Mountain Goats Who Stare at Men, Guert’s Ridge Mt. Olympus
April 24 2010
The plan was for Jared Fairbanks, Glenn Miller and I to attempt Guert’s Ridge on
Mt. Olympus, taking a direct approach from lower in the canyon than is typical for
the ridge. Mt. Olympus is a steep, rocky mountain even when hiking up the trail.
Most people intent on climbing Guert’s Ridge bypass the bottom of the canyon,
hiking higher up the trail to approach the ridge from the south side. We opted to
approach from the bottom of the canyon, at the river crossing and climb the more
direct route from the north side. By doing this we likely added an equal amount of
climbing to the ridge itself, and more difficult climbing at due to the snow and ice
that was still remaining on the shaded side of the ridge.
After leaving the main trail we did some fairly easy bushwhacking, following the
stream up into the canyon bottom and onto some icy rock and snowfield. The snow
wasn’t very deep, with just a thin crust over hard ice and rock. We were already
high enough on the hillside that I didn’t like the prospects of sliding down the ice
and onto the rock below. Certainly it wouldn’t have been a deadly fall, but I had
already spotted a couple of unpleasant looking boulders that I didn’t want to
bounce off of. We eventually made it up onto the rocky portion of the lower ridge,
which still had some thin ice and occasional bad snow sections to cross. This had
taken us just under two hours from the trailhead and it was now 11:00. We decided
to hold off eating lunch until we had climbed this section and gained the ridge at the
typical starting point, we suspected close to 1:00. Looking up to the top of the rock
We started working our way up the rock, taking an excessive amount of time roping
up on most of the sections because of the slippery rock. At one point I was leading
and I heard Glen say, “I’m in quite a pickle here.” I looked over and he was climbing
up unroped next to where I was.
“What does it smell like?” I asked.
“What does what smell like?”
“What does it smell like in a pickle? I imagine it would be pretty overwhelming.”
Glen managed to climb above me and I heard his sigh of relief when he had finally
reached a spot to anchor into and relax. We continued up to a point just below the
ridgeline which seemed to be the crux. I led this pitch, a short 20 or so feet but it
was pretty difficult due to the ice and me climbing in boots. I doubt it was any harder
than 5.6 on a nice day in rock shoes though. We finally pulled over the ridge, just
above the first pitch of the standard route. It was nearly 3:00 already and we
wondered if we would make it before dark. I don’t mind hiking out in the dark, but I
certainly didn’t want to be crawling around on these rock cliffs in the dark. I didn’t
expect the climbing to get any harder, but whether the climbing is low or high 5th
class the fall is still the same fall.
We finally got something to eat and then continued up the rocks. Glen was making
good time with his rock shoes but I hadn’t planned on using mine so didn’t bring
any and Jared brought his but was reluctant to use them because they are so
uncomfortable. We seemed to be making good time however, quickly reaching the
catwalk where we opted again to rope up. Then to the first rappel and up the other
side, the crux of the ridge, which Glen led in his fancy rock climbing shoes. By the
time we made it to the second rappel it was nearing 7:30. From our vantage point
we could see that the easier way up the left side of the next pitch was covered in
I think we had done the really fun part of the climbing though, so I wasn’t too
disappointed. The real goal was to get out and tackle some tough mountaineering
climbs, as Jared and I prepare for a summit attempt of Liberty Ridge on Mt. Rainier.
April 24 2010
The plan was for Jared Fairbanks, Glenn Miller and I to attempt Guert’s Ridge on
Mt. Olympus, taking a direct approach from lower in the canyon than is typical for
the ridge. Mt. Olympus is a steep, rocky mountain even when hiking up the trail.
Most people intent on climbing Guert’s Ridge bypass the bottom of the canyon,
hiking higher up the trail to approach the ridge from the south side. We opted to
approach from the bottom of the canyon, at the river crossing and climb the more
direct route from the north side. By doing this we likely added an equal amount of
climbing to the ridge itself, and more difficult climbing at due to the snow and ice
that was still remaining on the shaded side of the ridge.
After leaving the main trail we did some fairly easy bushwhacking, following the
stream up into the canyon bottom and onto some icy rock and snowfield. The snow
wasn’t very deep, with just a thin crust over hard ice and rock. We were already
high enough on the hillside that I didn’t like the prospects of sliding down the ice
and onto the rock below. Certainly it wouldn’t have been a deadly fall, but I had
already spotted a couple of unpleasant looking boulders that I didn’t want to
bounce off of. We eventually made it up onto the rocky portion of the lower ridge,
which still had some thin ice and occasional bad snow sections to cross. This had
taken us just under two hours from the trailhead and it was now 11:00. We decided
to hold off eating lunch until we had climbed this section and gained the ridge at the
typical starting point, we suspected close to 1:00. Looking up to the top of the rock
- face in front of us we saw four
mountain goats watching us. I
wondered if they thought we were fools
for climbing up that rock. And then I
thought about yelling back at them
“well then you’re fools too because
you live here”! They followed our
progress for most of the way up the
rocky face, one of them even moving
up the ridgeline to get a better view of
us.
We started working our way up the rock, taking an excessive amount of time roping
up on most of the sections because of the slippery rock. At one point I was leading
and I heard Glen say, “I’m in quite a pickle here.” I looked over and he was climbing
up unroped next to where I was.
“What does it smell like?” I asked.
“What does what smell like?”
“What does it smell like in a pickle? I imagine it would be pretty overwhelming.”
Glen managed to climb above me and I heard his sigh of relief when he had finally
reached a spot to anchor into and relax. We continued up to a point just below the
ridgeline which seemed to be the crux. I led this pitch, a short 20 or so feet but it
was pretty difficult due to the ice and me climbing in boots. I doubt it was any harder
than 5.6 on a nice day in rock shoes though. We finally pulled over the ridge, just
above the first pitch of the standard route. It was nearly 3:00 already and we
wondered if we would make it before dark. I don’t mind hiking out in the dark, but I
certainly didn’t want to be crawling around on these rock cliffs in the dark. I didn’t
expect the climbing to get any harder, but whether the climbing is low or high 5th
class the fall is still the same fall.
We finally got something to eat and then continued up the rocks. Glen was making
good time with his rock shoes but I hadn’t planned on using mine so didn’t bring
any and Jared brought his but was reluctant to use them because they are so
uncomfortable. We seemed to be making good time however, quickly reaching the
catwalk where we opted again to rope up. Then to the first rappel and up the other
side, the crux of the ridge, which Glen led in his fancy rock climbing shoes. By the
time we made it to the second rappel it was nearing 7:30. From our vantage point
we could see that the easier way up the left side of the next pitch was covered in
- snow and we would need to
rope up again to get past it. We
unanimously, at least I hope it
was unanimous, decided to rap
down into the bottom and
bushwhack our way back to the
trail rather than risk being up on
the rock in the dark. It’s a tough
thing to do. We had spent
nearly 8 hours already just
climbing the rock, only to bail
just shy of the summit. The icy,
snowy conditions getting up the
start of the climb had slowed us
down quite a bit.
I think we had done the really fun part of the climbing though, so I wasn’t too
disappointed. The real goal was to get out and tackle some tough mountaineering
climbs, as Jared and I prepare for a summit attempt of Liberty Ridge on Mt. Rainier.
View south past the ridge on the
left. Lone Peak in the
background.
left. Lone Peak in the
background.
Jared on the final rappel