[TR] Mt. Olympus (unsuccessful) - Hoh River/Blue Glacier 5/6/2010

[Bigtree]

Trip: Mt. Olympus (unsuccessful) - Hoh River/Blue Glacier

 

Date: 5/6/2010

 

Trip Report:

Just a short TR.

 

Made an unsuccessful 3 day attempt with several fellows via the Hoh River. Caught the Coho Ferry from Vancouver Island and after food/fuel stop in Pt. Angles, drove ~ 1.5 hr to the Hoh Rainforest Visitors Centre/Campground for the night. Made the fateful decision in the morning to leave the skis in the roof box and boot it.

 

Elev. profile of approach to Glacier Meadows:

 

 

Man, those Imperial miles are sure long!:

 

 

Post holing above Elk Lake:

 

 

Glacier Meadows Shelter:

 

 

The view from the moraine:

 

 

My favourite picture from the man with the camera:

 

 

Gear Notes:

- Didn't need the 60 m rope or small alpine/rock rack.

- Transceivers, shovels, probes.

- Bivy bags.

- Skis or some light snowshoes would have helped immensely and would have got us up to the base of the summit block.

 

Approach Notes:

Friday May 7/10 - hiked ~ 17 miles from trail-head to Glacier Meadows. Trail was in excellent condition through to Elk Lake shelter with the odd piece of blow down here and there. Snow rapidly appeared at ~ 3,000' and deepened quickly from there. Post holed (shin and thigh deep) most of the way in from Elk Lake in soft/isothermic snow to Glacier Meadows shelter. The 3 gullys/slide tracks went easily although lots of fresh/heavy slide action to be mindful of. Trail finding was OK, but a few blazes would have helped immensely; particularly when crossing the larger slide tracks/alluvial fans. Eventually made Glacier Meadows completely spent. Total trip in was ~ 11 hrs with the final leg from Elk Lake to Glacier Meadows taking just shy of 4 hrs. We had an "emergency" and decided to sleep/cook in the two new shelters in the Meadow (2 bunks in each shelter).

 

Saturday May 8/10 - Post holed through the trees and eventually onto some firmish snow up to the top of the moraine overlooking the Blue Glacier. Lots of slide/slough action along east and west facing slopes. Was manageable, but given the summit block was packed in heavy snow and the specter of miles more of post holing to and from summit, we decided to abort and plan for another later season attempt or again at this time of year, but with skis. Hiked out to Happy 4 Shelter were we had another "emergency" and camped for the night.

 

Sunday May 9/10 - Hiked the final 5 miles and drove back to Pt. Angles for the 2 pm sailing home.

[banos]

thanks for the beta....

[highhatt]

I never get tired of that view from the ridge!

[AllYouCanEat]

Right on. Thanks for the photos. What a great mountain! Love the forest pic as well.

Edited May 15, 2010 by AllYouCanEat

[silence]

thx for the tr .. i've often wondered about those chutes in spring .. way to get up there ... great pix