[iron]

bigsteve organized a fun climb of olympus to help celebrate anita's 50th. she looks like she's 30 and hikes like she's 20. must be nice! we ultimately met up with the group at the group camp at glacier meadows. while the lovely hoh portion of the hike was enjoyable, the glacier meadows campsite was kind of disappointing. so it goes. one tip on getting there: watch out for the silkworms hanging from EVERY TREE. seriously. it was insane how many of these ended up in my eyeballs.

bigsteve recommended the group be moving by 4:30am the next day. we all groaned at this suggestion - especially me. but, in the end, it was a very good call as getting that many people up and down a roped climb takes some time. the morning was brisk, but not bad. by the time we reached the terminal moraine, daylight was just breaking. things were very blue.

down we went to the ice field known as the blue glacier. this is as unique as it gets in WA - a big, flat ice sheet with rivers on it! way cool. also cool was the temperature. it's pretty chilly out there pre-sunlight!

we roped up and walked the ice. don_b was cruising so we struggled to keep up, especially with taking pics.

the icefall here is mighty impressive.

onward we pressed to a rocky shelf below snowdome with some running water. very beautiful place to take in the beauty surrounding you.

after some food, we headed onward up the gentle snowdome slope to reach crystal pass.

after crystal pass, we contoured up steep slopes to the false summit of the west peak. don_b led out to scope out the climb route and get setup. soon enough, we were climbing and, later, on top of the highest peak in the olympics. it was quite and enjoyable route.

after some leisure time, we rapped down and hotpantz and i ventured off to tag the middle summit of olympus. an easy snow traverse took us to the base of its north ridge where we ascended loose class 3 and 4 rock to the summit.

we descended the route and traced our uproute back to camp. at the base of snowdome, in the mid afternoon light, i felt i was looking at the most beautiful spot i've ever seen. while my happy place is still above luna cirque, this spot was certainly the most amazing place i've seen.

wow!

it was hard to leave, but that's how it works. we took our time on the blue glacier ice field and enjoyed its rivers, chasms, and nooks and crannies.

all too soon, we were back at the moraine. what a day!

we headed back to camp, packed up, and hiked down the trail until nightfall when we ran into the rest of the group at a "camp" around the 13.1 mile area. it was cozy with the 8 of us there. the next morning we hiked out. i had my ears tuned for the owls we'd heard on the way in, and sure enough, they were hooting away at the same spot. we later tried to ID them, but couldn't find a match. i'd like to think they were spotted owls, but i doubt it.

afterwards, hotpantz and i took a swim in the hoh. it was chilly, but very nice. there's a great spot about halfway up the road from 101 that has a rough dirt road that leads to a fishing area. the river moves slowly enough here that it's easy enough to wade in a bit. beer tastes good.

we had some burgers in sequim on the way home. apparently, mondays are burger night and every grey-haired person within a 50 mile radius shows up. our waiter who was new at the job forgot to enter our order in the computer. we were there awhile, but at least the owner came by to make things right. food was good, even if half of us didn't get what we ordered. at least the glacier thing worked out well for us on this trip... i was very proud of and happy for hotpantz on this trip. it's a challenging trip due to all the flat miles of trail. she and her newish hips (4ish months at the time) did great and was pain free. awesome!!! thanks for organizing the trip steve!

[Michael Lewis]

This is a beautiful report, thanks for sharing iron.

[DIYSteve]

Nice TR and pics, Mike So glad you two could join us to celebrate Anita's 50th b-day (and Shawn's 60th and Carrie's new hips). It was indeed a great trip with good people! DonB the Legend did a great job leading the rock and getting 6 on the summit. Crossing the lower Blue Glacier was a remarkable experience. It has looked very different each time I've been there (1991?, 1993, 2002, 2014). This year's crossing -- which included numerous steps and jumps over englacial streams -- was the most spectacular, without a doubt.

[iron]

BTW: bigsteve found a nice article on the blue glacier. http://www.carleton.edu/departments/geol/links/alumcontributions/blueice/BlueIce.pdf

[joker]

Nice. Great way to celebrate a big b-day! Thanks for kindling some memories from 10 or so years ago when we did it. We also very much enjoyed the crossing of the toe of the blue glacier - the ice was super easy walking what with sand/gravel embedded on the surface, just enough to make for very solid traction, and the creeks in the ice, appearing and then disappearing with awesome sounds down deep dark blue holes! And that spot at the base of the snowdome at which you marveled - we spent two nights camped there for a very leisurely summit day and some of my best high camp lounging ever. I still have dreams that are based on the memory of getting out of the tent in the middle of the night while at that little camp with it's snowmelt creek and just enough flat spots for the three of us (and one of those high pressure ridges that was keeping weather perfect for well over a week). We also took our time getting to/from our high camp. It is a nice valley for some lingering and looking around.

[Don]

Excellent trip into an amazing area. Happy Birthday to nearly all, it sounds! That is a loooong trail to be trying out new hips on. Thanks for sharing all the pics. I've seen the Blue Glacier in mid-August of dry years, with all its pools, chasms, and blue ice. I bet it is even more spectacular to witness in September.

[Mtn Man]

Thanks for the write up, I had a blast up there with everyone! Loved crossing the Blue Glacier, by far my favorite part of the trip. Truly a unique place in the lower 48! Glad a few of my 200+ summit shots made the TR Cheers! B)

[raising3hikers]

nice pics of the blue glacier the ice fall is spectacular

[Get Out and Go]

Good company on a good mountain......Looks like fun to me.

[bobbi]

Just fabulous! Love love love! Big Steve...I climbed Olympus August 2002, international year of the mountain The blue glacier is spectacular .... Loved seeing the 'river' flowing below the ice! Did you see any glacier worms? Kind of icky but cool, too! Congratulations to all!

[Stefan]

Awesome photos. Looks like a great trip with friends.

[Rainie Too!]

There is something very special about this glacier and mountain...

[iron]

hotpantz' pictures:

native blackberries!

salmon berries

Mt. Tom

icy crevasses

Big Steve is excited

ready to go!

rainbow waterfall

from false summit to real summit block

Don leading up

Carla heading up with 2nd rope

Anita, the birthday girl!

my turn

Big Steve

Anita waving to Steve

loose summit ridge (middle oly)

back on the blue

rushing water

deep hole

different kind of crevasse

strange ice layer

awestruck

[Matt Lemke]

Nice photos! Olympus is a beautiful mountain.

[williswall]

Real nice photos. I'd like to do this with my daughter but am not much of a climber. Aside from snagging someone to lead, how much pro would you recommend for the summit pyramid (I am too wimpy to climb that without some protection)? Any place to use slings?