Free: Contests & Raffles.
If you do it in May I might join join y'all, I've been wanting to do this since I got here and this may be my last full year here
More power to you and if you go late May you probably won't need any extra gear. However if you shoot for April like your post said, then it is likely you would wish you had it.Like I said, we went April 15th last year and the snow drifts were 2-3 feet tall in the parking lot. Wind polished ice on the slopes and we had to cut our own steps in many places. Spring weather can change on a dime. Keep an eye on this site for Weatherhttp://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Saint-Helens/forecasts/2549here are our photos from April. One good storm and this is what June can look like on Helens.You should shoot for Adams in the Summer. Great hike.
Oh yeah, guy in our party lost his eyesight the day after that trip for nearly two weeks because he did not bring sunglasses. Said it felt like he had sand in his eyes for two weeks. Basically he sunburned his retina. He advised us this was not something we should strive towards trying out anytime soon.Bring those glasses back up there with you (and put on sunblock more than a couple times too)!
That picture is just plain nasty... Whenever I think I don't need a new coat of sunblock I think back on that photo!I didn't get it either till I went up Mt St Helens. Now I am hooked. Did Adams last year and Helens twice. Did the approach to Baker two times and poked around on the glacier. Now that was a rush! Whole new ball game.My buddies and I joined the Mountaineers and are taking the Basic climbing class. Starts on the 21st and we cannot wait. Our goal is to do Baker and Rainer this year followed by Glacier Peak next year. We want to get up Helens two times in the winter in prep. We might shoot for Adams again late summer if Baker and Rainer go well. The way the snow is this year though, who knows what the glaciers will be like.Make Adams a priority. Do it as a two day trip. one day to Lunch Counter, stay the night, then summit the next day and head all the way down.My buddies and I try to do an after work hike every week to get ready for climbing season. Between April and August last year we were able to get in one every week except for 2-3 where work got in the way. Amazing the difference it made, and we got to know our local peaks really well.If you want a good "test" for Mt St Helens, go up Mailbox a few times. if you can do that, Helens won't kick your butt too bad..http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mailbox-peak
St Helens has snow just like Baker!The point of the cross post was to illustrate how a snow field fall and slide can have significant consequences and how the proper gear to arrest a fall, or prevent it in the first place can save a helo evac