Kirsten, Steve, Brooke, and I had been planning on climbing Mount St. Helens on March 13th, but the avalanche danger was too high so we postoned the trip till the following weekend. After a week of nice weather, the avalanche danger was significantly lower, so we decided to go. Unfortunately Kirsten had to go to a conference in Phoenix and couldn't join us. So Steve, Brooke, and I drove down to the trailhead Friday night and camped out so we could get an early start. The climb is only 5 miles each way, but its 5,500 vertical feet, so we wanted plenty of time to reach the crater rim before the snow started getting too soft in the afternoon sun.
Saturday morning we hit the trail at 7:30, and after a couple quick breaks to take off layers or put them back on, we reached the rim of the crater shortly after noon. The view was great, but we didn't stay too long since it was cold and very windy. We got some pictures, and headed down a few hundred feet to get out of the wind and eat some lunch. On the way down, we glissaded as much as we could, so we made good time, and were back at the car two and a half hours after leaving the rim. It turned out to be a perfect day for the climb.