebratory beers by no means tasted higher. It was a full day (slightly below 8 hours) and attempting at occasions, however properly value it.
Whether or not you’re a hiker, climber or skilled mountaineer, Mt. St. Helens has every little thing. It examined my endurance, psychological fortitude and can, however it’s an expertise I’ll always remember.
Give it a strive. However come ready.
