Mount Olsen

–submitted by Matthew Lettington; originally published on explorington.com While some mountains are heinous bushwhacks, and others require long logging road approaches, Mount Olsen is none of these. All along the Corrigan Main the land is laid waste by heavy logging, and the myriad of logging roads crisscross the slope creating a maze of roads that push high up the side of the mountain. Although we came ready for a long slog along snow-covered roads, we discovered the roads clear; a benefit of an early spring heatwave.
one short butt slide
Mount Olsen Route
Total Distance: 5.9 km Starting Elevation: 816 m Maximum Elevation: 1293 m Total Elevation Gain: 544 m Total descent: 557 m Total Time: 4 hours, 44 minutes
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jx1W3a9nCfGfuMZNa2twu6lBT6czaUHo&usp=sharing We parked near the end of the road at 900 metres elevation. From here, the summit was a very quick hike through the crunchy snow and alpine shrubs along the east ridge to the summit. We severely overestimated the day’s objective, and in the heat of the day, we followed Phil as he would his way around the short bluffs, up a bushy gully or two, to arrive on the summit by 9:30 am.
Summit shot
We each had a good chuckle. We could have slept in a few hours and still had an easy day of it. We languished on the summit to admire the views of the surrounding peaks. The biggest challenge of the day was back in Port Alberni: which flavour of donuts should I eat first! See more photos on his blog.

Leave a Reply