Blast: My Return to Mount St. Helens

By Jeffrey H Ryan

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted with fury. Triggered by the largest landslide ever recorded, a devastating lateral blast blew off the entire northern side of the volcano. Searing hot gasses, traveling at 650 miles per hour, scorched trees nearly twenty miles away. The mountain instantly lost 1300' in elevation. A slurry of mud, ash and melting ice inundated the landscape, which was then buried in 540 million tons of ash, and fifty-seven people lost their lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543923810

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© 2018 Jeffrey Ryan. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. All photos (unless otherwise noted) are ©2018 by Jeffrey H. Ryan. ISBN (Ebook) 978-1-54392-381-0

Contents

Dedication

The Blast

My first glimpse of Mount St. Helens

The 1987 Climb

A Plan Takes Shape

Exploring the Blast Zone

The 2017 Climb

Exploring the Recovery Zone

Epilogue

Tips for Visiting the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Other books by Jeffrey H Ryan

About the Author

"First there is a mountain

Then there is no mountain

Then there is."

Donovan

Dedication

To my friends Ed Cardali (who joined me on my first climb of Mount St. Helens in 1987), Mick Fenn and Paul McDonald (both of whom were with me for the hike across Washington state on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1983).

Mountains and friendship are the ingredients that create enduring memories. I am grateful for the good times we have shared on the mountains and trails.

Mick, Paul, the author and Ed on the morning after the 2017 climb. The log mat floating on Spirit Lake and Mount Margaret are in the background.

Special thanks to Jeff Woodbury for designing the maps used in this book.

The Blast

On the morning of May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted with fury. Three significant episodes occurred in the first few minutes of the event. In the weeks leading up to the blast, scientists observed a growing bulge on the north side of the mountain. Magma pushing toward the surface expanded the height of the bump as much as five feet per day. All the while, steam periodically spewed from the top of the mountain, leading experts to believe that when and if there were a major eruption, the direction of the blast would be straight up (the way most volcanoes had been known to erupt).

But Mount St. Helens was different. The reason was that the blast was preceded by the largest landslide ever recorded. Triggered by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake, more than a cubic half mile of earth and ice tumbled off the mountain at speeds of 60 miles per hour. The immediately weakened side of the mountain could no longer hold back the pressure that had been building inside. The lateral blast of rocks and searing hot gas exploded out over the landscape at an estimated speed of up to 650 miles per hour, killing everything in its path. Ash continued to pour out of the mountain for hours, building a cloud 12 miles high and 45 miles across.

The devastation was immediate and nearly unfathomable. Millions of giant Douglas firs were felled in seconds. The lush green and vital landscape that existed just seconds before was obliterated, much of it buried forever under 540 million tons of ash.

The loss of human life on May 18, 1980, was also significant. Fifty-seven people died as a direct result of the eruption including the irascible Harry R. Truman, the 83-year-old owner of Spirit Lake Lodge who refused to leave his beloved home and 30-year-old volcanologist David A. Johnston who had reluctantly filled in for a colleague at an outpost called Coldwater II located six miles