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Rocky Mountain Ramblers Association

Trip Report
Trip Date:
10-Nov-2017
Activity:
Snowshoeing
Trip name:
Little Arethusa 433075 via Arethusa Cirque
Coordinator:
Christine
Report:

The first snowshoe of any season can be a mystery, you never know what you’re going to get, especially in the Highwood area. When we arrived at the trailhead it was - 4 C with a slight breeze and about 4 cm of fresh snow. After putting on the snowshoes we trudged up a trail to what some allude to as “the bench.” This took about an hour.  Here the views opened up and even though it was overcast with flat light, we were able to see all the Highwood peaks. We contoured around the base of Little Arethusa to the West side and ditched the snowshoes below its windblown slope.




Looking West towards Highwood Ridge




Jim on the upper bench with Little Arethusa in the background




Kevin leads the way toward the west slope of Little Arethusa.

 The wind was variable all the way to the top, at times it was gusting then complete calm.



Trading in the snowshoes for microspikes.

Reaching the first high point on the ridge two Ramblers decided to stop for lunch while three of us moved onward. We faced deeper snow along the ridge and in some sections it was above the knee (well, for us shorter ones anyway).



Chip punched holes in knee deep slab on the summit ridge.




Lots of snow on the upper ridge of Little Arethusa

Once reaching the summit we lingered long enough to take a few photos before descending to join the others for lunch. We returned the same way and were back at the cars by 3:30 p.m.



Kevin on the summit of Little Arethusa




Chip and Christine on the summit of Little Arethusa

Thank you Christine G, Kevin, Jim and Chip for joining me on a great day out in the snowy mountains. Also, a huge shout out to Kevin for contributing photos. Yours truly, Christine M.