Wedge Mountain Second Attempt

Wedge Mountain Northeast Arete is a classic mountaineering route in British Columbia and is rated AD-. I attempted Wedge Mountain in 2019 and since then have been wanting to go back for another attempt in better conditions.

The weather forecast kept changing for the weekend of June 19-20. Finally, on June 17, the forecast was for cloudy night/morning on June 18-19 and decent conditions for an attempt. Unfortunately, other friends were not available on short notice, so just Oudi and I decided to give it a shot.

Wedge Mountain Weather — Mountain Forecast Weather for Wedge Mountain

We planned to hike to the Wedgemount Lake hut Friday night and have a 3 am alpine start on Saturday. It would take about 4-5 hours to reach the summit and we should be back at the hut before noon.

Gear List

Based on recent reports, Avalanche Risk seemed Moderate, but we decided to carry our avy gear (beacon, probe and shovel). My gear list was very similar to what I packed for the Garibaldi NE Face climb last year. However, since we would be staying in the hut, we wouldn’t have to carry any bivy gear.

Climbing Gear – 50 m half rope, Helmet, Alpine Boots, Crampons, Ice Axe, Ice Tool, 1 Snow Picket, 2 Ice Screws + V-thread tool, 2 Alpine Draws, 2 Double Length Slings, 2 Prusiks, 2 Pulleys, 4 Locking Biners, Alpine Harness

Clothing – Softshell Jacket, Shell Jacket and Pants, Gloves, Balaclava, Cap, 1 Pair of Socks, Glacier Glasses, Gaiters. I would be hiking in a Full-Sleeve Synthetic Shirt, Softshell Pants and moisture-wicking underwear.

Avy Gear – Beacon, Shovel, Probe

Food – 2 peanut butter-banana sandwiches, 2 Instant Chai Mix, Trail Mix, 1 Liter of Water, Jetboil, Fuel Canister, 1 Spoon, Picked up a veggie sandwich and roll on our drive to trailhead.

Misc. Gear – Sleeping Pad and Bag, Sunscreen, Hand-sanitizer, Toilet Paper, Medical kit, Head Lamp, Coros Apex Watch + Wahoo Tickr, Cell Phone, Garmin inReach, extra set of clothes in the car, backcountry reservation confirmation

Without the rope, the pack weight was about 30 lbs. All the gear fit nicely in my 35 L backpack.

Once I reached Oudi’s place, we reviewed the gear again. I replaced the heavy shell/insulation jacket with a lightweight shell jacket. I took out the medical kit and just carried some basic supplies. Oudi gave me lighter ice screws, and I also left behind the belay device and a pulley. I dumped everything in a garbage bag and left it at Oudi’s place. My pack was lighter by about 5 lbs.

As we drove to the trailhead, Oudi looked at the snow on the mountain and suggested we skip avalanche gear. Instead, we would carry one shovel between us.

Wedgemount Lake Trail

We reached the trailhead late in the evening and started our hike around 7:45 pm.

Wedgemount Lake Trail is a steep and rugged trail, gaining close to 1100 m over six km. I have done this hike three times before, so I was mentally prepared for the effort. About halfway into the hike, we took our first break just before the big boulder field. We were now seeing patches of snow on the trail.

It was close to 10 pm when we cleared the forest. We were in the last stretch of our hike now. It was bright enough, and we managed to hike to the hut without a headlamp.

After a quick dinner, we started prepping for the climb. First, we prepared the rope using an accordion method for two people. It gave us roughly 16 m of rope between Oudi and me and coiled the extra rope at both ends. Then, to add some additional friction, we tied around four butterfly knots between us.

We boiled some water, laid out the gear for the next day and tried to get some sleep in the loft.

Alpine Start

We got up at 2:30 am on Saturday. Even though we had sorted out the gear and rope the previous night, it still took us about 45 minutes to get going.

We had clear skies and light wind. Closer to the lake, the snow was firm and compact. So far, it was perfect. Soon we were close to the frozen Tupper Lake (upper lake close to the glacier). We roped up here. Snow was soft here, and we continued without crampons.

Wedge Mountain Climb - Alpine Start — 4 am on our way to Wedge Mountain

Higher up on the glacier, the snow was soft and slowed our progress. Even with an early start, the snow was much softer than we expected. By 5 am it started drizzling.

Oudi and I had a quick chat about the conditions and our progress compared to what we had discussed before. Never make a decision when you are hungry and tired. So, we decided to climb up to the rocks below the Weart-Wedge col and take a rest.

Failing Well on Wedge Mountain

The conditions got worse as we arrived at our rest spot. It was raining, windy and the clouds had covered the summit ridge. It had taken us almost three hours to arrive at this spot (2435 m) and would take another 30 minutes to get to the ridge. Soft snow would make for a challenging climb up the North East Arete (45 degrees exposed snow climb). Potentially three more hours to the summit (2892 m)

Wedge Mountain Climb - Turn Around — Oudi at our highest point (2435 m)

Oudi had already done this climb twice, and on this trip, I was planning to lead the route. However, given the conditions and time, I didn’t feel comfortable continuing. Oudi agreed that we should climb this route in better conditions, so we turned around.

As we were getting ready to head down, we saw two climbers who started after us make their way to the ridge.

We met two other groups on our way down that started between 5-6 am and decided to continue to climb. I was now second-guessing our decision to turn around. It was not an easy decision, but I believe for me it was the right one. Uphill Athlete founders Steve House and Scott Johnston talk about failing successfully. I would encourage you to watch the video below and also listen to this podcast. They have some great advice for climbers of all abilities.

By the time we got back to the hut, it had stopped raining, but the clouds had covered the mountain.

We took a short nap at the hut and started our hike down around 10 am. It took us just over two hours to get back to the trailhead. We didn’t summit, but for me, it was an excellent learning experience – trip planning, assessing snow conditions and mountain weather, decision-making with a partner. Oudi is a mentor to me, and it was good to spend some 1:1 time with him.