Forum Index > Trip Reports > How to climb Mt Olympus (highest peak in the Olympics)
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crabio
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crabio
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 3:52 pm 
I have looked at that mountain for 20 years and always wondered ..... How would one go about climbing up to the top of there ???? I have seen guided tours up Mt Rainer all the time but I never hear anything about Mt Olympus. Is there a standard route up that mountain ? How difficult is it to get up on the peak ???? Anyone here ever done that ????????? Just curious ! -Crabio

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Randy
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 3:55 pm 
A Google search will bring you a lot of information. It's climbed all the time, especially via the Hoh River.

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yukon222
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 3:57 pm 
mbgriffi trip report This is a recent one with a lot of nice pictures.

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joker
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 4:01 pm 
The classic route via the hoh is also well described in a few guidebooks. I very much enjoyed the trip several Augusts ago. We allowed 6 nights/7 days for our journey, which gave us time for lingering along the river as well as 2 nights at a high camp. As a contrast, on our summit day the only others we saw were three guys who I later learned had clocked it in just under 14 hours car-to-car. They seemed to be having fun too. Doing it in 3 days strikes me as particularly tough - two long days with the camping gear, but some folks are clearly better beasts of burden than me.

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crabio
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crabio
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 4:14 pm 
So how technical of a climb is it or is it just a big long steep hike ?

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crabio
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crabio
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 4:16 pm 
Never mind .... just read that trip report. It ain't no day hike that's for sure but man it looks like fun !

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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 4:41 pm 
it is an 18 mile approach and if you have some experience climbing olympus is doable. i did it with a guide in august 02. there are at least a couple of ways to get to the summit depending on when you go. the mosquitoes and noseeums were a pain in august. there's a washout section that can get hairy especially if the ranger hasn't cut back the trail. do go skinny dipping at elk lake. biggrin.gif do check out the worms on the glacier. eek.gif do plan your climb date to coincide with a full moon! (makes the early morning trek to the moraine/glacier prettier) moon.gif do your reservations for backcountry permits early at ONP visitor/wilderness center as soon as possible. confused.gif do bring garlic/olive oil to fry chicken of the woods hungry.gif do plan to camp on the sand bar along the way(at lewis meadow, i think) cool.gif that's it!

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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SlowWalker
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SlowWalker
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 5:04 pm 
Just for fun, you can read this too. Mt. Olympus Speed Record - 11.5 hours

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Jason Hummel
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Jason Hummel
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 5:39 pm 
crabio wrote:
Never mind .... just read that trip report. It ain't no day hike that's for sure but man it looks like fun !
Actually smile.gif dizzy.gif http://cascadeclassics.org/Climbing/Olympus/Summer03/MountOlympus_Summer03.htm Some good pictures of the area, but not the style I would recommend for the knees but I do enjoy fast trips like that every once and awhile. BTW, a wonderful climb. 4 days would be relaxing. The trail is super easy. Go for a hike up there and enjoy the area and get to know it. Later come back for a climb. The rock is 4th class (although there is a 3rd class route somewhere) and it's only a pitch. There's some easy glacier with some big gapers.

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Flora
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Flora
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PostThu Jan 24, 2008 6:21 pm 
There's a nice view of Mt. Olympus from High Divide... The Mt. O climb is a NW classic, long slog in, but well worth it according to climber types. Not me! I've just hiked to Elk Lake. Camping by the river is fine by me. Beachcombing on the Hoh.

Flora
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graywolf
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PostFri Jan 25, 2008 10:33 am 
I've climbed Olympus eight times, dating back to 1976. It's a beautiful climb - one of my favorites, if not my favorite. Done it fast, done it slow, always in good weather. If you go from mid-July on, there's a pretty good chance you won't get rained on at all (even though it's the rain forest!). The 3rd class route is more realistically a 4th class pitch. I've climbed up to 5.13b in my younger days, and I disagree with the 3rd class rating. My buddy and I climbed it thee times without a rope (didn't even bring one), but I wouldn't recommend that for a fair majority of climbers because of the exposure on the summit pyramid. There used to be a guide service out of Port Angeles, and the main guide, Steve, has done Olympus well over 80 times, if not over 100. Unfortunately that store closed recently, and I'm not sure that anyone is guiding Olympus anymore.

The only easy day was yesterday...
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Backpacker Joe
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Backpacker Joe
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PostFri Jan 25, 2008 11:01 am 
Helicopter?
NWHikers Mi-24 Hind attack Hiking Helicopter
NWHikers Mi-24 Hind attack Hiking Helicopter

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostFri Jan 25, 2008 11:40 am 
perfect backpacker joe! i always said that if i win the lottery i'll buy a helicopter and hire a pilot to take me to the trailhead of my favorite peaks. helicopter to snowdome-awesome!

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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ScottM
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ScottM
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PostFri Jan 25, 2008 11:58 am 
Mountain Madness out of Seattle offer the Olympus climb each year. This year it is mid July I believe. It is 5 days for around $800 (this includes food). I climbed Baker a couple of years ago with the MM guide that had led the Olympus climb the week before. I'm not sure about those 2 guys in that previous post but unless I knew that glacier very well I think I would have been roped up.

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summithound
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summithound
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PostFri Jan 25, 2008 1:42 pm 
crabio wrote:
How would one go about climbing up to the top of there ????
Step 1) Make sure you have all the appropriate gear and it's in top shape Step 2) Make sure you are in shape Step 3) Take time off work Step 4) Drive out to the trailhead Step 5) Hike Step 6) Climb Step 7) Don't die on the way back down

Pain is just weakness leaving the body.
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