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Date |
Ascent Time |
Descent Time |
| 1st Time |
22 Sep 01 |
2:32 |
1:23 |
Arethusa sits next to Mt. Rae. Although Mt. Rae is higher, Arethusa is more fun. It's an easy approach and
a great ridge scramble with bits of exposure.
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Here we see Mt. Arethusa as seen from the parking area. Although the book says to follow the left hand
side of the drainage, there is a well worn trail on the right. You'll find a big cairn right next to the trees.
I didn't realise this on the way up (or down), so I went up the left side of the creek. There is no trail,
but the bushwhacking isn't too bad. Of course, after spending time in BC, nothing in Alberta is bad. :-)
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Once you get out of the trees, you'll come to an alpine meadow with the slopes of Arethusa in front of you.
To the left, you can see the descent route. There was another guy about 20 minutes ahead of me, and he went
down one gully to the climbers right of me, directly below the summit. His gully had lots of scree trails
coming out of it, but the gully I took was protected from the sun, no scree until the bottom, and a couple
of rap slings which should only be needed it you encounter snow and ice. Obviously both gullies will work.
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From that alpine meadow, this is the other side of Arethusa's steep slopes. This is the side where you go up.
The further right you go, the easier the ground. Pick a line that meets your desires. I found the scree
very miserable, so I tried to stick to more rock and slab.
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After gaining the ridge, you quickly encounter the chimney downclimb. It's very similar to the chimney on Pilot
or on the Fist, but not as long.
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Once you get down the chimney, continue to make your way to the summit. When I got to the notch in the ridge, I dropped
down on the right, and circled around it. Very easy. A few more steps after that, and you're at the summit. By
the way, there was no summit register. In the background, you can see Mt. Rae.
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This is one more shot of the descent route.
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Here is a closer look at Mt. Rae's ascent route. When I did Mt. Rae, there were a couple of snow beds going
up the scree, which made things easier.
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