On the last weekend of no permits a weather window opened up for an overnight hike & early morning activation of Mt St Helens. The trail was covered with snow to the parking lot. I hit the trail at 1:20am and made good time to chocolate falls on skis. Somewhere heading up the ridge I had to make the switch to bootpacking the skis. Heavier backpack, but faster travel overall.
NOTE: This route is only available during ski operations of Mt Bachelor Resort. The Summit Chair ski lift only runs during winter and spring ski operations.
Mount Bachelor offers one of the easiest 10-pointers in Oregon, if you want it. It is possible to buy a lift ticket and take the Summit Chair ski lift nearly to the activation zone. It is only a short hike to the summit proper from the top of the lift.
The gate just past the Mount Bachelor ski area on the Cascade Lakes Highway opened just two weeks ago Friday - there is still plenty of roadside snow on the five miles from the ski area to the Devil's Lake trailhead. There's some shoulder cleared near the trail and a bit of space at the entrance to the trailhead parking lot - we bivyed there in the vehicle for the night and got ourselves up at 4am for a 5am start. There is no trail sign or anything to indicate where the trail starts - we scoped it out for bootprints in the snow during the last of the daylight the night before.