Mt St Helens

Mt. St Helens May 1980 eruption was, to put it mildly, catastrophic, leaving 57 people dead, devastation for miles around and the mountain some 1,300ft lower, transformed from a classic cone volcano to a vast horseshoe of cliffs around a central crater in which a vigorous new cone is now sprouting.

The mountain exploded after an earthquake and its entire north face collapsed, leaving massive desolate spill of rock and mud.

The easy walk is a trudge on a track around the back of nearby hillsides, with good views out over the surrounding hills (which are still covered in the bleached bones of the forests that were flattened in the blast- all lying in the same direction, a weird spectacle), then down the into spectacular if desolate bowl beneath the volcano proper. Once there, you can choose from a range of paths in this tough wilderness, but allow time to get back up the same trail you came in by.   

You can continue up the ridge from the drop-off into this bowl, to gain big views of the Cascades and across the huge bowl created by the explosion. 

You can also climb the demanding Monitor Ridge to high above the central crater. A long, tough climb (with no set route) on difficult surfaces, including snow. Dangerous high ridge, its top slippery above huge cliffs. Unpredictable weather. Permits are required and can be difficult to get (very hard for popular times). Start from Climbers Bivouae on the Ptarmagon Trail. See the excellent www.besthike,com for detailed information on the Monitor Ridge  climb and Mt. St Helens more generally.

Best book is the Falcon Mount St Helens guide by Fred Barstad.

To be expanded: suggestions please!