The May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens is etched into Pacific Northwest history, but few experienced it quite like those who were high on the slopes of neighboring peaks that morning.
Earlier this season, Into the Crater Hike participant Melanie Glock shared her dad's story of an unforgettable day on Mount Rainier. On May 18, 1980, a group of climbers was ascending to the summit, unaware of what was about to unfold. Melanie kindly sent us his full account, along with original photos taken by one of his climbing partners, Andy Cox.
Here’s the story in her dad's own words:
"There were five in our group, including Andy. Saturday was a sunny, hot day as we left the Paradise ranger's hut with our climbing permit. With the heat and packs that probably weighed 60-70 pounds with all the climbing gear, we took it slow up to Camp Muir. After a rest there, we continued across the Cowlitz Glacier to Cathedral Rocks and went through Cathedral Gap onto the Ingraham Glacier were we set up camp at about 10,700 feet.
We got up around 2 AM but were very slow to have something to eat and get geared up to start, so it was 3:50 AM by the time we left camp. If we could have gotten going in an hour, we probably would have made the summit. We zig-zagged across the Ingraham to avoid crevasses, which also slowed us down. After four and a half hours we stopped when one of the guys’ crampon straps came untied, so we all took a break for water and a snack. By this time we were above the Nisqually Cleaver and had a clear view of Mount St. Helens. Andy wisely took out his camera to take pictures just as we noticed it was starting to erupt. Since the eruption was on the north flank, it didn't take long for the mountain to be obscured behind the ash cloud. Andy took those pictures pretty quickly. Surprisingly, I don't recall hearing the boom, but maybe I was too absorbed in watching to recognize it.
We stood there for a long time watching, and soon several parties that were ahead of us started down and passed us. We debated a while about what to do (I was ready to continue), but as the cloud came our way, there were big thunderheads and lightning. So, realizing that we were good lightning targets, we decided it was best to head down. It didn't take long to drop behind Gibraltar Rock, where Mount St. Helens was out of our view, so we really didn't know the extent of the eruption. As we got closer to camp, I could hear what sounded like sleet landing on my jacket, but the ash was not thick enough to see it in the air. When we got to camp, we lounged around for a long time. I think we were about the last ones off the route. There was still no heavy ash in the air but when we took the tents down you could see clear snow under them while there was a light covering of ash around them.
After we got going again and reached Cathedral Gap, and could see south, the scene really changed. Pretty soon we covered our noses and mouths with handkerchiefs. By the time we got to Camp Muir, it was really dark with the ash cloud, and it got heavier down to Paradise.
Probably the best decision I made for this trip was to take a ride instead of driving. As we left the Paradise parking lot, the ash was really heavy, and it was so fine it flowed inside the car from all the seams and gaps around the dash."
Although their summit bid was cut short, the group returned home safely, carrying with them memories of a front-row seat to history.
