"We're recovering from annoying injuries and needed a trip that required minimal commitment, but was still offered some summit inspiration. We ended up in the Highwood bagging 3 peaks. Mt Arethusa was the main objective; Storethusa and Little Arethusa were a bonus for such a short overall distance and elevation. We thought all the trip reports we read had accurate descriptions of the crux on Arethusa, however, we made two mistakes further on the ridge. After some easy and enjoyable scrambling and ridge walking, we found ourselves crawling along a very exposed and loose ledge on the west side of the ridge. It felt super sketchy, and looking back from the summit, we realized it was at least a 50m drop to a sloped scree ledge before another drop. On the way back we found the proper route along the ridge top, but it was hard to spot from the location we initially decided to take the death ledge. We were obviously not the first people to go that way, so it's worth noting the caution needed while route-finding this ridge. On the way back, Chelsea took an unneeded airy step with similar consequences (also on the west side). I marked up a photo illustrating both mistakes. These were reminde..." — ivo • Aug 31, 2024

"The alternate descent was challenging. Route finding down small steep ledges mixed with steep slab. It would have been more enjoyable to go back along the ridge and climb up the crux. " — Randy • Jul 24, 2024

"Easy scramble for the most part. The step was not difficult, I actually thought I’d missed it based off of how it is described. The chimney down climbing has only one or two spots that’s actually engaging. The rest is just normal palm pressing " — RockyMountainGoats • Sep 3, 2022

"Fun short trip up Arethusa. The crux was less exposed than I thought. The ridge had complex terrain that often dead-ended and required backtracking. I was out of water otherwise I might have bagged Storethusa Peak." — yuri • Aug 1, 2021

"My first trip after appendicitis surgery. Picked a relatively short objective with low elevation gain to make sure my legs can handle it after 2 months of inactivity. Mt. Arethusa is a great scramble for a shorter day. Crux is a Class 4 chimney downclimb with plenty of good handholds. There are many more exposed sections between the crux and the summit but the exposure is not the kind of that gives you adrenaline rush. Pretty manageable for anyone without vertigo issues. There are 2 traverses near the summit below the ridge crest which require very careful foot placement, and that's it. Having read lots of horror stories about the Kasne's alternative descent, we decided to go back the same way." — Taras • Sep 21, 2019

"Feli and I did an after-work scramble. We got to the Highwood and left from the car at 6:20 P.M. We summited exactly 2 hours later - twelve minutes before sunse -, so we made quick work back from the summit along the ridge to get to the scree when darkness set in. We had decided not to do the alternate descent before we started. We didn't keep quite high enough heading back to the drainage, so we decided to follow a small drainage down to the creek, where we got back onto the main trail. We had descended a bit further west, but it all worked out. We got back to the car at 10:22 P.M. despite some navigational back-and-forth with the headlamps on, so we will made good time. The smoke was a bit hard on the lungs, but the red sun and moon were quite cool. I found the chimney not too bad and a few moments of exposure not to my liking, but overall it wasn't too hard and I'm happy to have completed another difficult scramble. It was nice and hot too to boot. " — leigh-annewebster • Aug 29, 2017

"Mid-week escape: Little Arethusa - Mt Arethusa [ - Mt Rae, potential for the future] Arethusa has been on my list for a while; it's known as a pretty short scramble. Managed to sneak out from an office by lunch and was at the trailhead around 1pm. Quick stats: 7.7 km with 987m gain, 4:40hrs car-to-car Little Arethusa (2:15pm / 15mins): Started at 1:15pm; very straightforward; though missed the main trail, took left too soon, as was using someone's GPS track, no bushwacking, followed a game trail through sparse woods. Mt Arethusa (4:20pm / 20mins): Connecting ridge is where it gets interesting. Had to turn around almost at once, as came across of a drop; but then was simply finding way through ledge on the east side of the ridge. It goes all the way to the lowest point on the ridge, about 60-70m loss. Moreover, while I hadn't been able to find ANY report on the traverse, apparently people do it from time to time, as there are at least 3 cairns on it. Just about 50-100m from there is a notch with a drop; unless you bring a rope and rappel, it's damn exposed down climb. Had to loose another 100m of that. Spotted someone's track further on the slope and simply fol..." — alexp • Aug 2, 2017

"The weather finally cooperated and with a heat wave in the city we had great temperatures despite the breeze at the top. The chimney was not too bad and the ridge that followed had more difficult scrambling." — BertB • Aug 12, 2015