Winter Climb of Mt. St. Helens

IG: @radishuprooted
In 1980 Mt. St. Helens, located in the Cascades between Portland and Seattle, erupted. The explosion collapsed the north face of the volcano, lowering the summit height by over 1000 feet. Now summiting Helens is a great entry into mountaineering and is the first volcano in the PNW that I climbed this winter. More volcanoes to come this climbing season!

[@jeffmckeown9639]

Its taught to have the ice ax spike away from you while glissading. Thanks for going over all the mountains and ranges at the top. Fun video.

[@aniamadamag]

Thank you! Beautiful video

[@creeks-and-peaks]

Wonderful video! I love the birds, both the aggressive little one and the vocal crow

[@connietorkelsen1808]

Beautiful scenery. Loved all the extra information you gave. Crazy Ukulady still Angeling.

[@RadishUprooted]

Hey glad to hear from you! Hope you’re doing great and are ready for a season full of dirty PCT hikers coming through!

[@fitnesswithana]

Beautiful day to do this. Thank you for sharing. How long did it take you to go up?

[@RadishUprooted]

Thanks! I think it took us about 5 or 6 hours of climbing, and maybe 3 hours of descending.

[@imag33]

What a great video! I just came across your channel and am excited to watch more. You do a good job mixing information with personality and beautiful shots. All while doing a legit hike! I’m taking notes for my videos. Shout out to Justin for doing Helens as his first hike 😂 ridiculous. Cheers!

[@RadishUprooted]

Hey thanks! I tend to drag Justin on most of my adventures, whether he fully wants to or not🤠 Happy hiking!

[@dianabosch3507]

Very nice video. I love the shots you selected and your voice is so perfect for narratives. Your a natural at this. I am curious What temperatures did you experience?

[@RadishUprooted]

Thank you! During the day it was a high of about 30 at the base elevation and about 22 at the summit. But the sun was super strong on the snow-it felt much warmer.

[@ClimbersJourney]

Great video and very detailed. did you just hike the beginning with micro spikes. I guess what I'm asking is did you end up using your snowshoes before changing into mountaineering boots and crampons? Thanks

[@RadishUprooted]

If I remember correctly, we brought snowshoes but didn’t end up using them. But I went back to ski Helens last month and floatation was absolutely necessary. It just depends on the conditions and time of year & day when you go. You can always bring them and stash them along the way if you don’t need them.

[@kelsiemurray8700]

We are planning for an alpine start 3-4am, so it'll be dark. Is the trail from the Sno Park to Chocolate Falls easy to follow and/or well marked? We are going next week. Beautiful video - I love your happy spirit in the mountains.

[@RadishUprooted]

Thank you and have so much fun! It’ll probably still be snowed over so I wouldn’t count on a trail. There’ll be a boot pack I’m sure, but make sure you are comfortable with navigating regardless. First light is pretty early now so you won’t be in the dark for long!

[@aracelyhenderson9442]

Hey Radish really cool video I know is gonna help me a lot! I have a few questions, and I hope you can answer me. 1.- How long was round trip, 2.- what to bring (food, and clothing), 3.- Is this a good time to go?

[@RadishUprooted]

Hey Aracely! My trip was about 11h round trip. You should bring a good layering system. Depending on the conditions, you can expect to go from sweating and sunny, to freezing and windy quickly. Check the forecast to see if there’s risk of whiteout conditions. Bring enough water and calories to sustain you for 11ish hours of strenuous physical activity. But it’s always a great time to climb Helens as long as the avalanche risk is within your knowledge/comfort zone! This time of year you need to be confident with winter mountaineering skills: crampons, snowshoes, avalanche awareness, and how to use an ice axe. Have fun!

[@aracelyhenderson9442]

@@RadishUprootedwhat time of the year do you best recommend to go? And thank you so much in advance for the great info!

[@RadishUprooted]

Depends on your experience with snow honestly. Winter/spring climbing is snowy, beautiful, intense, and risk involved. Summer climbing is greener, hot, dusty, but safer.

[@sail1884]

Nice video. Outside of microspikes/crampons, what kind of footwear did you use? Did you just have hiking shoes and gaiters, or some sort of boot?

[@RadishUprooted]

For this climb I used hard soled hiking boots because I was using crampons and they require a low/non flex sole. Otherwise I usually go with a just a trail runner and micro spikes if I can get by with that

[@Anne-fh6my]

if you had to set an age restriction for climbing mt st helens in the winter what would it be becausei might go climbing with a cousin up there but dont know if shes old enough...

[@RadishUprooted]

I couldn’t put an age on it. Everyone has different levels of risk tolerance. It all depends on the person, experience, teammates, and conditions. If it doesn’t feel right, then wait another season!

[@Anne-fh6my]

Okay thank you!@@RadishUprooted

[@lukelendvay]

I did the same route up it

[@yuliyanikiforets]

Planning to hike this in two weeks (early June), I’ve heard that glissading is still possible in some patches. Is an ice axe required? Any tips? Thank you!

[@RadishUprooted]

There was a ton of late season snow this year, so I’d imagine there’s snow down to the tree line still. Plenty for good glissading! That also means plenty to take a fall on and slide, so I’d probably recommend an ice axe and the skills to self arrest. That time of year, it’ll just depend on the day’s conditions whether crampons or microspikes would be more useful. It’s a beautiful, non-technical snowy hike-enjoy and start early! (Don’t forget it’s permit-only this season)

[@wildhuskystudio]

I planning on hiking as well in June 5th. If I were to be honest I’m nervous because this will be my first mountain hike. I been training physically for the hike but just trying to get some knowledge before hand as well

[@yuliyanikiforets]

True on the late season snow, I’ll gear up for full snow. I did research on ice axes last night and realized I have no idea what length I need. Any recommendations for someone 5.5 feet tall?

[@yuliyanikiforets]

@@wildhuskystudio I’ll be out there before you, for our permit date, so I’ll try to remember to come back here and comment on my experience and tips!

[@wildhuskystudio]

@@yuliyanikiforets Yes please! Thank you!

[@melaniepilande-santamaria9818]

Can u go up with just microspikes? Crampons really needed?

[@RadishUprooted]

It all depends on when you plan on climbing and the snow conditions at that time!

[@Myusernameistakenwtf]

What month was this?

[@RadishUprooted]

This was early March of 2021!

[@Myusernameistakenwtf]

@@RadishUprooted thank you!! Hoping to knock this out in February if we get a weather opportunity 🤞

[@KCCgoKartMAN]

@@Myusernameistakenwtf any update? I’m planning to be out there in a couple weeks