Apollo Couloir

The Apollo Couloir is the kinder, gentler sister chute to the Zeus Couloir. Approach from Wasatch Blvd., turn E onto Oakview Dr. (4275 South). This road is immediately N of a pedestrian overpass that crosses Wasatch Blvd. Follow Oakview Dr. uphill and make a right turn on Jupiter Dr. (3735 East). Follow Jupiter Drive S and and turn left on Adonis Drive (4505 South). Drive a short distance to Thousand Oaks Drive (4500 South) and turn right. Continue up Thousand Oaks Drive, going past a sharp left turn, to a cul-de-sac above two water tanks, and park. From the parking, start up the trail towards the approach gully following some switchbacks. At the bottom edge of the gully, the trail will eventually disappear and become a 2nd class approach through the lower part of the gully which will have some third class sections. From here head directly up the gully to the base of Medusa's face. At the base of the face, head left and boot up Zeus Chute until you reach the top of Apollo, which will be near the top. A few hundred feet from the top of the Zeus chute, if you stay right and keep an eye out for the entry you'll find the entrance to the Apollo Couloir. This is a nice angling chute that drops away from Medusa's Face and Zeus Chute into it's own divide on the face of Mount Olympus. This can hold great snow since it's sheltered and protected from the wind. It also holds snow well into the spring and can be one of the last lines to melt out on the face. The pitch is in the low 40's and continues for a long way until it empties into the bottom gully, where the pitch mellows out and continues down into the thick brush. From here you can trend left and follow game trails and open gullies to avoid the worst of the bushwhacking until you connect with the uphill track you approached on.