Tourin' Tuesday: Mt. Olympus
Sometimes you just gotta go have some good old fashioned type 2 fun...
Tuesday was a big day.
Both Tanner Crow and I wanted to go ride a classic line while we have high pressure. On Monday we were shut down in American Fork Canyon due to rapid warming.
We decided that the Memorial Couloirs on Mt. Olympus would be a good way to redeem ourselves.
The day started by meeting at the Neff's Canyon trailhead. We then loaded all my gear into Tanner's car and drove to the Mt.Olympus trailhead.
There is no easy or good way to get to the Memorial Couloirs.
They can be accessed from Neff's, but can be impossible to find. The recommended approach is via Tolcat's Canyon. We decided to go up Tolcat's and down Neff's.
The best way to describe our approach would be a heinous hike from hell.
The Mt.Olympus trail is rather steep. Most of the approach was dry. And getting up Tolcat's was a bushwhack extravaganza.
We finally hit snow at the base of Tolcat's Couloir. Luckily the snow was in good condition for bootpacking.
I don't think I've ever been so happy to top out on something. I was especially stoked to take my heavy ass pack off for a bit.
After enjoying a rally beer at the top, it was time to drop.
The snow in the chute was very good. It was mostly pow with just a bit of old avalanche debris sticking out here and there.
The Memorial Couloirs do not get much sun so they hold good snow despite their lower elevation.
The exit was far easier than the approach. We were able to ride most of the way back to the Neff's Canyon parking lot.
We had to walk parts of the trail once we got back to it, and parts of it were pretty icy. However we were thrilled to be doing anything other than bushwhacking through thick oak scrub.
Riding a new zone is always fun. The approach sucked, but it was totally worth it.
That being said, the Memorial Couloirs are probably on my list of things I don't really want to do again.
There are a lot of awesome lines back there but I'll let someone else go bushwhack their way through hell to get them!
The best way to describe our approach would be a heinous hike from hell.
The Mt.Olympus trail is rather steep. Most of the approach was dry. And getting up Tolcat's was a bushwhack extravaganza.
We finally hit snow at the base of Tolcat's Couloir. Luckily the snow was in good condition for bootpacking.
I don't think I've ever been so happy to top out on something. I was especially stoked to take my heavy ass pack off for a bit.
After enjoying a rally beer at the top, it was time to drop.
The snow in the chute was very good. It was mostly pow with just a bit of old avalanche debris sticking out here and there.
The Memorial Couloirs do not get much sun so they hold good snow despite their lower elevation.
The exit was far easier than the approach. We were able to ride most of the way back to the Neff's Canyon parking lot.
We had to walk parts of the trail once we got back to it, and parts of it were pretty icy. However we were thrilled to be doing anything other than bushwhacking through thick oak scrub.
Riding a new zone is always fun. The approach sucked, but it was totally worth it.
That being said, the Memorial Couloirs are probably on my list of things I don't really want to do again.
There are a lot of awesome lines back there but I'll let someone else go bushwhack their way through hell to get them!