Mount Olympus
Hoh River Trailhead ⚲ Olympic National Park, Hoh Rainforest, Washington
Download GPX Route | Summit Post | Peakbagger.com | Mountain Forecast
Folks are likely more acquainted with peaks like The Brothers (6,842’) and Mount Constance (7,743’) which dominate the Olympic Mountain skyline from the greater Seattle area, this is because the true king of the peninsula, Mount Olympus (7,969’), is tucked deep in the Olympic National Park and usually requires multiple days to ascend.
Ryan Rodman starting his birthday weekend off right!
Access to Mount Olympus is highly permitted, so when the park released its permits to the public on May 15th, my friend Ryan Rodman and I were online ready to snatch up the permits we needed for a July 4th ascent up the mountain. Since the holiday weekend coincides with Ryan’s birthday, he was in charge of assembling the team we would need for the ascent.
Kayla Reynolds is all smiles as she crosses the Hoh River on her way to Mount Olympus (7,969’).
The trail starts at the Hoh Visitor Center at elevation 573’. From there, hikers must follow the Hoh River through the Hoh rainforest to reach the Blue Glacier where they begin their climb. We had permits for Glacier Meadows, 17.5 miles from the Visitor Center, which meant a long first day, but would put us as close to the Blue Glacier as possible.
Ryan Rodman stands on top of the Blue Glacier Overlook at dawn, from here we dropped down to get on to the Blue Glacier.
The Olympus Massif stands above the Blue Glacier.
The next morning we were up at 4 am. With big plans for the day, we wanted to be on the mountain as early as possible. From camp, we hiked up to the Blue Glacier Overlook (a spectacular glacier moraine that towers over the once mighty Blue Glacier) which for some hikers, is the destination. We would continue onward, descending down the scree to the Blue Glacier and beyond to the base of the Olympus Massif.
Cody Wyatt, Andrew, and Dan top out the climb up to Snow Dome on the ascent of Mount Olympus (7,969’).
Ryan Rodman taking a short break on the flats of Snow Dome while the rest of our team catches up.
From the Blue Glacier, we ascended the steep snow pitch up to Snow Dome - where we gained access to the high, snowy massif of Olympus. It was here that we finally were able to see Olympus proper (West Peak) and the other satellite peaks in the area, Middle Olympus, East Olympus and Panic Peak. Since we had the permits and time, we were eager to climb as many of the additional summits as possible. First, we needed to knock off the main objective and so towards Mount Olympus we headed.
Ryan Rodman stands at the notch dividing the north side of the mountain from the south side.
From our .gpx route, you can see how climbers ascend from the north in a southern direction, and cross a dividing arm to get to the south side of the mountain’s flanks. From here you continue west to gain a rocky ridge to a saddle that overlooks the final push to the summit block.
At the rocky saddle looking at the final stretch of trail that gets climbers to the base of Mount Olympus - West Peak.
It is always a bummer to lose elevation when climbing a mountain, but the dip in the trail is short-lived, and once we were at the base, the fun really began! The blood started pumping as we climbed up the steep snow to the base of the summit block (Mount Olympus - West Peak). Conveniently, a hefty crevasse had opened right at the base of the climb, ready to swallow any climbers who fell on the short but steep pitch.
Our team makes their way up the final snow climb to the summit block of Mount Olympus - West Peak (7,969’).
This was July 4th weekend - so we were not the only climbers on the mountain. Other teams were clogging up the standard route when we arrived, so instead of wasting time waiting for a turn, we traveled around to the far north side of the summit to try our luck on the scramble route. It went just fine, though still required guts as there are a couple stiff class 4/5 moves to get through.
At the summit of Mount Olympus, the highest peak in the Olympic Mountains! Pictured left to right: Ryan Rodman, Collin Blunk, Dan Ellermeier, Kayla Reynolds, Cody Wyatt, and Andrew Schnell.
Old Mazamas summit register box on the top of Mount Olympus.
A full summit register means the cover sleeve becomes the next free page.
The small summit was crowded once we all made it to the top, and so we spent a short time at the summit before rappelling back down the way we came.
Kayla Reynolds enjoying the descent, rappelling off the scramble route of Mount Olympus in Olympic National Park.
Ryan Rodman begins the rappel off of Mount Olympus in the Olympic Mountains.
Andrew Schnell down-climbs the remaining portion of the scramble route, behind, Ryan Rodman exits the route.
Andrew Schnell and Kayla Reynolds suit up for the climb up Middle Olympus (7,929’).
Feeling fulfilled by our climb up Mount Olympus (West Peak 7,969’), Cody and Dan decided they were ready to make their way back to camp and so split ways once we returned to the Blue Glacier. Andrew, Kayla, Ryan, and I pushed onwards, heading southeast to the second-highest summit, Middle Olympus (7,929’). It was a short 1.2-mile add-on that was totally worth it! The scrambling was adventurous, and we didn’t have to share the summit with any other parties.
Kayla Reynolds makes her way up the scramble of Middle Olympus (7,929’) the first satellite peak we climbed.
Ryan Rodman stands atop Middle Olympus (7,929’) the second highest peak on the Olympus Massif. West Peak (Mount Olympus) and the false summit stand in the background.
Kayla Reynolds descends Middle Olympus taking great care not to dislodge any loose rock.
Once we descended Middle Olympus (7,929’) it seemed that everyone had had their fill of fun, and so we agreed to skip East Olympus (7,762’) and grab the easier Panic Peak (6,809’) on our way out. We roped up in teams of two and made our way back to Snow Dome.
Ryan Rodman and Andrew Schnell rope up to descend the Blue Glacier back to Snow Dome where we would climb Panic Peak (6,809’).
Ryan Rodman stands atop Panic Peak (6,809’), photo taken from the first high point of the mountain.
The climb up Panic Peak (6,809’) was nothing more than a walk-up but provided an unbeatable view of the Hoh River Valley which we enjoyed before heading back to camp for the evening.
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 was the perfect shelter for our basecamp at Glacier Meadows.
Ryan Rodman heads across the Blue Glacier in the early morning alpenglow.
On the third day, Kayla, Ryan, and I wanted to add Mount Tom (7,076’) to our list of accomplishments so we got started early once again and made our way back up to the Olympus Massif.
Ryan on the ascent up Snow Dome, Mount Mathias, another 7,000-footer stands in the background.
Kayla, Ryan, and I resting on a random rock pile up on the Olympus Massif.
After arriving back at Snow Dome we made a horizontal traverse along the snowy massif towards Mount Tom staying just below the multiple peaks of Olympus. The travel was easy and we made quick time to the far side where we would connect with the White glacier. Unfortunately for our tired bodies, the steep and loose descent off of the Olympus Massif to the White Glacier was way more than any of us wanted to deal with. We made the safe call and decided to abandon our plans for Mount Tom. Disappointed, but somewhat relieved, we all hiked up to the highest point in our vicinity and found a comfortable spot to nap amongst the rocks. We woke from our sunny slumber about three hours later and decided it was time to make our way back to camp and rejoin the rest of our group. When the three of us made it back to camp, we all rallied around the accomplishments we had made over the weekend and celebrated one more night out in the woods before making our way out the next morning.
Kayla Reynolds pauses to take it all in while crossing the Hoh River one final time.
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