Mt. St. Helens - June 20, 2011

After two false starts, Pentaquest 2011 finally got underway on Monday (6/20) with a climb up Mt. St. Helens. Conditions over the past few months have been brutal as Oregon endured the second wettest spring in 117 years (click here if you don't believe me). Before postponing, a group of ten planned to go. But only three - including myself - took part on the new date. Despite (or rather because of) the smaller group, it ended up being one of the most enjoyable days of my short climbing career.

I met my friends Jared and Liesl in Portland at 6:00 a.m. and we drove 90 minutes to Cougar, WA. After consolidating into one car, we left Delta Park in north Portland and noticed a hawk on the side of the road clutching a freshly killed chipmunk. It took off with Chip or Dale in its talons as we drove by. Sometimes it's hard to know if such an act portends a good or bad omen - fortunately it turned out to be the former and not the latter.

We went north on I-5 to Woodland, made a quick pit stop at Burgerville and cut east on State Route 503 toward Cougar. By 8:00 a.m. we reached the trailhead at Marble Mountain Sno Park after picking up the climbing permits at the Lone Fir Resort. We hit the trail with overcast skies, but with the promise of "partly sunny" in the forecast.

The first section of the trail winds through a wooded area that doubles as a path for cross-country skiers. We quickly hit a few patches of snow that soon turned into a solid layer that remained with us for the rest of the climb. After two miles or so we finished our slog through the forest and emerged at the base of the mountain. Most of the day's work ahead remained shrouded in the clouds, but we could clearly see the route in front of us with boot steps etched into the snow from previous climbers. At this point we decided to put on gaiters to keep out the frozen water determined to get into our socks.

Free from the woods, the trail gradually began to gain elevation. We alternated between climbing in the snow and scrambling up an exposed rocky spine of boulders. Eventually we decided the snow staircase was easier on the quads. I forgot to mention that Liesl and I were nursing injuries - I had severely sprained my foot two weeks prior and Liesl had a bum Achilles tendon. Anything that lessened the strain was welcomed. Here's a video clip from this section of the climb:

We continued to push forward and upward. Patches of blue teased us, but we remained ensconced in a dense cloud bank. At the USGS solar-powered seismograph, we stopped to refuel and caught our first clear look of the remaining 2,500 feet. The standard routes up Mt. St. Helens are not technical in nature. But the sight before us looked impressive. From that point forward it was all sun. At this critical juncture of the climb I made a decision I have regretted every minute since: instead of doubling-down on my sunscreen, I opted to "tough it out" until reaching the top. If I could go back in time, I would punch myself in the face really hard for making such a dumb decision. This is a clip of us at the seismograph:

Despite feeling a bit fatigued - at least I know I was - we buckled down and kept chipping away at the slope a step at a time. Liesl and Jared maintained a brisk pace and I fell back about a hundred feet or so. We soon approached the steepest part of the route about 1,500 feet below the crater rim. Due to the immense late-season snowpack, it was a daunting slog. We had opted not to carry crampons or an ice axe - tools I hadn't found necessary before. Although not essential, it certainly would have helped on this stretch. Each step up exhaustingly post-holed into the 30 degree slope. Here's a video of me struggling up the route:

Finally the grade smoothed out a bit and we could see the end. To the east, the edge of a massive cornice on the rim became more visible with each step. And the other volcanoes around us stood prominent above the clouds - Mt. Hood to the south and Mt. Adams to the east. The wind began to pick up, but it helped take the edge off the brutal sun (more on that later).

Starting with Liesl, next Jared and then myself, we reached the crater rim. The snowpack at the top was impressive! Mt. Rainier - standing tall above the clouds - was only barely visible above the cornice. We dared not improve the view by climbing out to the edge - in February 2010 an experienced climber fell to his death into the crater when a cornice unexpectedly broke loose.

We spent some time enjoying the experience - snacks were shared, pictures taken (when I root, I root for the Timbers - even near Sounders country #RCTID) and videos shot. Liesl - despite my half-hearted protests - asked a group of kids sitting next to us to sing me happy birthday.

I read an invocation prepared by my friend and Pentaquest spiritual advisor Colin. As an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church, there's little about the inner workings of the cosmos I feel Colin is unqualified to discuss. Here's the text:

"Louwala-Clough, smoking mountain. We ask you to welcome us to your foot, your body, your head. As the Great Spirit's two sons vied for your love, we seek to find your favor. Unlike Wy'East and Klickitat, whose names are also sacred, we strive to cause no destruction nor anger the Great Spirit. We wish only to honor your beauty in our ascent. Please accept our adoration, our respect and keep us well as we wash ourselves in your splendor. Great Spirit, let our climb be a prayer to you to keep the two-feet, the four-feet, the ones that fly, the ones that swim and the ones that crawl in this place holy and in harmony with you."

After a half hour I led us down the mountain in a glissade. The snow near the summit was still a bit icy, but it didn't stop us. Check out the video below for footage of what it was like:

One of my favorite alpine experiences is the Mt. St. Helens glissade - it should be on the bucket list of every Cascadian, alpinist or not. The descent was both rapid and epic. We blitzed down the side of the mountain and in the span of minutes dropped hundreds of feet, then thousands. Overall we were able to glissade about 4,000 vertical feet divided into several sections. Here's one of the highlights:

At one point we sat for fifteen minutes absorbing the incredible scenery. Our new friends - the birthday serenaders - glissaded off to our right down a steeper route than ours. I think it's miraculous they weren't injured, but they seemed to be having as good a time as we were.

Eventually our glissade took us into the cloud bank, past the USGS station and all the way back to the base of the mountain.

By now we were ready to be back at the car, but I also think we were sad to end what had been a near-perfect day. The last stretch in the woods took a long time - it just kept going and going. Finally the solid snow turned to patches and then to dirt. And we emerged victorious at Marble Mountain Sno Park.

After stopping for a soda and to sign the climber registry at the Lone Fire in Cougar, we jetted home. Overall it had been a great day and an outstanding way for me to spend my birthday. Here are my takeaways:

1. Always, always, always use sunscreen. If you're going to climb a mountain, bathe in it the night before. Unless you have a phobia of clowns, turn your skin white with its eye-stinging magnificence. I chose poorly and my face burned so bad that people stare at me when I walk on the street. And my lips are cracked and bloody. I haven't seen her since, but I think Liesl had a bad sun day as well.
2. Always do something epic for your birthday. Normally I just go to work and then go out to dinner. Maybe if it's a weekend I'll do something else. Fuck it - from now on I'm going to do something amazing each year. I couldn't have asked for anything more fulfilling and zen than to go climbing with friends on one of the hallowed landmarks of the Northwest.
3. Climb with your good friends. I've enjoyed everyone I've ever gone climbing with. But there's something to be said about climbing with great friends that you have a lot of previous shared experiences with. That way it seems less odd when you start quoting fragments of The Big Lebowski or get into an arcane argument about the capabilities of different fighter jets (both happened).

That's all I got. Pentaquest 2011 is officially underway with Mt. Shasta coming up on June 24-25 and Mt. Hood on June 30. Game on!