Mt. St. Helens Worm Flows ski descent

Overview: You begin your hike at the Marble Mountain Snow Park. In the attached gps track the road wasn't plowed all the way to the park so we started skinning on the forest road a couple miles before the actual parking area. This is a terrific ski descent in which you can keep your skis and skins on all the way to the rim of the blown out volcano. Then click your heels in or free-heel it down the worm flows back to the car. It is definitely a full day experience but is a good backcountry ski for beginners or those that don't like climbing steeps. Make sure to stay away from the volcano edge as people have definitely broken off overhanging cornices and have fallen in to their deaths.

Tips: $15 climbing fee required above 4800 ft from April 1 to Oct 31 . Free in the winter, but stay away from cornices at all times of years as people have fallen in! A Northwest Forest Pass is required for parking or a Snow-Park permit from November to April.

Directions to snow-park:
It is 13 miles east of Cougar. Take Lewis River Road (SR 503/USFS Road 90) to USFS Road 83 north to USFS Rd 8312. Continue up this road as far as it is plowed from the winter snow. The actual snow-park is at 2,700ft if you have an altimeter.