Mt. Arkansas

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 5/13/2013, By: jbchalk
Info: ALOT of snow up on Arkansas' north ridge, but things are definitely settling down re: the snowpack, which is good news. We did the north ridge direct and snowshoes/skis were essentiall up the sadddle where the north ridge meets the northeast ridge. Ridge is too dicey for snowshoes IMO. Crampons and axe were essential as well for the ridge to the summit. Lots of trailbreaking and deep trenching. Class 4 crux was caked in snow as well. Fun climb, though. 

Route: NE to N
Posted On: 5/6/2012, By: Monster5
Info: The road heading up from the TH off the highway is mostly dry, though an early drift necessitates a short walk up the basin. Plenty of patchy, postholing below treeline in the afternoon (snowshoes probably wouldn‘t help). Negligible or short snow sections above. NE Couloir - in, ‘cept for the choke. Deviated from it due to a late start (partner never showed), but another pair cruised up after a detour up the valley. Relatively recent ski tracks. Some wet slide activity on similar aspects. Gets sun-hit early. E Ridge couloirs - in and shadier than the NE couloir. NE ridge - mostly dry, basically a moderately exposed, narrow talus scramble with straight-forward notches. Gained it after the first low gendarmes and connected with the N ridge route. N ridge - a mix of cornice and dry. The spicier sections up top were dry (c2+ bypasses or c4 ridge direct). The lower section was either tundra or cornice snow. Posthole descent through the trees down to the car. 

Route: North Couloir
Posted On: 4/23/2012, By: Wyoming Bob
Info: Climbed Mt. Arkansas via North Couloir on Sunday, 4/22. Mixed dry and shallow snow on road from CO91 for 1st quarter mile; snow for next 3/4 mile to crest of upper basin (first view of route), snow fields and dry for 1/4 mile then snow to base of climb. Climb has more than fair share of recent snow, got soft very early but for very top, I‘d wait for a good freeze before attempting this route. No route finding issues from car to summit. 

Route: East Slopes (Snow!) and N ridge
Posted On: 4/10/2012, By: Matt Lemke
Info: Went out this morning and climbed Mount Arkansas. Parked at Fremont Pass and walked some old roads and train tracks around the base of the NE ridge on firm snow. Continued west and started climbing some very nice and firm snow slopes just north of the North Couloir. We reached 45 degrees for a while but it averaged about 40 degrees. We hit the north ridge right where the North and NE ridges meet and continued south to the summit. This traverse was easy with only one real class 3 difficulty which could have been completely avoided on the ridges' west side. We saw the prints of people who had recently come up the North couloir which dumps out very near the true summit. Very warm morning allowed us to sit on the summit and enjoy the views for about 45 minutes while we waited for the large snow slopes just south of the summit to soften a little more. We then traversed a short distance to the first saddle south of Arkansas towards Tweto and glissaded all the way back to the valley with very good snow coverage. This was FUN! The hike back was warm...but we only postholed a few times. The views of all the Mosquito Peaks were great as I looked back at what Jed and I had done last Friday...all those peaks! Arkansas was the one we didn't get hence why I did it this morning. For anyone looking to do some good cramponing on good snow, Arkansas' East side was filled with many great options ranging from the 50 degree North couloir to 45 degree snow covered slopes to 40 degree snow slopes. A nice snow gully also led up the NE ridge about halfway up that someone could do. The routes on this peak were endless annd this would be a great place to practice some snow climbing/self arresting with all the options. It is so close to Highway 91 as well which allows you to get crackin' on the good stuff with a minimal approach. Word of advice though...do not head through the trees westward to get to Arkansas' west slopes. You don't wanna go there! Stay in the valley, wlak a short ways up the 4WD road and get to the small tarn below the east slopes for some great snow climbing options. First photo shows Arkansas Panorama with the North couloir Second one is looking down the NE ridge from where we hit the ridge Third one looks south along the N ridge towards summit Forth one is a look at our great glissade on the slopes just south of the summit 

Route: North Couloir
Posted On: 4/1/2012, By: Boggy B
Info: As posted on the forums, coverage is good but thinning at the top. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 7/11/2011, By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: A bit wet between 11,600‘ and 11,800‘ and a few snow fields to walk around below 12,000‘. Dry from there to the summit. 

Route: S/SE ridge from Mount Tweto
Posted On: 7/4/2011, By: IHikeLikeAGirl
Info: Ridge between Tweto to Arkansas was mostly snow free. Two, moderately steep, snow fields must be crossed (pic 1). One will probably be gone or avoidable soon as it was relatively shallow and had rocks poking through (pic 2). Both were icy along the edges so, be extra careful. I used micro spikes and an ice axe. The rest of the ridge had little or avoidable snow.