Mt. Olympus - Epic Spring Hike

05/16/2008 23:15pm

Hello Friends,

Your favorite head local had a busy morning of phone calls, business meetings and account visits. One of those meetings was with Mike at Black Diamond, a friend and outdoor apparel industry expert whom I met on a rafting trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon (epic trip and guides). Mike and I talked business while looking up at the Wasatch Range and Twin Peaks. He was glad to get out of the office and enjoy the bluebird day with sun beating down - 81 degrees!

After visiting my last account of the day at Centered City Yoga, a very funky, great vibe yoga studio in Sugarhouse, I made it downtown to do a few errands. All the while I had my eye on the mountains thinking about the workout that was soon to come.

A few Clif Bars (apple cranberry are my fav) and then my phone rings. It is Vid Rowan from SkiTown.com - A Mountain Resort Guide. This site peaked my interest during a recent internet foray as it provides information regarding the going-ons in and around ski resort towns. Obviously I thought about the synergies between Locals Have More Fun, A Environmentally Cool Clothing Company that depicts the locals lifestyle in these exact towns. Vid and I had a great conversation regarding the benefits of SkiTown.com working with a clothing supplier that is a member of 1% For the Planet - allowing Locals Have More Fun to donate a percentage of our revenues to various organizations positioned in or near different ski resort towns.

All in all it was a great day and the hike hadn't even begun. Before I started, I had one more piece of business (besides more Clif Bars - information regarding this still to come). I had to email Dave at Into The Markets and tell him about the Redirect Guide - The Healthy and Sustainable Business Directory and Lifestyle Guide. An account rep was looking for an environmentally friendly investment consultant/financial adivsor/investment education company. Into the Markets also donates a percentage of their proceeds to protecting the environment.

Business is finished for the day! I set out at 14:30 and head up, up, up. It is hot, but as I get deeper into the canyon and higher, the vegetation and altitude provide some relief. Waterfalls, the smell of pine, and mud! Spring runoff is coming down and the trail is overtaken by water, then by snow, then by DEEP snow. The last 500 yards to the saddle is knee deep snow. There is a lot of snow still in the Wasatch front - the rivers must be raging!!

I meet up with 3 other people at the saddle and take off for a scramble to the top (the snow was gone, but the water made the rock pretty slippery).

At the summit of Mt. Olympus, the views were breathtaking. It wasn't the steep drop to the Salt Lake Valley (the trail rises 4500 feet in just 3.5 miles - serious vert). But the views east and south towards the Cottonwood Canyons. So much snow still covering the wonderful backcountry skiing that these canyons provide. North we could see the mountains around Snowbasin and Powder Mountain.

It was a crystal clear day in more than one aspect - mentally cleansing, the air was clean, and Locals Have More Fun through various strokes of good fortune is able to see the future more clearly.

Have a great weekend!
Brian