Mount St. Helens Mother’s Day weekend climbing permits for Saturday, May 9, and Sunday, May 10, are sold out.
In response to the more than 1,000 people who climbed on Mother’s Day last year and challenges of limited parking, increased resource damage and crowding that reduced climber safety, the U.S. Forest Service has set a 500 per day limit on climbing permits for the period from April 1 to May 14.
Mother’s Day weekend climbers will ascend the volcano on the winter climbing route out of Marble Mountain Sno-Park. The Forest Service is working on Forest Road 81-830 to Climber’s Bivouac and, if conditions permit, will open it by Mother’s Day weekend.
The status of road conditions and recommended access (Climber’s Bivouac vs. Marble Mountain Sno-Park) will be posted on the Mount St. Helens Climbing Update section of the Forest Service’s climbing website, http://goo.gl/zb11LK.
This winter’s poor snowpack and relatively warm temperatures means climbers should expect snow conditions to be similar to those experienced during an average mid-July. Climbers are advised to use extra caution on descent to avoid injury resulting from collision with exposed rock and other melt out features.
Between May 15 and Oct. 31, permits are limited to 100 per day to protect the volcano from overuse. From Nov.1 through March 31, permits are unlimited and climbers must self-register at the trailhead before climbing.
