After tracking the weather for most of June and cancelling a couple of plans, I was not sure if I would be able to make any alpine trips this month. Fortunately, a high-pressure system was developing, and the weekend of June 25-26 looked promising. Both Rohan and I had planned for family camping the same weekend. Rohan suggested we take a day off on June 27 and attempt Wedge Mountain (2903 m) via the North East Arete route. Given the forecast, I agreed. It would be my third attempt on Wedge.
Anna had reached out earlier in the month about climbing Wedge, but we couldn’t finalize the plan due to unstable weather. I shared the tentative plan for Wedge; fortunately, she could join us. She would hike to the Wedgemount Lake earlier on Sunday and give us a quick update on the conditions. Rohan and I would hike up later in the evening after wrapping up our camping trip.
Pre-Trip Planning
Gear
Rohan had prepared a gear list for our Sky Pilot North Face trip, and I just edited it for this trip. First, we debated if we should bring snowshoes, but then Anna talked to a few climbers who attempted Wedge on Sunday, and they recommended bringing snowshoes. All packed it was about 32 lbs.
Weather Forecast
After some unstable conditions, we had a good streak of clear days in the forecast starting June 23. Low freezing levels overnight would also help improve snow conditions that have been soft and unstable due to rain.
However, the freezing level for June 27 would go up to 3000 m. So there was a risk that even with clear weather, snow conditions won’t be right for us to summit. But we decided to go up and at least check the conditions. I will do a separate post on pre-trip planning for alpine trips and share more details.
Wedgemount Lake Trail
Rohan and I arrived at the Wedgemount Lake trailhead late in the afternoon and started our hike around 4:30 pm.
It took us about an hour and forty minutes to reach the boulder field. Just past 7 pm, we were out of the forest and had the final climb in front of us. We put on our snowshoes and made our way up.
It took us about 3.5 hours to reach the hut.
After dinner, we prepared the rope for glacier travel using the accordion method. We also discussed the plan for the next day. We would get up at midnight and leave the hut around 1 am. Rohan proposed doing the half-arete route to save time and get on the arete before it warms up. Anna and I agreed. If we didn’t reach the base of the arete by 5 am, we decided to turn around.
Wedgemount Glacier
On Monday, we left the hut around 1:10 am. We had about two and half hours of downtime. I got some rest but no sleep and wondered how I would manage the long day ahead. I was not very optimistic, and it was not a good start.
We put on our snowshoes as we got down to the Wedgemount Lake. Then, just as we passed Tupper Lake, we roped up for glacier travel.
The plan was to follow the half-arete route, but now I realize we were probably slightly on the (climber’s) left/east of the route. We were able to take a relatively direct route up the glacier, but later in the season, as the crevasses open up, it might not be feasible.
We took turns being at the front and breaking the trail as needed. It helped us avoid fatigue and continue climbing at a decent pace.
Higher up on the route, we had to make our way up a crevasse lip. Rohan initially tried to climb up with his snowshoes, but it was challenging. Anna and I stayed alert, ready to self-arrest in case the snow bridge that Rohan was climbing up gave in.
Rohan did a great job climbing through this tricky section, and then we followed. It took us almost 45 minutes to climb up this crevasse lip. It was already 5 am, our turnaround time, and we were at least an hour away from the base of the arete. We had our doubts about summiting, but we decided to continue and planned to assess the conditions once we were on the arete.
North East Arete
We got to the base of the steep section of the North East Arete around 6 am. Snow was now firm, and we could see the trail up the arete – likely by climbers from the previous day. Given the conditions, we decided to continue.
We put on our crampons and left our snowshoes and poles at the base of the arete. The final climb up the arete was steep (up to 45 deg.) and exposed but easier than I expected. It took us almost an hour to climb the arete and gain the summit ridge. Anna was at the front and was tired. But her optimism enabled her to push through the steep climb.
The snow on the summit ridge was firm and made for easy travel. At 7:30 am, we were on the summit of Wedge Mountain (2903 m). It had taken us six hours and twenty minutes from the hut. It was Rohan and Anna’s first and my third time on the mountain, and we were thrilled to be on the summit.
As it was a beautiful blue-bird day we had some amazing views of the Coast Mountains.
Descent
After a 15-minute break, we started our descent. Even though it had just been 30 minutes since we climbed up the steep arete, we noticed the difference in snow conditions. It was much softer now.
I was a bit nervous. Will we trigger an avalanche? What if one of us slips and takes a fall? Although the probability of any of these things happening was low, I found myself plunging the ice axe deeper into the snow as I came down last in our rope team.
Soon we were at the low point on the ridge. We packed our snowshoes and continued our descent. The only tricky section left was downclimbing the crevasse lip, but it went well.
We were back at the hut by 11 am. I had some snacks and then lay down on the bench. I was out in minutes, and when I woke up after 30 minutes, I got up with a gasp. While Kasturi is used to seeing this, Rohan and Anna were wondering if I was okay. I was alright. I just got unplugged from The Matrix – of my dreams.
Shortly after noon, we started our hike down. We were post-holing through the snow quite a bit and couldn’t wait to get down on some clear trails in the forest. We came across a guy hiking up on crutches as we were coming down. I couldn’t even comprehend the physical and mental effort required to do this hike on crutches.
We were back at the parking lot around 3 pm, and I was back home in Langley around 6 pm. Here is a snapshot of the trip from my COROS watch –
Only 3% (about 30 minutes) of the entire trip was above my aerobic threshold heart rate of 155. I was tired from the effort but not wiped out.
It was one of my best days on the mountain, where I enjoyed climbing a classic mountaineering route in BC with a great team. Wedge Mountain AD- Ice, North East Half-Arete. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to summer.
Territory Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge that this trip took place on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the St’át’imc (Stat-lee-um), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Líl̓wat Nations. I commit to learning about Indigenous peoples and issues and making reconciliation an ongoing effort.
Source: Native-Land Pronunciation Guide: First-Nations.info
Resources:
First Nations: St’át’imc | Skwxwú7mesh | Líl̓wat
Route Info/Trip reports – Summit Post | Our GPX Tracks (in GAIA)
Alpine Climbing: Alpine Savvy Video Series | Steve House Alpine Principles
Glossary of climbing terms.
Avalanche Canada – Forecast | Avy Savvy – Online Avalanche Tutorial | Recorded Webinars
Weather Forecast – SpotWx | Yr.No | Windy
AdventureSmart – Trip Planning
Disclosure: The links I have shared in the post and under the Resources section are not Affiliate Links.
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