Into The Mouth Of Madness! I grabbed my gear and hiked to get the best view of the gaping maw of what 30 years ago was a pristine mountain peak! Using a good telephoto lens, we can look right into the huge crater. Remember, keeping a sense of scale, that we are looking from 5 miles away -- the lava dome alone is huge -- it is now about the height of the Empire State Building! Note the little patches of snow: my next trip will show the same scene after fresh snowfalls!