Mount Olympus Trail

Approach

Use the information provided in the main page to get to the "Mount Olympus Trailhead".

Route Description

Simply follow the trail. The first 1400 feet of ascent is a steep, but not troublesome, climb along the north side of Tolcate Canyon. After crossing Tolcate Creek, however, the trail steepens considerably. Climb another 2000 feet over merely 1.5 miles to Olympus's South shoulder and take in excellent views to the south and east. Most of the remaining 600 feet to the summit is gained by scrambling over straightforward class 3 terrain. Warning, the smooth quartzite rock that you'll encounter tends to be a bit slick when dry, murderously slippery when wet.

This topographic map nicely illustrates the route. The USGS 7.5-minute quad is named "Sugar House".

PellucidWombat describes an interesting easy 5th class variation that provides an alternative to the "Blister Hill" portion of the Mount Olympus Trail.

Essential Gear

Standard hiking gear. In the late summer months, no water is found along the route. However, as the route is so short (3.5 miles one way to the summit), you needn't worry too much. Rock shoes are unnecessary, though your footwear should grip well and have enough stability for the punishing, rocky descent.

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.

Additions and CorrectionsPost an Addition or Correction

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PellucidWombat - May 16, 2005 11:00 am - Hasn't voted

Route Comment

Here's a little variation I found that avoids hiking Blister Hill and adds some fun scrambling to the ascent.

Arete Variation:
Length: 500 vertical feet
Rating: 5.2

From Tolcat Creek, follow the regular trail until the first switchback. From there, deal with about 100 ft of moderate bushwacking south to reach the rocky rib. Many variations are possible, and the climbing is more difficult the closer one stays to the ridge. (There is another ridge further south, but I stayed on the northernmost one)

Apart from a few short detours to the side to avoid some roofs and +5.7 stuff, I was able to stay on the arete. The climbing was mostly 3rd-4th class, with occasional 5th class moves.

While there are definitely places that you don't want to fall, the exposure isn't too bad and you have nice views of the valley & the Mount Olympus Trail below.

Near the end one is confronted with some exposed face climbing with small handholds on the north side of the arete, but there is enough in the way of a faint ledge system that you can mostly edge up this part. After the face climbing, the ridge soon peters out and a short walk takes you back to the main trail.

PellucidWombat - May 24, 2005 10:18 am - Hasn't voted

Route Comment

Here's a route photo:

Dmitry Pruss - May 24, 2005 6:17 pm - Hasn't voted

Route Comment

I used the next rib to the right a few years ago, there is only a small potentially class 5 cracked slab but mostly it is a walk-up. Did you find a geocache up there, BTW? ;)

PellucidWombat - May 24, 2005 6:22 pm - Hasn't voted

Route Comment

The crux on this was also a slab - you could really only use your hands for balance and do some delicate edging on a small crack system. Apart from that, just a bunch of fun & short class 3-4 problems, but you could have made it easier by dropping down more often.

Sadly, I found no geocache :-(

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