Route Climbed: Mt Olympus Trail - Forgotten Arete - Summit Traverse - West Ridge Date Climbed: December 19th, 2004
This Tour de Olympus was excellent! Began at 6:30 am with Grandwazoo. Bagged the main summit, and 2 north summits on the circuit. The route made for a fun snowclimb.
We took the FUN way off of the main summit, which required that I use my rope and slings that I hauled up with me.
I fiddled around with this mountain during my youth in the 1950s but lost interest in it since it didn't have any distinct summit. In high school, I set out with Ronald Davis and an attractive female classmate, last name Satterfield. They got separated from me. I went on to the top alone and descended back to Wasatch Boulevard. Late that night at home, I got word that Davis and his girlfriend had not returned. Early the next morning I joined her worried father along with officers from the sheriff's department intent on sending up a rescue party. When we learned that they had returned home safely, her father broke down in sobs of relief.
The couple had spent the night high on Olympus snuggled together and feeding a camp fire. A reporter interviewed them at school a day later. A photograph of the couple appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. It showed them huddled around a school heater. The caption read "Baby, it's cold outside," the title of a song sang by Dennis Morgan to Doris Day in a 1950 movie.
I went on to climb more famous mountains such as the Grand Teton, Mount Rainier, the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Popocatepetl and Orizaba and above all, Huascaran. I'll always look back upon Mount Olympus with some affection and humor.
Route Climbed: Mount Olympus Trail Date Climbed: July 14, 2004
Left at 7 pm, summited at 8:45 pm, left summit at 9pm, and reached the car at 10:30 pm. Not bad considering that I did Sundial and the Cottonwood Ridge over to Dromedary the day before! I wonder how much more I can shave off the 1:45 summit time w/o running! Time will tell.
Ripley's Believe it or Not - Did you know that you can easily descend the Mt Olympus trail at night w/o using a headlamp??!!! If the sky is overcast, such as this last climb, the light pollution from the city lights the mountain well enough that a headlamp is useless!
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: 96,97,98,99,01,Jan 03
I have done this hike in every season and it is a fun warm up hike for bigger peaks as well as a great workout every time. I usually do this hike a few times per year and winter is my favorite month. I lost count after 10 summits, but I think I have been on top about 20 times. The most exciting trip was a winter ascent in 2003 when my friend Craig and I had the summit to ourselves.(See trip report)
- 1/17/2006- With Jun32. There was a lot of snow to deal with from the saddle to the summit.
- 4/16/2007- With Matt Van Horn.
- 6/17/08 With Matthew Van Horn, started at 9:00 PM and climbed the whole peak in the dark. On top just after 11:00 and this had to be one of the best hikes of Olympus for me. I had a great time. Home and in bed by 2:00 AM.
- 6/23/2009 2nd Annual Olympus night hike with Matt V. and Greg. We started at 9:00 PM and reached the summit just after 11:00 PM. Back to the car by 1:30 AM. The weather was almost perfect and we had a great time.
-12/18/2009 Had snow most of the way, but it wasn't bad until after the saddle, where we encountered some ice, and a lot of snow. Had to take care in a few spots, but nothing serious. Down and into work by noon.
- 3/4/2010- Before work with Zeejay. There was some ice in places, and I had a couple of bad falls. It snowed on top, but once we were back on the saddle it cleared up and was nice the rest of the way. Fun day.
-4/2/2011- With Matt V. Cold and windy on top, but a fun day.
-12/7/2011- With Matt Van Horn. Saw 6 mountain goats near the summit. Finished and then bagged Grandeur (up West ridge, down Church Fork/Pipeline) and then did Mt Wire. 11K elevation and 23 miles for the day. Triple up!
Route Climbed: North Face Date Climbed: June, 5th 2003
Great hike. Even better the 2nd time. I had plenty of water and got to the top in 3.5 hours. I wanted to climb to the south summit, but the chute on the south summmit was filled with snow and I didn't have an ice axe, so I had to come down the same way I did the last time.
Route Climbed: North Face Route Date Climbed: August, 2000
Very long and steep scramble. Makes the trail look like a piece of cake. Brought way too little water though. I've never gotten so dehydrated before or since.
PellucidWombat - Mar 7, 2005 10:48 am
Route Climbed: Guerts Ridge Date Climbed: March 5th, 2005Fun rock climb. The route is broken up by a number of class 2-4 sections, with occasional 5th class terrain.
5 roped pitches with sections of simul-climbing w/o pro.
Overall the route wasn't too committing or exposed. Definitely a good route to practice lead trad on!
Nate D - Mar 2, 2005 3:25 pm
Route Climbed: The standard trail Date Climbed: 1984-87I fine little peak, and so close to suburbia you can hear lawn mowers on the summit. Always wanted to do the west slabs.
GlennMerrill - Feb 27, 2005 8:29 pm
Route Climbed: West Slabs Date Climbed: Spring and summerSoloed many times. I prefer spring to take advantage of the snow in the gully leading to face.
PellucidWombat - Dec 28, 2004 5:56 pm
Route Climbed: Mt Olympus Trail - Forgotten Arete - Summit Traverse - West Ridge Date Climbed: December 19th, 2004This Tour de Olympus was excellent! Began at 6:30 am with Grandwazoo. Bagged the main summit, and 2 north summits on the circuit. The route made for a fun snowclimb.
We took the FUN way off of the main summit, which required that I use my rope and slings that I hauled up with me.
boojem - Dec 21, 2004 3:09 pm
Route Climbed: Tolcat's Date Climbed: numerousDone this one dozens of times, but never in the summer...I guess I should do the slabs route some day.
Nyle Walton - Nov 17, 2004 12:44 pm
Route Climbed: all sides Date Climbed: 1950sI fiddled around with this mountain during my youth in the 1950s but lost interest in it since it didn't have any distinct summit. In high school, I set out with Ronald Davis and an attractive female classmate, last name Satterfield. They got separated from me. I went on to the top alone and descended back to Wasatch Boulevard. Late that night at home, I got word that Davis and his girlfriend had not returned. Early the next morning I joined her worried father along with officers from the sheriff's department intent on sending up a rescue party. When we learned that they had returned home safely, her father broke down in sobs of relief.
The couple had spent the night high on Olympus snuggled together and feeding a camp fire. A reporter interviewed them at school a day later. A photograph of the couple appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. It showed them huddled around a school heater. The caption read "Baby, it's cold outside," the title of a song sang by Dennis Morgan to Doris Day in a 1950 movie.
I went on to climb more famous mountains such as the Grand Teton, Mount Rainier, the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Popocatepetl and Orizaba and above all, Huascaran. I'll always look back upon Mount Olympus with some affection and humor.
PellucidWombat - Jul 15, 2004 1:57 am
Route Climbed: Mount Olympus Trail Date Climbed: July 14, 2004Left at 7 pm, summited at 8:45 pm, left summit at 9pm, and reached the car at 10:30 pm. Not bad considering that I did Sundial and the Cottonwood Ridge over to Dromedary the day before! I wonder how much more I can shave off the 1:45 summit time w/o running! Time will tell.
Ripley's Believe it or Not - Did you know that you can easily descend the Mt Olympus trail at night w/o using a headlamp??!!! If the sky is overcast, such as this last climb, the light pollution from the city lights the mountain well enough that a headlamp is useless!
Scott Wesemann - Jun 10, 2004 2:05 am
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: 96,97,98,99,01,Jan 03I have done this hike in every season and it is a fun warm up hike for bigger peaks as well as a great workout every time. I usually do this hike a few times per year and winter is my favorite month. I lost count after 10 summits, but I think I have been on top about 20 times. The most exciting trip was a winter ascent in 2003 when my friend Craig and I had the summit to ourselves.(See trip report)
- 1/17/2006- With Jun32. There was a lot of snow to deal with from the saddle to the summit.
- 4/16/2007- With Matt Van Horn.
- 6/17/08 With Matthew Van Horn, started at 9:00 PM and climbed the whole peak in the dark. On top just after 11:00 and this had to be one of the best hikes of Olympus for me. I had a great time. Home and in bed by 2:00 AM.
- 6/23/2009 2nd Annual Olympus night hike with Matt V. and Greg. We started at 9:00 PM and reached the summit just after 11:00 PM. Back to the car by 1:30 AM. The weather was almost perfect and we had a great time.
-12/18/2009 Had snow most of the way, but it wasn't bad until after the saddle, where we encountered some ice, and a lot of snow. Had to take care in a few spots, but nothing serious. Down and into work by noon.
- 3/4/2010- Before work with Zeejay. There was some ice in places, and I had a couple of bad falls. It snowed on top, but once we were back on the saddle it cleared up and was nice the rest of the way. Fun day.
-4/2/2011- With Matt V. Cold and windy on top, but a fun day.
-12/7/2011- With Matt Van Horn. Saw 6 mountain goats near the summit. Finished and then bagged Grandeur (up West ridge, down Church Fork/Pipeline) and then did Mt Wire. 11K elevation and 23 miles for the day. Triple up!
hardy301 - Apr 28, 2004 4:55 pm
Date Climbed: July 2004Somtimes steep, sometimes easy. The last scramble at the end was very fun. You won't like the scrmable at the end if you're afraid of heights!
Scott - Aug 21, 2003 12:59 pm
Route Climbed: Every direction Date Climbed: many, many times, almost every month of the yearClimbed from almost every direction. Winter is the best season, I think.
My first time was June 18 1982, four days after turning eight.
John Styrnol - Jul 26, 2003 12:57 pm
Route Climbed: Mt Olympus Trail Date Climbed: Oct 2001Nice long hike.
PellucidWombat - Jun 16, 2003 10:55 pm
Route Climbed: North Face Date Climbed: June, 5th 2003Great hike. Even better the 2nd time. I had plenty of water and got to the top in 3.5 hours. I wanted to climb to the south summit, but the chute on the south summmit was filled with snow and I didn't have an ice axe, so I had to come down the same way I did the last time.
PellucidWombat - Mar 13, 2003 7:23 pm
Route Climbed: North Face Route Date Climbed: August, 2000Very long and steep scramble. Makes the trail look like a piece of cake. Brought way too little water though. I've never gotten so dehydrated before or since.
tonybell1 - Feb 26, 2003 6:53 pm
Route Climbed: North Face Date Climbed: May 6, 1988Tops out on north summit. Remember trail descends from south summit. Climb in the spring so you can take advantage of snow in the couloirs.
rmjwinters - Oct 14, 2002 10:49 am
Route Climbed: Prominent Coulair--west face Date Climbed: April 1 2001See trip report for details.
mpbro - Oct 13, 2002 11:26 am
Route Climbed: Mount Olympus Trail Date Climbed: 10 October 2002Nice, strenuous hike with Jesse Lomask. Half of the adventure was getting to and from the trailhead! I didn't keep split times or anything, as I have no watch, but we were up and down in 3 hours.
sidhayes - Oct 13, 2002 10:17 am
Route Climbed: Trail Date Climbed: July 22, 1990Great hike, nice and steep. Top in 1:18 from start.