Mothers Day permits and dresses were acquired for the yearly dress-up on Mt. St. Helens where climbers party both up and down, and in the parking lot. But mother nature had other plans for us. We reluctantly turned in our Mothers Day permits in favor of the possibility of better weather. The weather on May 17, our somewhat randomly chosen back-up date, turned out to be excellent although cold and icy conditions prevailed on the mountain. Mt. Rainier was visible to the north from as close to the corniced crater rim as we dared to safely venture, and Mt. Adams, Hood and so on to the south were visible as we climbed. Summiters were guests Deeshi Donnelly and Drew Huebsch along with members Cathy Lazarus and Mike Pennington, and co-leaders Garry Stephenson and Ellen Gradison.
