Kona on Little Arethusa at 8:30 am in August to beat the heat. Mt. Rae at left and Mt. Arethusa at right behind.
Little Arethusa
View to north at Ptarmigan Cirque trail.
Little Arethusa
View to west of HIghwood Ridge, Grizzly Ridge and Mt. Tyrwhitt.
Little Arethusa
View to south of Storm Mountain and Highway 40.
Little Arethusa
View to SE of “Three Finches”. Kona’s “grandad” traversed these peaks on a circuitous way to Mt. Arethusa in October 1988. Glenn Naylor, Kananaskis Park warden, had left 3 registers on these peaks Aug 7, 1988 and named them for the hundreds of grey-crowned rosy finches he saw in the cirque on the way up.
View back down to Rummel Lake from a high point on The Tower SW ridge in mid-August.
Tower SW Ridge
Smoky view to west of Mt. Shark and Spray Lakes Reservoir.
Tower SW Ridge
Summit of The Tower deceptively just an easy scramble away, except for a hidden 10 m overhang. Kona’s “grandad” tried this route on Oct 8, 1988 and had to make a 600m+ elevation loss / regain, so obviously not the recommended route unless equipped for a short rappel. Left a register with an airline bottle of Kaluha for the next visitor as it appeared rarely visited. Before month’s end Rick Collier called to say thanks!
Tower NW Ridge
Mt. Smuts and The Fist across the valley. Tent Ridge high point at right.
Tower NW Ridge
Butterfly on Moss Campion.
Tower SW Ridge
Fireweed alongside the descent scree slope, Commonwealth Ridge, Commonwealth Peak, Pig’s Tail and Mt. Birdwood behind.
Tower SW Ridge
Lots of pollinators out today.
Tower SW Ridge
Roseroot (maybe) on scree slopes.
Tower SW Ridge
Silky Scorpionweed on scree slopes.
Tower SW Ridge
Silky Scorpionweed (purple), Umbrella Plant / Wild Buckwheat (white / pink), and Alpine Forget-Me-Not (blue) on scree slopes.
Tower SW Ridge
Some type of Saxifrage (Spotted maybe) on scree slopes.
Tower SW Ridge
Common Stonecrop on scree slopes.
Tower SW Ridge
Mountain Meadow Cinquefoil (maybe) on scree slopes.
Tower SW Ridge
Alpine Forget-Me-Not and Long-stalked Starwort on scree slopes.
Tower SW Ridge
Long-stalked Starwort (maybe) on scree slopes
Tower SW Ridge
Fringed Grass of Parnassus on trail to Rummel Lake.
Tower SW Ridge
Pearly Everlasting on trail to Rummel Lake.
Tower SW Ridge
Common Yarrow on trail to Rummel Lake.
Tower SW Ridge
Nodding Campion / Apetalous Catchfly in seed on scree slopes.