Washington Volcanoes

Washington's five volcanoes

Washington has five major Cascade volcanoes, and climbing all five is the classic mountaineering goal in the Pacific Northwest. Mount Rainier at 14,411 feet is the big one — the most glaciated peak in the lower 48, a two-day climb via the Disappointment Cleaver or Emmons routes that most people do with a guide service, and the mountain that trained a generation of Everest climbers. Mount Adams, at 12,281 feet, is the gentle giant: a non-technical snow slog up the South Spur that's many climbers' first big volcano.

Mount Baker, up near the Canadian border, is a proper glacier climb with crevasse rescue skills required; the Coleman–Deming route is the standard. Glacier Peak is the remote one, hidden in the North Cascades with a 30-plus-mile round trip just to reach it, and the least-climbed of the five. Mount St. Helens is the easiest and the strangest — a walk up the Monitor Ridge route to the rim of the crater that the 1980 eruption blew open, looking down at a lava dome that's still growing.

Permits and seasons

All five need paperwork. Rainier requires a climbing permit and, in summer, a camping reservation at Camp Muir or Schurman. St. Helens permits are limited to 110 a day from April to October and sell out months ahead. Adams needs a Cascade Volcano Pass in season. The window for most of them is late May to September, with June and July the sweet spot between snow cover and crevasse hazard. Click a badge or its pin to mark a summit, again for want-to-climb.

The order most people climb them

St. Helens first: it's a long walk, not a climb, and the crater rim is an unforgettable introduction to what these mountains can do. Adams next, for a night at the Lunch Counter and a first taste of altitude and sun cups. Then Baker, which is where you learn rope work, and Rainier, which is where you use it. Glacier Peak last, because by then you'll want the solitude. The Mountaineers in Seattle and the Mazamas in Portland have been teaching the skills for a century, and their basic climbing courses are how most people in the Northwest get their first volcano.