Goal #94) Climb Mount Saint Helens

Today I accomplished one of my greatest & most challenging goals on my list, summiting Mount Saint Helens.

After registering for our climb we set up camp at Climber’s Bivouac, a small base camp at the foot of the mountain.  I began to cook spaghetti on the campfire (who says you can’t eat well while camping?) when a stranger wandered into our campsite looking for conversation.  He turned out to be a well seasoned climber who was more than happy to share his experiences and knowledge of climbing.  After an hour of conversation he was on his way and assured us we would see him on the mountain.

As the sun began to sink behind the mountain & the campfire slowly dimmed we decided it was time to try to get some sleep before our early morning.  Soon after settling in we realized that it wouldn’t be a comfortable night as it was incredibly cold.  I suppose we should have figured as much since we had staked our tent into a pile of snow.  I was finally able to fall asleep when our cell phone started beeping.  Low battery.  Now I had to try and fall asleep again & manage to wake up without an alarm.

A few hours later the sun was just beginning to cast its warm rays across our tent, time to wake up.  We cooked a quick breakfast of oatmeal, changed our clothes and strapped on our backpacks.  We were on our way.

The climb started with a walk through the woods where we were soon greeted with a beautiful view of Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson in Oregon and Mount Adams in Washington.  As we broke through the tree line we were welcomed by a huge mountain, one which we would soon be climbing.  We trudged across the snowfield and began our ascent.

We fought through snow and ice, rocks & boulders and dusty ash trails for about 6 hours until we FINALLY made it to the summit of Mount Saint Helens.  The work was worth the reward of sitting at the top of the crater rim looking out at Mount Rainier in the distance.  We stayed at the summit for about half an hour before beginning our descent.

On the way down we scrambled down the boulder fields and once we neared the bottom of the mountain there was a snow slide which we slid down on our butts to reach the bottom of the mountain.  Sliding through the snow was a much more efficient mode of travel not to mention quite fun, however we were soaked by the time we got done.

Once we reached camp we took a couple of minutes to relax before packing up camp and making our way down the road to Oregon.  Our total trip time was approximately 8 hours, not too bad for a couple of first time mountaineers!

It was very challenging to keep pushing towards the summit.  Your legs are practically screaming “I hate you!” with each step you take but no matter how much it hurt we had to keep going, it was so close & we knew how glad we would be once we reached the top.  I think it is like anything that we hope to accomplish, the closer we are to success the harder we push to make our goals a reality.

Whatever your mountain may be, no matter the challenges and difficulties which lie ahead, keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you will arrive at your destination.  Keep pushing ahead.

To see photos from my climb, visit my Flickr photo album.