After getting my friends and I caught up in a thick bush last week as we unassumingly scrambled up to Bardean's summit, I vowed "... this Canada Long weekend there will be open Alpine slopes."
I quickly rounded up my buddies via email and put out the idea of Wedge Mountain via its Northeast Arete; six of them quickly agreed. I have the great fortune of having friends experienced in mountaineering; ones who also are happy to share their knowledge of some of the technical aspects of it too.
We were a group of seven initially, Adrian, Bala, Clayton, Isabelle, Oudi, Ross, and myself; Isabelle was going remain at camp while the rest of us went for the summit. We started the hike on Saturday, and reached our camp spots at about 5pm. We then spent sometime reviewing crevasse rescue, ate dinner, and by 9:15pm were attempting to sleep before our 1:00am wake up call.
We were hiking up towards Wedge Glacier by 2:10am. The progress was smooth, and we encountered no substantial crevasses; only lines of depression in the snow indicating that there were some underneath.
Our plan was to do the full Arete route. I didn't know much about the route, but once we gained the ridge, the beauty of that line unfurled before my eyes; it was absolutely spectacular. Adding to this, the Alpenglow on Wedge's North face was breathtaking; with the ever intensifying glow of day's light it was as if the mountain was awakening from its slumber.
The full ridge route is knife edgy, but a broad knife edge in my experience of it. At times the ridge does have some enthralling exposure, which is really fun to experience; providing great opportunity for me to focus on foot placement.
When we reached that apex, it was phenomenal! Wedge offers up a great vantage into the deep reaches of Garibaldi Provincial Park; the icefields were particularly spectacular. The summit though, it's really an amalgam of unique personal experiences that occurred during the ascent. The scenery, the energy expended, the jokes heard, and the questions answered, the summit is inclusive of all these facets and more.
Our plan for a 2am start was a good idea, we started our descent at about 8am; by this time we started to create some sluffing on the sun exposed Eastern slopes. We were on top of the ridge, so the volume of snow sluffing off was below us; this objective hazard will have to be assessed by those who go later in the heat. My personal opinion, start early.
I also encountered an endangered species while packing up, a park ranger. He was very friendly and talked with us for quite some time. The park ranger informed us that there is a cost associated for camping at Wedgemount Lake, and unlike other trailheads like Elfin Lakes, there isn't an obvious cash drop box; you're supposed to pay via the website BC Backcountry Registration System.
My summit video: Wedge Mountain Vista
NOTE!!! There are break-ins occurring at the Wedgemount Lake parking lot. Four cars had been broken into during this past long weekend. I was happy to see that the cops were there, and dusting for finger prints. I was fortunate enough to have my car intact upon my return.