Mt. Olympus

[Wasatch Rebel]

On Friday, my friend Byron and I took on Olympus. He'd never done it, and I had never done it with snow, so it was a new experience for both of us. The hike was pretty routine up past the crossing of the first stream, but at about the 7000 foot level, we began hitting snow. For most of the rest of the way, we were hiking through about 3 feet of snow by my estimate. On the way up, it was hard enough that we strapped on our cleats and got pretty good traction, though it still took about five hours to struggle through it to the top...pretty exhausting. There were some hairy parts on the final approach too, as what wasn't covered with snow, had water running down it, so finding good footing was tough. There were several spots where the running water had undercut the snow, and that left some dangerous places to slip through if you weren't prepared for them.

The view from the top was spectacular. The mountains to the south, including the Twins vicinity were amazing. I'm sure my pics don't do it justice. We only stayed briefly on top as there was no bare rock to sit down on...still a lot of snow on top, though the north peak was probably 3/4 bare. It's melting fast up there though, as we found out on our descent. The snow had softened considerably and had become slushy. Our strap on cleats no longer helped us much, if at all. We were side slipping down the mountain, our legs plunging through the snow many times to bang against hidden rocks and branches. It was an ordeal that I'm still feeling...and I should've put on sun block as well!

I don't think I'll do that particular hike in the snow ever again, although I think this one time was well worth it. Heck, I had told a bunch of people I was never going to climb Oly again, but let myself get talked into it...I guess it wasn't really that hard to talk me into it since I was willing to use a vacation day to do so...there are just more mountains to climb and more trails to take that I haven't done, so why make more trips up one that I've done 7-8 times? Anyway, that's my experience with one of Salt Lake's most famous landmarks.
The wildflowers in bloom.

The upper portion of the trail had a lot of snow.

Me and my ugly mug up on top.

The view of Twins and Lone Peak areas were fantastic.

More beautiful views.

Looking back the way we had come.

[Wasatch]

Nice pics.

[accadacca]

Nice write up and you got some GREAT photos.

[Wasatch Rebel]

Nice pics.

Thanks. Glad you like them.

[Wasatch Rebel]

Nice write up and you got some GREAT photos.

Thanks.

[Jammer]

Cool stuff. I am up in SLC visiting and thought about going up Olympus on Friday as well -- then chickened out once I saw the amount of snow. Good job and thanks for the report.

- JG

[Iceaxe]

I love Oly with Snow!

[Wasatch Rebel]

Cool stuff. I am up in SLC visiting and thought about going up Olympus on Friday as well -- then chickened out once I saw the amount of snow. Good job and thanks for the report.

- JG

We talked to a couple of guys from Michigan up at the saddle, who were up there for the first time. And there were two twenty-something year old guys that got to the top just after us--and they were in shorts and athletic shoes.

[Wasatch Rebel]

I love Oly with Snow!

You'll have to give me some pointers as to the mistakes we made and how we could do it better if we did it again.

[Gambel Oak]

No mistakes, the mud and snow are just part of the territory this time of year. We headed up Saturday (not 20, running gear) and experienced the same conditions. It is a tradeoff, consolidated snow with no traction or soft snow and able to kick steps on the way up and post hole on the way down. I don't want to carry micro spikes so I'm okay with the soft snow.

[Iceaxe]

When I do it with snow I like an early start so the snow is hard/ice. I wear crampons and carry trekking poles/ski poles. I also always carry an iceaxe with spring mountaineering in the Wasatch. You also want gators to keep the snow out of your boots. Thats about all the secret stuff, the rest is just a lot of hard breathing.

[Wasatch Rebel]

When I do it with snow I like an early start so the snow is hard/ice. I wear crampons and carry trekking poles/ski poles. I also always carry an iceaxe with spring mountaineering in the Wasatch. You also want gators to keep the snow out of your boots. Thats about all the secret stuff, the rest is just a lot of hard breathing.

I guess my followup question would be, having never used crampons, how do you deal with them when you climb the rocks? Just find a place where you can take them off first?

[DOSS]

I guess my followup question would be, having never used crampons, how do you deal with them when you climb the rocks? Just find a place where you can take them off first?

For me it depends on how long I will be climbing the rocks and how much wearing them will impair my ability to be safe.. its a judgment call based on, Safety, Time, protecting your gear etc :)..

[Iceaxe]

Normally.... on Oly once the crampons go on they don't come off until you are back below the snowline.

[Gambel Oak]

Although not a full on crampon they can fit in a small pack and can get you through low angle or short steeper sections. You also still have the rand for edging on rock. http://www.kahtoola.com/microspikes.php. They are good enough in a lot of situations as long as you are using french technique (they don't front point). It is a trade off, or like DOSS said, "its a judgment call based on, safety, time, protecting your gear etc."

Different tools for the job. There are times when I want a crampon for security and other times when I want microspikes for weight and size. Borrow some gear and experiment. Used crampons are cheap over on Mountain Project in the classifieds, probably have to buy microspikes new.

[Wasatch Rebel]

Although not a full on crampon they can fit in a small pack and can get you through low angle or short steeper sections. You also still have the rand for edging on rock. http://www.kahtoola.com/microspikes.php. They are good enough in a lot of situations as long as you are using french technique (they don't front point). It is a trade off, or like DOSS said, "its a judgment call based on, safety, time, protecting your gear etc."

Different tools for the job. There are times when I want a crampon for security and other times when I want microspikes for weight and size. Borrow some gear and experiment. Used crampons are cheap over on Mountain Project in the classifieds, probably have to buy microspikes new.

I'm not familiar with Mountain Project. Do you have a link?

[DOSS]

I'm not familiar with Mountain Project. Do you have a link?

Mountainproject.com Great group of guys. KSL also has crampons all of the time just make sure they fit your boot. and I second the microspikes but you have to get up early to use them

[Iceaxe]

REI also rents crampons and ice tools. Anyone venturing onto steep snow covered slopes in the spring should carry an ice tool and the knowledge to self-arrest.

[xjblue]

Thanks for the report, I havn't been up yet this year. Another vote for loving that hike with the snow. Much easier to descend when you can glissade or simply sit down and slide when conditions are right. I've never felt a need for crampons until last year, I went up during a break between storms, the snow/mud lower down had melted in the warm sun as I ascended, the next storm rolled in and froze it back to ice. Felt like it took forever to get down tyring not to slip and break something. Another challenge that day, it was raining wet freezing snow out of the trees, every time it would drop right down the collar, burr. It's always one of the first hikes I'll do to kick off the start of each hiking season.

[Wasatch Rebel]

Hey, thanks for all the comments and the link to mountain project. And thanks for your good explanations and the ice tool vid, Ice!