By Nathan Burroughs
Check out this Story Map Web App for a complete trip report of Nathan’s journey, featuring photos and specific site locations of all his ascents.
Ever since moving to Washington, the snow-covered peaks of the Cascade Volcanoes fascinated me. During a Whistler trip in December 2019, a few buddies and I began entertaining the idea of climbing all five of them. With a general background in the outdoors including surfing, backpacking, and snowboarding, the idea of summiting these magnificent, snow-capped mountains seemed preposterous. After taking the thought seriously and laughing it off, we put the idea on the backburner.
THE FIRST VOLCANO: MOUNT SAINT HELENS, LOOWIT, “THE EXPLOSIVE VOLCANO”
In March of 2020, after months of long, dark winter, the weather forecasts finally called for a sunny and beautiful weekend. With the ski resorts shuttered due to the threat of Covid-19, my friends and I got together on a Thursday, brainstormed ideas, recalled our Whistler discussion, and decided to attempt a summit of Saint Helens Saturday morning. Having never hiked in the snow before, my roommate and I rushed to Ascent Outdoors on Friday before closing to pick up crampons and ice axes, and the next morning we arrived at the Saint Helens trailhead just before sunrise.
The trailhead was packed and there was excitement in the air. To my pleasant surprise, I learned about a sweet phenomenon called a bootpack – as people hike through the snow, their footprints create a solidified trail through the snow so that following climbers don’t have posthole all the way up the mountain. This bootpack would continue all the way to the summit.
Our group crested the summit ridge of Mount Saint Helens six hours and 5,600 vertical feet after beginning our climb. The energy at the crater rim was amazing, as approximately 700 other climbers enjoyed their final taste of the mountains before the Covid-19 lockdown began.
After savoring our time at the summit, we glissaded down nearly the entirety of Mount Saint Helens, 5,000 vertical feet!
THE SECOND VOLCANO: MOUNT ADAMS, PAHTO, “THE FORGOTTEN VOLCANO”
My volcano buddies and I all ski or snowboard, but none of us had ever done any non-resort backcountry skiing. Nonetheless, we began thinking, “How sick would it be if we skied off the summit of Mount Adams, second tallest mountain in Washington?” Like previous outrageous ideas, thoughts turned to laughs, which turned to serious consideration, which finally turned to extreme dedication.
After camping out at the Mount Adams South Climb trailhead, we began the trek up at 4:00am the next morning, with snowboards and skis strapped to our packs. Around noon, after six miles and 6,600 vertical feet, we were standing on the summit of Mount Adams, with epic views of Mount Rainier, Mount Saint Helens, Mount Hood, and Mount Jefferson.
In the spring, once the snowpack consolidates, it goes through a steady melt-freeze cycle. During the day, the sun’s rays slowly melt the top layer of snow, creating something called corn snow, which is a backcountry skiers’ dream. Eventually, the sun’s rays turn the corn snow into slush, which can be tougher to ski in. Come nightfall, the snow refreezes, and the cycle repeats. Since no one had descended yet, we were uncertain about whether the snow was still icy (as it was on the ascent) or soft corn. Nonetheless, the frigid wind forced our hand. We strapped in and around 1:00 pm we were the first group of skiers to descend the south face of Mount Adams. To our delight, we had perfect corn snow.
Turns were so soft and effortless it felt like cutting through warm butter. As a surfer, it was the closest I’d ever come to feel like surfing while snowboarding. The light snow from the previous day and perfect timing gave all three of us the best runs of our lives.
We still think it’s crazy that our first ever attempt at backcountry skiing was off the summit of Mount Adams. But that brings us back to an important lesson from this volcano saga: that each of us is capable of amazing feats, and we can’t let perceived difficulty or elitism scare us off (given that we recognize all dangers and consider all safety measures, obviously)!
THE THIRD VOLCANO: GLACIER PEAK, DAHKOBED, “THE REMOTE AND UNKNOWN VOLCANO”
After our successful summit of Mount Adams, only three Washington volcanoes remained: Rainier, Baker, and Glacier Peak. Although the lesser-known and least climbed of all the volcanoes, Glacier Peak turned into one of my all-time favorite expeditions. 36 miles, 10,000 vertical feet, endless snowfields and glaciated terrain, and two nights camping in the remote, pristine wilderness of Glacier Basin with sweet views of the peak. While most folks on the mountain were incredibly friendly, we did get scoffed at by a guide (who was leading a couple folks down the mountain after an unsuccessful summit) for, in his mind, not being prepared. His attitude reinforced our decision to do all these volcanoes unguided.
Since Covid-19 had shut down all the mountaineering courses in 2020, including crevasse rescue, this was the end of the road for us for the year. We would have to wait for the 2021 “volcano season” to finish the quest with Mount Baker and Mount Rainier.
