Although it has been more than a quarter-century since the massive volcanic eruption of Mount Saint Helens on May 18, 1980, the mountain remains one of the best-known and most-climbed landmarks of the northwest.

Prior to 1980, Mount Saint Helens was 9,677 ft/2950 m high. This made for an interesting arrangement of the peaks in Washington: the five highest were all volcanoes, and the lowest volcano (Saint Helens) was just higher than Bonanza Peak (9511 ft/2899 m), the highest non-volcanic peak in the state. The eruption, however, ruined this nice dichotomy by blowing the top 1312 feet of the mountain, plus a good chunk of its core and north side, out into the sky as ash. Now Saint Helens is only 2550 meters high, dropping it from #5 to about #85 in elevation for Washington State.

Climbing permits are required year-round to climb above 4800 ft on the mountain. The permits cost $15 plus $7 service charge per person from April 1 to October 31. Climbing is limited to 100 climbers a day from May 15 through October 31. The maximum party size is 12 people.