I have a copy of the Beckey guide from the 1970's that describes pre-eruption climbing on St. Helens which has always intrigued me, but this report provides much more insight into what it was like. My mom got to climb it in 1979, the year before it blew, and she always says it creeps her out to think that the mountain completely destroyed itself so soon after she was there.
Thanks for putting this together. How lucky you were. I remember the first year I started mountaineering in 1982 I saw it on my way down to California. The eruption was such a monumentous event at the time.
I also stood on a mountain before it lost it's top. Mt. Cook in New Zealand had it's top fall off in 1991 in a catastrophic event.
Thanks Catamount, while I imagine thousands managed to scale the ancestral St. Helens it is nice to see my report in a prominent place like our respected SP. The pictures are scans of my slides, and yes, they came out pretty well!
Jake Robinson - Sep 10, 2012 11:14 pm - Voted 10/10
Fascinating!I have a copy of the Beckey guide from the 1970's that describes pre-eruption climbing on St. Helens which has always intrigued me, but this report provides much more insight into what it was like. My mom got to climb it in 1979, the year before it blew, and she always says it creeps her out to think that the mountain completely destroyed itself so soon after she was there.
JoelSkok - Jan 1, 2017 7:10 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Fascinating!Thanks Jake. Does not creep me out at all. I would have been brazen (and foolish) to infiltrate the red zone had I been around then. Or maybe not...
Harryk - Sep 12, 2012 12:11 am - Voted 10/10
Love it!Thanks for putting this together. How lucky you were. I remember the first year I started mountaineering in 1982 I saw it on my way down to California. The eruption was such a monumentous event at the time.
I also stood on a mountain before it lost it's top. Mt. Cook in New Zealand had it's top fall off in 1991 in a catastrophic event.
JoelSkok - Jan 1, 2017 7:06 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Love it!How many feet did Mt. Cook lose?
SonOfAJeffer - Nov 4, 2018 3:28 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Love it!About 30m
https://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2014/01/16/aoraki-mount-cook/
HungrySteve - Sep 19, 2012 11:16 am - Voted 10/10
AmazingThese pictures are quite something. Thanks for posting - it's a perspective that I've never seen before.
JoelSkok - Mar 20, 2013 5:19 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Great reportThanks Catamount, while I imagine thousands managed to scale the ancestral St. Helens it is nice to see my report in a prominent place like our respected SP. The pictures are scans of my slides, and yes, they came out pretty well!