Mt Arthur Traverse Leader: Grahame Harris
Party: Peter Wise, Uta Purcell, Lindsay Twiname, Rosalie Horsfield, Steve McGlone, Jim Weston, Anita Robertson, Brian Renwick, Justin Annan, Lien Jobse, Grahame Harris.
It was good to see Lien out again, although he did not go up into the snow; neither did Twinkletoes Twiname in her sneakers. It was also good to see a number of prospective new members out.
We followed the usual route up to where the snow slope had to be traversed below the first big bluff. One member did not have crampons, and out of solidarity we all continued without them. The snow was hard and slippery, but with well formed footsteps. We successfully negotiated the sidle and followed with the more spectacular but easier final steep climb up to the summit ridge. The top was covered with a layer of crisp snow right to its northern edge, but there it ceased abruptly and completely. After lunch at this spot we went down the steeper but snow-free northern ridge to meet up with the Gordon's Pyramid track before crossing back across the Horseshoe Basin to rejoin the main track down. The descent included sections that were narrower and steeper than some party members had encountered before, but they were talked through them successfully and appeared pleased with their achievements.
The weather was sunny until lunchtime, but then high clouds obscured the sun and cooled things down a bit.