Mt Olympus in a day

[Pencil_Pusher]

Anyone interested? Take the blue pill and turn on the Tikka.

pencil_pusher@hotmail.com

[bobinc]

You can't be serious.

 

If you are, why?

[tread_tramp]

Even Tom Morgan took a day and a half. One day is verging on insanity. Where's thie fun in that kind of blitz?

[Goat_Boy]

One day from Elk Lake, maybe.

 

Dude, have some fun. Go in via Dodwell-Rixon and the Humes Glacier and bag the triple crown.

[klar404]

its easy! just bike up the Hoh at night before ranger Rick and his lovely side-kick catch you! Stash the bikes and hike to your delight! Surmount the said mountain and return in the evening on a FINE singletrack. Oh, wait, that would be breaking the law. And I'm a chunkasour.

[Alex]

yeah, I was considering this with bikes with pencilneck, but am not sure now its the best use of 24 hours. Klar404, have you done it this way?

 

John Doe

[climberbro16]

Hire a hellicopter. that will buy you some time.

[Terminal_Gravity]

Pencil P (from one cronic gumby to another), to be the contrarian to all the doubting Thomas's; I might be into it. Sounds up my alley, but I really don't know how far it is. How far is it? Less than 60 miles?

 

Are you thinking bike's or just run/hiking; which would be my pref.

 

On the same vein; any body interested in doing Washington, the 3 sisters and BT (and maybe throw in 3FJ for bonus points) in a day from opposite directions & swapping cars, and meeting some where to drink whisky, eat steaks and exchange cars and pass out?

[Norman_Clyde]

I might be talked into this. If you guys are serious, send me a pm.

[Alex]

Its around 18 mi one way to Glacier Medows, but the first 13 miles are "flat".

 

TG, arent you talking about the 3 Sisters Marathon? Anyone know what the current standing time is? I thought you had to do Bachelor too, to make it official these days...

 

Alex

[Terminal_Gravity]

Alex, I'm not really sure what the 3 sisters marathon is. I just assummed that it was only compromised of just the 3 sisters. I'm curious though. I would probably have trouble justifing Bachlor...it is not on my list of mountaineering objectives...go figure

 

Norman C. let's see if PP responds and take it from there. I'm always serious about climbing and my schedule is pretty open except for 9/10- 9/21.

[Rusty_Biner]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pencil Pusher:

Anyone interested? Take the blue pill and turn on the Tikka.

pencil_pusher@hotmail.com

---

My father was an early member of a small, demented climbing club in Tacoma known as the Summit Alpine Club. Every year, the club hosted the "Mt. Olympus Bash," which had as its objective a car-to-car trip of Olympus in under 24 hours, most going in solo. I have been told that Gary Fredericksen (first winter ascent, Nisqually Icefall) logged the fastest time, in under 16 hours. And that was long before Marc Twight discovered that suffering was the divine path to knowing one's inner being.

[Norman_Clyde]

See, you guys? It's not only possible, it's already been done! All we need now is to choose the date. And start getting back into shape for a long run.

[bobinc]

I am not surprised it has been done, but that doesn't address the question of whether it SHOULD be done this way. The area has so much to offer other than an athletic challenge that it is almost sacrilegious to approach Olympus this way. But perhaps some of you have done the climb a number of times already and are looking for a new challenge.

[Goat_Boy]

Not sure why this is appealing unless you're training for the Ecochallenge. Though I can see why you'd want to reduce that approach to a midnight blur. But if I see any bikes hidden on the Hoh, I will seriously monkey wrench them.

 

The better trip would be to carry light to the summit in a day, bivy on Five Fingers and enjoy the view, then out the next day in under 30 hours.

[Paul_detrick]

I have to agree, i've done Olympus, what a great area, instead of a day you should do a week, the wildlife there is way kool. Just my 2 cents.

[payaso]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pencil Pusher:

Anyone interested? Take the blue pill and turn on the Tikka.

pencil_pusher@hotmail.com

---

Huh? Viagra? Valium? I guess I don't get out much anymore but what "pill" would you be talking about there Pusher?

Personally I would rather take as long to climb Olympus as possible. One of my goals is to climb Olympus while doing the entire Bailey Range traverse. Maybe about 8 days or so? I haven't researched it too closely yet, but I think that would be a real epic.

[Goat_Boy]

quote:

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One of my goals is to climb Olympus while doing the entire Bailey Range traverse. Maybe about 8 days or so? I haven't researched it too closely yet, but I think that would be a real epic

---

Payaso--that's one of the best trips in ONP. We did it about 6 years ago--up the Soleduc and out the Hoh. Queets Basin is as pretty a place as there is, and we found interesting plane wreckage on the terminal moraine of the Humes (park service could not identify). Did it in a leisurely week, bagging Pulitzer and the 3 Olympus summits. Still time this year.

[Terminal_Gravity]

I'm not sure I understand the points about moving like a snail so that you can see more beauty.

 

I see a MORE of beautiful terrain BECAUSE I travel fast and far. If I do 50 in a day and can get out 3 days later for a quick peak bag and then for a night hike to watch the reflection of the moon rise over a lake from high on a distant ridge the following weekend. How is it that am I seeing less than someone that plans for months to take a week from work & family to lug a pack the same 50. And don't give me that quality vs. quantity bullshit either.

[Terminal_Gravity]

quote:

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Originally posted by payaso:

It's Quality versus Quantity my friend.

---

Cool Payaso. My intent is to say that quantity does not nessasarily (never could spell that word) mean that you have to give up quality.

 

As an example: My local gang of psuedo climber's have been talking about this seven peak traverse in the Wallowas for more than a year. You know the type...they always are saying "I've always wanted to do 'this or that' some day" as they sit around drinking beer. I don't mean to chest beat here, I'm really just an overweight geezer, but I do acctually get out. The talk was no one had heard of anybody doing it car-to-car in a day and they knew of only one person doing it from a high camp. I had only Sat. evening to Sunday afternoon free the weekend before last and thought "what the hell". I left my rig at 4:45pm and made the first summit for a spectacular sunset with the moon getting brighter and glistening off the ridge. Close to the 4th summit I sat down to watch the moonlight reflected on a lake below. It was tremendiously beautiful. Later after a bit of 5th class scrambeling I was comeing down the steep ridge of the 7th and got the treat of seeing the blood red (from fires) hyper-enlarged moon set between distant spires. I slept for about a half an hour on some dicey and loose 4th class ledges; waiting for first light. The sunrise was spectacular, pinking up the peaks to the west. I was back home eating pork chops and eggs and drinking Ramos fizzes at 8:30 am.

 

How is that hike lacking in qualitity? And I still got to play with my daughter both days on the weekend. I haven't even mentioned to the gang of poser at my pub that I did it. They help me support my tequila habit and I really don't want them to give up afternoons of drinking beer and acctually go climbing.

[Norman_Clyde]

I have to agree with you, TG. I tell myself that trying to squeeze too much into too few hours will be unrewarding. But the more often I do it, the more fun I seem to have. Even if I don't make it to my chosen destination, I get more out of the faster trips most of the time. I'm all for leisure and meditation in mountain settings, when that's what the trip is about-- but I usually feel more in harmony with my surroundings when I'm really moving it and covering a lot of ground. I've never been up the Hoh, but I bet I would remember just as much of it in a 30 hour trip as a 4 day. Too often I catch myself zoning out on the return anyway. Fast and light keeps me alert.

[Terminal_Gravity]

Well said, Norman

[payaso]

It's Quality versus Quantity my friend.

[bobinc]

I, too, like to travel fast at times and enjoy seeing more terrain and perhaps bagging extra peaks with a lighter load to carry. I've speculated that, in fact, Olympus could be done in a day or thereabouts. But when you add in the amount of time it takes to drive there and back, the variety of ecologicial climes encountered to/fro, the uniqueness of the place, etc etc, it just seems ridiculous to rush it.

 

I must say, in general, that most of the climbers I encounter around here seem to have mostly athletic accomplishments in mind when they head out, rather than enjoying all the things the mountains have to offer. I'm up for a track meet now and then but find I am increasingly more interested in a longer look at the geology, plants, and related elements of the subalpine and alpine.

[Goat_Boy]

Norman--hard to disagree. I think the original question got lost, though. Olympus in a day? The few times you and I have gone out we've never just poked along--always pushed for the higher camp as I recall. I climb lighter and faster now than I did then, but my answer would still be no to Olympus in a day. Fast work with a summit bivy? Yes. Maybe 30-35 hours. But Trail running to tag the summit and stay under 24 hours? Not appealing. Too much pain for this old man. And the mountain is worth taking in a little more deeply. Sometimes you can miss alot when you're focused on time. I'm with you, covering more ground adds to any experience. But in my book speed goals are for competitions and training. Having done Olympus from both sides, I can tell you that anyone doing this in a day is going to be asking that eternal question, "why the hell am I doing this again?" I do greatly admire anyone who can pull that off and get his ass to work the next day, though. Berg hiel!