Feli, Mike and I hit the HIghwood on Friday, which was great weather. Storm is a tough one on the grind up and a bastard on the alternate descent. Kane's description is a bit off when he talks about the ledge traverse as you have to keep going rather than ascend the ridge from the low point. I found that confusing. We saw one other person that was way off route with his dog...
Taras
I didn't like the optional descent either. It doesn't save any time. Going back the same way is probably a better choice, what most parties seem to be doing anyway.
leigh-annewebster
It was fun to make it work directly from the summit. A bit of a challenge that worked out, but it seems longer, especially since you end up in Arethusa Cirque.... Either way back is probably still crappy lol. The terrain is steep!
Taras
Oh, we didn't end up in Arethusa Cirque. I didn't know it's possible. We took an obvious gully straight from the summit and ended up in a small valley, which connects easily with the ascent trail. I think it's Bob Spirko's route. But the descent was slow on slabs and scree and required caution (rockfall danger). It didn't save any time.
leigh-annewebster
That's interesting.... the picture from the Kane book seems to have the alternate descent going into Arethusa Cirque area (not where the alternate descent of Arethusa comes out, but between it and Storm. Instead of taking the trail left we just descended to the road and walked the three kilometres or so. Hmmmm.... I'm a bit confused now....
leigh-annewebster
Just looked at Spirko's descent. We definitely didn't do that.