approach gulley for W.Slabs on Olympus

how's the approach/descent snow conditions? I'm assuming it's mushy and not firm neve.I've also heard of a way to bypass most of the gulley - any ideas?

Just went up there last Wednesday. It was pretty inconsistent - easy to kick steps in for the first bit and then icy and fairly sketchy at the top. It was pretty miserable but we were just in our approach shoes. Having a pair of microspikes would have been awesome.

thanks!

did it last friday and monday trying to set a new fast PR. zeus(ascent) gully goes pretty quick with/without microspikes, but its nice to have them. Its not sketchy at all and I'm not sure why austin said "miserable". i love that semi firm snow.its way better than talus. i don't know which couloir you normally descend, but apollo is the way i always go down, and it was super fun. snow up high melting quick but we butt slided/skied most of the way down. the slabs themselves are mostly dry minus a short snowpatch 100 yards from the top. do it now as its prime west slab season!

Spencer Weiler wrote:did it last friday and monday trying to set a new fast PR. zeus(ascent) gully goes pretty quick with/without microspikes, but its nice to have them. Its not sketchy at all and I'm not sure why austin said "miserable". i love that semi firm snow.its way better than talus. i don't know which couloir you normally descend, but apollo is the way i always go down, and it was super fun. snow up high melting quick but we butt slided/skied most of the way down. the slabs themselves are mostly dry minus a short snowpatch 100 yards from the top. do it now as its prime west slab season!

i've always gone down climber's right 2/3 the way down, then cut back climber's left into the "zeus" gully - is the "apollo" way faster?

Yes very fast

Spencer Weiler wrote:Its not sketchy at all and I'm not sure why austin said "miserable".

Do you guys rap? Or can you just solo down to the Apollo gulley. What's the best way off?

Nobody should rap the West Slabs. Not only does it take hours compared to the walk offs but some soloist is gonna get killed by rock fall when two tangled 70m ropes land on a choss-covered ledge and send some of that choss down.
BTW, Appolo isn't the fastest way down, the gully which marks the E side of the slab is. If it's filled in you can haul serious ass.

So just continue up toward the summit and take the east most gully?

FS up the west slabs yesterday. Route is perfect conditions, snow was hard. only posted in once. It was too hard actually for my 5.10 guides to get any traction even when kick stepping. I also brought a 50cm axe which helped a ton, but I would recommend spikes of some sort to make things easier for going down/up the snow section.
If I went back today I would bring spikes, a thin glove, and some sort of long sleave as my forearms and nuckles are skinned from slipping and trying to dig in. Going slow should alleviate this, but again purchase in the snow would have been golden.
Came down the west descent gully which was easy as alway. never gone down the east side though.

I have been really interested in doing this route since I moved here last fall but haven't gotten around to it yet. I had figured I would do it alone BUT going with someone who knows the beta and descent would be better and probably more fun.

Anyone interested in going with me sometime, let me know/pm me! Thanks.

not that I am suggesting doing it alone, but really if you top out on the ridge line, head climbers right, and look for trees with rap slings on it, you will know you are going down the proper descent gulley. Raps are about 15-30M appart and could easily be down climbed even if you decided not to bring a rope

23 May 2013.

Forecast for the valley was a high of 72 and a low of 45.

We got to the snow field a little before 8 AM. It was very firm (i.e. frozen solid). My partner has ice trekkers and ski poles, I was just in my approach shoes with a mountaineering axe. It was a little tenuous for both of us, but manageable.

We simul-climbed the route and down-climbed the west flank of the Zeus couloir and regained the snow just before 11 AM (which now extends only 200 yards up from the main gully). The snow had softened slightly, but not enough to get any purchase in approach shoes. There was a fair amount of sliding and self-arrest.

Best combo would be ice trekkers and an axe: light, secure. Or, if you wait until later in the day to start, the up and down should go with approach shoes and maybe an axe or ski pole.

But whatever.

Not sure when the Zeus/Apollo names can into play but what folks are ascending to the west slabs has always been known simply as the west slab couloir and the descent is known as the Reese Couloir.

mountainproject.com/v/reese…

Allen Sanderson wrote:Not sure when the Zeus/Apollo names can into play but what folks are ascending to the west slabs has always been known simply as the west slab couloir and the descent is known as the Reese Couloir. mountainproject.com/v/reese…

The Zeus/Apollo names come from the Chuting Gallery.

whats the chuting gallery?

The Chuting Gallery is a book by Andrew McLean detailing steep skiing in the Wasatch.

amazon.com/The-Chuting-Gall…