Hoh River, Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus has held a special attraction to me since my very first visit. It’s an amazing area. I’ve always contended that I could spend a week on its slopes without summiting and still come back feeling joyous and fulfilled. I still feel that way today.

I always feel like I have unfinished business with this mountain from a photography standpoint. There just seems to be so much available, and the mountain seems to have so many moods depending on the lighting. Add in the views of Mt. Tom and the Pacific Ocean from base camp and it’s…well, amazing.

I had hoped to enjoy Olympus as a desert last year upon finishing the Bailey Range traverse – the main dish if you will. No slight on the Bailey Range. I find it incredible too. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

Earlier this year I began sharing my desire for another visit to Olympus with Roberth & Kathy Chrestensen, the Crest Pictures film team. They were hungry for it too. We set a date and I recruited my good friend Dale to join us. Trips are always special with him on board.

Robert and Kathy elected to drive out to the Hoh the day before and get a jump on the trail. It’s a long approach. Add video and camera gear and the packs tend to make the trail feel a lot longer.

Dale and I arrived around 10:30 Wednesday night and pulled into the parking lot next to someone sleeping beside their vehicle. We planned to socialize a bit before sleep, so we found a new spot further away so as not to disturb. As it turns out, Dale watched this person rise at 3:00 am, pack up, and head out in the dark. He proceeded to run to the summit in just over 11 hours; a truly incredible feat.

As Dale and I relaxed in sleeping bags in the back of my truck while admiring the incredible star display, he announced at 12:01 that it was officially his birthday. He left wife and kids at home to celebrate his birthday doing what he loves. Happy birthday bud!

We awoke around 6:00 and were on the trail around 7:30. We reached the Olympic Guard Station in 4 hours, answered the required questions by the attending ranger, and then continued on. It was a hot day and we were already feeling it. We pushed to High Bridge and took a break for lunch. I could never really get going again. Two more miles to Elk Lake – our destination for the evening, and I had to slow my pace drastically.

We arrived at Elk Lake to find Robert and Kathy with their tent set up and a spot saved for us. They had arrived only a ½ hour prior. It was fun to finally catch up with them and exchange pleasantries. The team of Silence and I go way back to an ‘almost’ meeting in Lost Basin in which we camped within several hundred yards of one another, but never had the chance to say ’hi’. I’ve considered them friends ever since.

Dale and I enjoyed swimming in the lake to cool (pronounced clean) off before dinner. It was nice.

We shared the campground with an organized group of young climbers, whose party was split between Elk Lake and Glacier Meadows due to size restrictions. Yes, they were a big party.

The next morning we were out of camp by 7:30 and soon arrived at Glacier Meadows, where we were greeted by a resident goat. While preparing our food cache, I ran into the climbing ranger. He reported that he had 37 people signed in as on the mountain this day, and he was genuinely concerned about having enough campsites and space on the bear wires that night. He appreciated that I was leaving a bear canister for our cache, and I appreciated leaving the bear canister!

We continued on up to the moraine and were astonished to see the lower Blue Glacier. It was bare ice and rock. My previous climbs of Olympus have always been mid-July and there has always been ample snow on the glacier. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

We descended down to the glacier and walked along the rocks, eventually leaving rock for ice – and streams. Water was rushing down the glacier and numerous deep pools had formed. They were quite pretty actually.

Once across the glacier we began our ascent up Snow Dome and arrived at camp on Panic Peak around 3:30. Dale and I scouted out our bivy site while Kathy and Robert made their way up to join us. I could here them in the distance as I stood poised near our new camp. When they arrived I asked, “Of all the four letter words you uttered when you saw me up here, which one was the most prevalent?” I won’t repeat the answer.

We set up camp and then watched a lone climber make his way down from Crystal Pass and traverse along Snow Dome. He paused at a pile of wood and began loading it onto a sled, which he dragged back to the research hut. He waived to us upon his arrival at the hut.

As we prepared dinner, he approached us with clipboard in hand. I assumed he was a ranger wishing to check us for permits. Rather, he was a volunteer worker at the research hut for the UW. He introduced himself as Dave Skinner. His clipboard was actually a list of supplies he needed, and he was scrambling up Panic Peak to place a phone call.

Dave was a really neat guy with lots of stories. We chatted for quite some time before he continued on with his task atop the hill. Later he joined us on the summit for sunset as we enjoyed the day’s final light. His final request was that we join him for Kool-Aid after our summit bid the next day. I could tell he was serious. He loved company and was excited to have us around. He also encouraged us to take from his water supply near the hut. He had more melted water than he could ever use.

The next morning we awoke at a modest hour and began our ascent. We only had 1,100’ to go and the pace was casual. Spirits were good. We traversed Snow Dome and crossed through Crystal Pass to the back side of the mountain. This is where all familiar territory ended.

We followed the tracks along the back side up to Fiver Fingers and the draw one needs to cross to descend to the wind cirque at the base of the summit block. Only, it didn’t look like the draw. It was bare rock, not snow covered. I was sure that in following the tracks, we had missed the route. I set off to explore above, only to find that we were indeed on route!

We descended down the gully into the wind cirque, only to feel like we were lost. So much melting had occurred that it didn’t look the same. Much more rock was exposed.

Dale began feeling his way around on the summit block along the scramble route we had previously done, but it didn’t seem right to him. So he bailed back onto the snow and we climbed up to an obvious ramp that appeared to go. We followed it to within ~30’ of the summit, only to find ourselves faced with a choice; follow a descending traverse over loose terrain to our previous route, or follow a solid low class 5 route straight up to the summit. We chose the latter.

Dale free-climbed the exposed flake and set anchor on the summit. He then belayed Kathy up, followed by Robert, then me. Kathy impressed the heck out of me in how she approached the pitch. It was her first alpine rock pitch – ever. And she was nervous to say the least. But she shot right up it in no time at all. Robert followed in similar style, followed by me. I was able to add a little French pastry at the end with a direct vertical finish – much fun!

We enjoyed the summit views as the clouds rolled in and out, adding an extremely interesting element to our experience.

Then it was time for the rappel. Dale set up the rope and rapped first. Kathy and Robert followed. Their first alpine rappel!

We collected our gear at the bottom and made our way back to camp, passing the only other people we saw on the mountain all day – a Mountaineer group of six climbers. They had approached East Peak via a direct route up the Blue Glacier, and were now preparing to tackle West Peak. They collected as much beta as they could from us and then headed up.

As we headed back to camp, we could see the research hut and noticed the 5 lounge chairs set up on the porch. Dale asked what we were all thinking, “Are those for us?” I knew they were.

Sure enough, Dave popped his head out and congratulated us on our summit bid. He had lemonade prepared and waiting for us – the best lemonade I think I have ever tasted!

Dave continued to entertain us with stories; everything from “Jellybar” (a World War II era supply drop that missed its mark and fell to the glacier below) to stories of Rich Marriot’s years manning the hut to stories of cleaning the glacier and rock of garbage left by others. He shared pictures, including one of Mr. Fairchild’s plane taking off from Snow Dome. We were enthralled.

Soon it was time to force our departure. We didn’t want to. Far from it. We could listen to Dave’s stories with wide eyes and open mouths for several more hours. But we knew we had to get going. What a shame.

Dave left us with open invites, contact info, etc. – even offering suggestions as to when he would be back. He would be departing himself soon, exiting via the Bailey Range.

We packed up and descended from Snow Dome to the depths below. It was difficult to leave the friendly place we had called home on Panic Peak. We all wished we could delay our departure an extra day or two.

Our crossing of the lower Blue Glacier was straightforward, though icy. Our legs were tired. Upon Robert & Kathy’s insistence, I sped ahead to secure campsites at Glacier Meadows. Dale followed and soon joined me. By the time Robert & Kathy arrived, we had desert made and hot water ready for meals. Robert & Kathy were out of steam. It had been a long day that had taken its toll on them. Yet surprisingly, they arrived in warm spirits. All throughout our climb I was impressed with how they faced adversity. They met it straight on with smiles. I was very proud to be a part of their successful climb.