Mount St. Helens: Climbing and Skiing an Active Volcano

[@BearPlane747]

I've been binge re‐watching your videos lately, and I can't thank you guys enough. Your videos gave me so much motivation to get in better shape and start climbing, and just last week I finally summited Adams, and 2 weeks before that I summited Helens! You guys deserve so much more recognition than you get, the quality of your content is next level. Thank yall so much.

[@jasonthomas16]

Epic. You guys need to be more famous. Love all of the videos

[@MediocreAmateur]

Thanks. I'd settle for free gear.

[@foxyMamaIdaho]

@@MediocreAmateur How about free babysitting offers. BTW...nothing was more odd than traveling back to Tacoma from SDSU through the "snow storm" of ash which acted as a blizzard covering cars (clogging important engine parts) and roadways as we drove north on I-5 or seeing plumes of white floating up through blue skies from the 5th hole of the golf course. And the glee of a Geology professor who spent every class touching on every minute new update on the explosion. Hurrah...and remember, we were told, to park your car inside unless you want the finish ruined. Greeeeaaat.

[@gregmaino178]

I really don't know why you guys don't have more subscribers... Thank you for sharing!

[@chandrashekard.7543]

We need to share this with friends and family, that's the best way to support them. Hard work will eventually pay off.

[@MountainHobbler]

i HAVE BEEN SAYING THE SAME THING.

[@pappisto]

chandrashekar D. note that these guys don’t monetize their channel... as they likely don’t need to.

[@mtbyumyum]

Some of my favorite channels are practically invisible.... KZbin is a funny thing... it's not always the production and film quality that gets the subs/views...

[@slacker697]

i think the same every time i watch one of their videos.

[@aspenandstuff]

I’m here from News AF and a lifelong PNW resident. I’ve seen more of my surrounding area on these videos than ever before in real life. Too much adventure and vascular strength for me but I really love the videos.

[@TheGingerRunner]

Keep this shit comin'. Such crispy and dynamite footy. Stellar work, gents!

[@deannilvalli6579]

For me this is a particularly good episode. I had thought Mt St Helens was no longer accessible for non-scientists, but apparently that is no longer true. I remember when it erupted when I was a child. What an amazing thing to see, before, after, and now so many years later. Just amazing.

[@stephenchipman7888]

Great videos. Grandfatherly advice I know you'll always be careful and hope you have lots of life insurance. Also, have you guys heard of he Ptarmigan Traverse in the north Cascades south of Cascade Pass in Washington? About thirty miles, more or less, if you don't try for any summits in the summer you could probably make it a long day in the summer. Fastest known time I've seen is about 14 hours. If you look up videos of it, it is an awesomely gorgeous area, don't know why it didn't get included totally in the national park.

[@Di-zl6hg]

The music included in your videos are so soothing I can watch your climbs and hikes all night :) it’s relaxing and inspiring. Thanks for all the work you put into this. Let alone LITERAL work out in the mountains lol stay healthy , safe, and happy guys!

[@megganwaterbury]

Love all your videos, you guys have inspired my husband and me to start summit hikes. We did our first one Mt St Helens two weeks ago. Started at 0345 and reached the summit 0900. It was amazing. So many more to do. Love your videos. You all are awesome!!!

[@Shawn-wt4kh]

Just watched a documentary about the mountain, so I had to follow it up with re-watching you guys skin up and ski down it.

[@RubberDuckyTheOne]

The moment I clicked I was waiting for Danny's humor commenting on the eruption, and it did not disappoint lmao

[@MrSmokensurf]

I don’t care how y’all did it, that drone footage is TREMENDOUS

[@gilligansisle6914]

That looks like an awesome ski and view coming down! The wind and snow blast curling over the rim looked really cool! Thanks again Danny for always sharing. It was great to watch!

[@tombordenave6817]

I’ve been skiing for over 50 years and I love living vicariously through you guys. Man I wish I could still do that.

[@paullankford1449]

Another awesome video. Mountain weather is so crazy, but that just adds to the adventure aspect. Thanks for sharing your adventures . Me and my boys always look forward to seeing y'alls videos.

[@paghal11]

The mustache provides much needed traction if you face plant. In all seriousness, that was a great video. I hiked up on the 30th and it was moderately legit. I walked down, but I wish I'd had my skis. Weather was warm, no wind. Beautiful views.

[@fabiogarbin2275]

Wow ski crampons, didn’t know they existed.. great videos. Thanks guys

[@markclowdus3834]

When you get off the gondola at the top of Mammoth ((11,053) ft all by itself) you get wind that blows right through you. Once you past the lip, all is well. Thank you for these videos. I get tired from skiing. Can't imagine having to hike it all first.

[@MountainHobbler]

KZbin PLEASE GIVE US THE ABILITY TO LIKE A VIDEO MORE THAN ONCE.

[@saltydog6241]

I hate the thousands that watch and don’t bother to like.

[@zulu6ix290]

Salty Dog sometimes I’ll watch while doing something and it auto plays through so some vids go with mout the like. I think that might explain the like the watch ratio of these quality vids

[@mtbyumyum]

Great video guys, tough conditions to be filming... thanks for taking us along for the ride!

[@corbancocanour1229]

The quality is amazing!!!! Keep it up. You guys should have a million subs

[@mycroft16]

This mountain taunts me from my in-laws house in Vancouver, WA. This one is on my bucket list, because active volcano. We were actually living up there while it was last erupting. Was kind of cool seeing the plumes of ash over the mountain. I can't believe the winds up that ridge.

[@FelixSchlegelMusic]

This footage and content is straight away top notch. Thanks!

[@adventureswithdipsy]

As a Geologist and Ski Mountaineer, this ticks ALL the boxes for me!! 👍😄

[@edwardlobb931]

We really get a sense of scale - thank you, Great photography and sense of being there.

[@jayphilipwilliams]

7:20 Just awesome seeing the wind come over that lip. Beautiful drone footage and I'm glad you go to the trouble of photographing everything. The shooting and editing are a LOT of extra work, but it's worth it!

[@ilrin]

Wow such beautiful shots!

[@timothyheinz5693]

Music is really on point! Really got a great brand going!

[@diegom1072]

Wow, this channel is very high quality! Definitely will blow up.

[@steventhaw3765]

Superb effort and courageous skiing in that gale! Would be a great tele ski in nicer conditions! Take Care. Steve, Moraga, CA

[@rixplace1374]

I just discovered your climbing vids. sooooo envious of you and your partner. I got started 15 years ago in Colorado while visiting a bud who taught courses with OutWard Bound.Was Majorly Hooked.My ultimate goal was to climb Kilimanjaro after reading Michael Chrichtons Book called Travels..I summited Kili Sept 11,2005. One year to the day later I summited My St Helens.Spectaculary beautiful day Sunny blue skies,warm temps, just a tiny amount of glaciers remained.Started @ 6:30 AM to the craters edge @Noon,An hour for rest and food and back at the parking lot @ 7PM.Took maybe 2 days for my legs to recover. You and your partner have fantastic legs.A year later I went back to the PAC NW to do more climbing.Rainer was our goal.The first attempt in July we got an hour out of Camp Muir, and the guide had us build an ice and snow wall to protect the small group from the wind which was blowing 80+.The guide ultimately convinced us to retreat downward, smart decision.Groups after ours said the weather down was rain, ice, sleet, blinding snow very high winds

[@AndreasWettainen]

Amazing how awesome you are filming this! 👊⭐

[@area51r]

you always make it look sooooo easy.

[@TheAdmiralBDL]

Great video bro

[@matthewsbc]

Those shots skiing through the spindrift like it's a tunnel - great shots 👌🏻 I've done that hike twice in the winter and it was super windy both times. Most people just turn around at the crater edge and consider it a summit versus facing that spindrift sandblast to the face! Love the vids guys - giving me inspiration for some different climbs.

[@SomeDudeSomewhereOverThere]

Love these videos. That drone was holding steady in those winds. Impressed

[@kilo11881]

I'm so glad I found your channel. Excellent work!!

[@billmckessy1930]

I love this drone footage, y'all got great weather.

[@k2thah286]

Flying drones is illegal here. Just FYI.

[@michaelfitzgerald434]

You guys are tough! Amazing footage. Amazing athletes.

[@Dontworryaboutanything]

Ha I just booked my room at the fir lodge a couple hrs ago. I recognize the walls from their website. Stoked to give Helen’s a go. Gonna watch the vid

[@danjf1]

A whole day of hiking for 5 min of skiing :-) peace be the journey!

[@jbwads2001]

How is it possible to fly the drone in so much wind? I'm asking for a friend…

[@MediocreAmateur]

Tell your friend it's not always wise to fly in high wind. It almost didn't get back to me due to it's limitation when flying into a head wind. I had to fly it almost ground level and wait for breaks in the wind to get it back.

[@bennettdarren]

Also tell your friends not to fly drones in no fly zones Page 6 and map on page 7. Even if it was allowed it is very irresponsible to fly in those winds and over the crater. You would of had no way to recover if it went down in the crater. www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd544862.pdf

[@recasper55]

@@bennettdarren Agree ! Watched a fair amount of their videos & some of the drone footage is DEFINITELY in a no fly drone zone but I doubt they will reply......

[@MB-ln9nv]

recasper55 what drone 😎

[@theworldhiker1]

Always love your videos! Always an epic adventure ⛰❄️

[@3Elements]

Literally getting barrelled in a snow wave at that top. What a sick shot and situation.

[@christalley6946]

The oatmeal was the gnarliest part

[@gualdus]

Impresionantes imágenes, y gran actividad.En una ventisca así es muy complicado una ascensión con esquís sin quitarse las focas y calzando crampones .Os merecéis más suscriptores 👍🏻

[@cynthiaschwartz559]

Great Video, love it!!!!

[@harrisonaero]

Nice job guys :)

[@timsvedin8877]

Looks like a sufferfest with that wind! We were on Hood last week with 40 MPH winds up top. Miserable but fun.

[@MediocreAmateur]

We must have just missed each other. We skied Hood the next day (March 19th). It was windy but awesome.

[@timsvedin8877]

@@MediocreAmateur ahh we were up on the 18th. You climb through the pearly gates? Some good ice in there right now. Cheers!

[@whollymary7406]

Most of the mountains in the cascade range are active volcanoes like Rainier, Shasta, St Helen’s, The Cascade Arc includes nearly 20 major volcanoes, among a total of over 4,000 separate volcanic vents including numerous stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, lava domes, and cinder cones. The present day Cascadia volcanoes are young in geological terms, with most of the present-day Cascade less than 2,000,000 years old, and the highest peaks less than 100,000 years old. Twelve volcanoes in the arc are over 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in elevation, and the two highest, Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta, exceed 14,000 feet (4,300 m).

[@leannevandekew1996]

My bro and I would climb St. Helens as a warmup climb for Rainier. My freshman year in college, we did St. Helens late, in June. At the summit there were all these blue, green, yellow and brown patches. There is red snow in the PNW. I thought how cool, it isn't just a red algae. Digging deeper, I found it was human shit and toilet paper. As his Eagle Scout project, my brother proposed removing it all. The Forest Service said there were tons. I wondered how it would be removed. The day she blew up. I knew.

[@blkcoupequattro]

Skied Ruapehu volcano on the North Island New Zealand in July 2005 hiked the last 2,200 feet from the top of lift, few years later ash eruption, and pretty large lahar happened, that volcano has pretty accurate timing last two times 10-15 years apart...

[@gogerwi]

You guys are awesome!!!!

[@philperson9896]

Epic! You guys hit that last week? In Seattle it hit 75 degrees which was the hottest day in winter ever for the area

[@MediocreAmateur]

Yup last week. I was blown away with how warm it was. Made for an awesome time.

[@mikemetz82]

I need this soundtrack please for my stair climbing sessions. Link to purchase? Absolutely amazing video as always gents.

[@joshuajubb7950]

You guys are my perpetual inspiration. Keep it up! I am curious about a ski pack video what volume, contents and why?

[@codyrayl6629]

I'm inspired to go on an adventure each and every time I watch one of your videos! How did you guys get the smooth drone video with such high winds? Each time I break out my drone in high winds, the resulting video is a mess... Please keep putting up rad content! Easily one of my favorite channels on KZbin!

[@MediocreAmateur]

The smooth shots were all taken as the drone was flying downwind. Every now and then it would lurch or stall when the wind would pick up or die down but for the most part is was consistent. The early morning drone shots were more difficult because the wind was swirling and about half the footy was unusable.

[@shawnal3027]

Great footage! BTW Mount Jefferson and Mount Adams are considered active as well, so I guess you have skied a few active volcanoes! Nice work, Mount Baker or Rainier next?

[@MediocreAmateur]

Both Rainier and Baker are on the list.

[@kelleybayern7656]

Been binging all your adventures lately. Excellent shots! How are you getting the permission to fly your drone?

[@gregorylouie3065]

Sweet dudes. I'm climbing at the end of April and am stoked. Do I need ski crampons to do this hike? What about the avalanche pack? Necessary for the hike?

[@MediocreAmateur]

We definitely used our ski crampons. Probably not an avalanche pack unless the mountain gets hit with a lot of snow right before your hike.

[@matwylie793]

Great videos guys, keep it up!

[@timjones8837]

Fantastic!

[@leondevries6952]

Best channel there is! Keep it up!

[@rellify3]

this channel is for sure going to blow up

[@BackcountryRenegade]

Great vid. Cool yall got a drone permit for this o film those shots. How yall swing that?

[@KG-sy2vs]

When one run is more than enough 😂 truly an epic run

[@jacobnigro9335]

Wow, so windy. When I summitted in early March, it was windy like this, but the windy just stopped at around 7000 ft, and the top was perfectly calm.

[@MediocreAmateur]

That sounds so nice. I would have loved to have chilled on the summit.

[@jacobnigro9335]

@@MediocreAmateur we stayed up there for like an hour and a half. My buddy even flew his drone! The only downside was that were up there so long that it was dark by the time we got back down and only had one headlamp for 5 people.

[@joshua4625]

holy smokes the shot at 5:35 is unreal....like something out of a science fiction movie or some old, balls out expedition/first ascent still from the 1800's

[@danieljensen2626]

Great minds think alike, I was gonna suggest you do Hood. I climbed it and had a lot of fun, but really wish I had skis for the way back down. Especially because once you get out of the crater the skiing would be nice and easy. Is there an advantage to sticking with ski crampons rather than just taking off the skis and using regular crampons? Seems like that would be easier when it gets steep. Although with the wind maybe having your skis up in the air wouldn't be so good.

[@MediocreAmateur]

Exactly! You nailed it with the wind catching your skis. Most of the time we try to stay on our skis because that's just the easiest way to get them up the hill.

[@Volcanobrew]

Amazing guys! Hey what cover/skin do you use on and around your lens to keep it in a working temperature?

[@wayphun72]

I hiked up that baby and had the same experience you both had, except no skis.

[@traviss8354]

Awesome video! I'm very impressed with how good the drone footage at the top is, considering those winds. Ever consider going to Goat Rocks Wilderness? If you're up in Washington again its definitely worth a visit, just a stunning place. The main ridge line there is about 8 miles as the crow flies, could make for a good traverse.

[@MediocreAmateur]

Just checked it out. Are you saying traverse that ridge that summits Old Snow Mountain, Ives peak and Gilbert Peak?

[@traviss8354]

@@MediocreAmateur Yeah, that's the one, Johnson Peak is the far NW peak and Gilbert Peak is at the SE end. The PCT runs right up by the top of Old Snowy Mountain and I've been up there so I know that one is easy to get on top of. As far as the rest of the ridge I couldn't tell you, could be awesome, could be horrendous. But I feel like that's kind of the heart of Mediocre Amateur, the never knowing how happy or frustrating the journey will be ;)

[@jorgehernandez2938]

Awesome video. How did you guys gain the stamina to do these climbs? Was it gradually bigger and bigger climbs? Or did you start off by doing some kind of training?

[@chandlerbrown3172]

Whatever happened to the Shasta video? That was the first video of yours I watched and I was instantly hooked on your channel, and also I live near Shasta, I would love to see that vid again. Almost feel like I just hallucinated the vid then suddenly your channel was showing up in my feed lmao

[@Gounemporos]

Nice work Guys really .I wont to ask you how can you make thiw awesome shots with drone with so much winds?

[@igot99problemsbutmyaltaint81]

You are a boss. Eatting that oatmeal:-p

[@katelynschoedl]

Wowie the footage from 3:00+ is insane

[@nickgerstenlauer4111]

Are there any videos where they show/discuss their mountaineering gear?

[@drewwatts2803]

Dang guys. Mustaches are spreading! Danny gonna show up in the next video with one too?

[@MediocreAmateur]

My mustache would be ashamed to show itself around Matt and Christof's

[@ZachTolar0313]

Hey I just did Saint Helens on March! What day were you up there? I was on the 21st. Great video! Love the drone shots flying over the rim.

[@MediocreAmateur]

Just missed you. This was on the 18th of March.

[@Groots22]

What cameras and hardware did you use for this video?

[@eddiejackson4630]

he’s getting to his wrestling weight. no way this guy wrestled as well that would make him the athlete of the century oh my god

[@cyclox73]

So rad! Will you be releasing a Hood video too?

[@MediocreAmateur]

Just posted it. My turnaround is usually two weeks per video.

[@cyclox73]

Watched it this morning. So good!

[@PhilippKlein]

Amazing! Thx to your video, I just added skiing on an active volcano to my bucket list! What drone did you use?

[@MediocreAmateur]

Mavic Pro 2 and I can't recommend volcano skiing enough.

[@igorgalindogonzalez6950]

You are they Best of they best

[@TheParamike]

I couldn't read all the comments but how did you manage to launch the drone in those conditions?

[@rafaxddant936]

imagine accidentally slipping on the icy snow close to the peak and start to slide all the way to the bottom

[@fdrico9889]

I'm curious about how you guys record from so many different angles? Who us operating the drone?

[@blkcoupequattro]

looks like decent corn heading down after dust on crust...

[@adventurepastor8195]

Great to see my state! Great videos. What cameras/drone do you use?

[@southwestxnorthwest]

I climbed it on memorial day of this year and the weather fucking SUCKED. As a matter of fact, its sucked ass every time I go hiking or climbing this summer. I'm so jealous of these guys

[@luc4662]

I’m curious: for a shot like at 5’22’’, how do you record and synchronize the sound? Do you carry a separate microphone?

[@patrickprice3230]

Hey thanks for leaving the microwave clean

[@padodgrie2242]

Are drones legal on St Helens since it’s Federal land? Not a Karen, asking cus I’d love to bring mine up there.

[@venomfu007]

7:20 what a shot

[@Shin_Godzilla7289]

mt st helens,mt rainier,mt hood,mt jeferson,mt shasta,mt baker,denali,mt adams,mt fairweather,mt drum,mt sanford, mt jarvis,peters dome

[@weouthereadventures7708]

what kinda drone you using tho?

[@thebucketlist5061]

How high of winds does that drone work in? That's nuts

[@fouglasdir]

Nice video. Do you recommend the Fischer AT set up?

[@MediocreAmateur]

I would. I've found that it ski's pretty well in most conditions and you can find the ski for cheap if you look around.

[@cnuila]

+1 on the setup. The Travers Carbon boot is the real star of the show. At 1 Kilo it skis like a much burlier boot due to its high cuff and non-flexing sole.

[@fouglasdir]

@@cnuila Thank you, good to know.

[@fouglasdir]

@@MediocreAmateur Thanks, good to know.

[@justinbayola]

you may be an amateur, but that 'stache is fekin professional!

[@MediocreAmateur]

Ha! It sure is.