St. Helens’ Summit Tops In Popularity

Climbing

Mount St. Helens is the most-climbed peak in the country and second-most in the world behind Japan’s Mount Fuji, the U.S. Forest Service says.

About 2.7 million people visited the south and east sides of the Western Washington peak last year, a 60 percent increase from the year before.

Records show that more than 16,000 people registered to climb the mountain last year. The numbers have been rising every year since the mountain opened for climbing in 1986.

The elevation of St. Helens’ rim is 8,365 feet, which is 1,312 feet lower than it was before the 1980 eruption.

, DataTimes