I set out at 6:30am to climb Olympus. It's not an 11er, but for the SLC skyline it rules supreme and after heading up it may well be the greatest summit view in SLC. It's not as high (9,000+ft), but the views of the major 11er peaks are great and the view of the valley is awesome since the peak is so close to it. This is a 4,200ft climb in 3.5 miles!
It took me an hour to cross the stream in Tolcat Canyon, slightly ahead of the book time of 1:15, but the saddle was rough. Very, very steep and wet and cold in the morning after light rain. I was the first to the saddle in the morning and I tried my best to navigate the difficult west face of Olympus, just 500 feet from the summit. I went up what I thought was best, then retreated to look again. It seemed like the right way so I tried again and made it up 2/3 and got too nervous climbing the rocks. Since I was the only person on the face, I listened to the Spirit and turned home. If I was with someone who knew it was right, I could have made it, but alone it was time to go home probably 300 feet shy. No problem, a fabulous morning hike with great views the whole way. Here was the sun coming up.
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