WEDGE!!!

[ckouba]

8/19/03 - Summitted Wedge via NE Arete route with my dad on my birthday. Definately one of my best ever.

 

We did the full ridge from Wedge/Weart Col. The glacier is nearly dry, lots of end runs or quick hops to clear crevasses. Good, stable snow to notch gaining ridge. The ridge itself was clear except a few large patches of stable snow. And then the arete!!! Wow! What a GREAT line!

 

We ran it out 'til it got steep, then simul climbed with 3 pickets. Snow was stable, not too corniced (except one avoidable spot) and took pickets well until the very end where I managed to place a screw in the ice just below the rock at the top.

 

What a great, aesthetic snow line in a gorgeous area! Having my dad enjoy it as much as I did was a real treat (I told him it was "just like Eldorado"- we climbed it last year- but a little longer and steeper).

 

I posted some pics in the gallery:

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/showgallery.php?thumb=1&stype=2&si=ckouba&cat=500&sort=1&ppuser=339

 

AWESOME trip, beautiful area!

 

CK

[slothrop]

Way to go, man. Nice photos.

[pope]

Spectacular photos! to you!

[Cpt.Caveman]

Wedge has nice postion and features for a good mountain. I'd climb it again. Which means it must be good because lots of supposed good mountain routes I would pass up for a second climb.

 

I bet it was fun

[ckouba]

Caveman- I couldn't agree more. I have tagged a few cool lines recently and I would go back to Wedge at the drop of a hat. This route was really fun and the whole mountain looks like it has numerous sweet lines on it too.

 

Someone else also wrote me asking for more beta so I thought I'd cc the thread with my response. I also put up a few more pics as well (check the link above):

 

The mountain was AWESOME! I did it with my dad (he's 58, little cllimbing experience) and he thoroughly enjoyed it. I have done a few cool routes to date, and this was definately top 3. Here's what I did and what I would do differently:

 

Did and I'm ok with:

3 pickets (2')

2 screws

8mm X 30m rope

aluminum crampons

single alpine axe

 

Do differently:

bring some rock pro (exactly what though depends, I was comfortable but I would have liked a little more security for my dad on the upper part- ended up improvising a chock block for a marginal anchor at one point. I am guessing you'll probably be fine without it though.)

 

Stuck with:

Study up on the descent options- we came down the West ridge. IT SUCKS. Huge scree slog over major sucky rocks. You also end up about 400' below the pass back to the Wedgemont glacier and need to climb back up and over to get there. If you're fast enough to get up and down the NE Arete before it gets unreasonably soft, go for it. I didn't want to with my dad and probably wouldn't have done it anyway. As bad as the west ridge was, I would actually do it again given the option of descending the NE Arete.

 

Timeline:

0400 - Alarm

0505 - moving

0650 - geared up and moving (slowly) up the Wedgemont

0900 - gained top of ridge, start traversing to snow arete

1100 - arrive at snow, remount crampons, get out pickets

1300 - top out ridge

1337 - Summit pictures

 

We took a really long time coming down, but once we got back over the pass (Wedge/Parkhurst col) we were off the glacier in under two hours.

 

 

The route:

We did the whole ridge from Wedge/Weart Col. The icefall is too broken up to make a line go without being too technical. Something looks like it might go if you wanted to try the shortcut, but I didn't study it too hard as I knew my dad wouldn't be up for that. Our long route is very straightforward and enjoyable though.

 

After tagging the summit, we headed for the west ridge to descend as the guides read. The west ridge is the most crumbly, scree-choked piece of crap. It would be way better with snow on it for glissades, but it's completely dry now. The remaining ridges off the west end of the summit ridge all cliff out to some difficulty but would probably be possible to descend if you had gone up that way and studied it for your return. There are also a number of gullies that it may be possible to downclimb (ski in winter/spring) but I passed on these with my dad as the snow was rather soft already and I didn't know much about them for the descent. One or two of them looked like they would have worked when we passed by them from the bottom but we didn't know this from the top.

 

Specifics:

We set the alarm for 0400 and actually got up on time and started eating and packing. We were fairly well organized from the night before but still took a while to get out of camp.

The trails around the lake are horrible. Not cairned or well marked in any way. I say this only to point out how guilty I felt walking all over the heather and other fragile plants. The trail from the lake to the toe of the glacier was pretty sucky too, and rather difficult to follow was we came off the glacier after sunset (took a long time coming down the west ridge).

 

From the toe of the glacier, we headed fairly directly straight up the middle of the Wedgemont. It was broken up on the edges and we stuck in the middle to the first plateau. The glacier is fairly dry right now and most of the snow was extremely hard and stable, although a few times when crossing marginal looking snow I probed it with the ice axe and it was rather soft so we ended up detouring a little more. Long story short is that it is passable rather directly up the middle.

 

From the plateau below Wedge/Weart Col, we swung a sharp left up the ramp to the col. The glacial ice was exposed directly under the notch to gain the ridge so we ramped back with a rising traverse to the left to gain the top of the pitch, then traversed into the notch to gain the ridge. We ditched the crampons and scrambled over the dry rock toward the arete, putting the crampons on only once along the way to work across one large snow patch. This probably could have been overcome with a little exposed rock climbing (mid-5th) but my dad is rock-averse and the snow ramp was definately the path of least resistance.

 

After finishing the traverse to the arete, we cramponed up and got the pickets out. After traversing out a few rope lengths, it started its ramp to the summit ridge. The snow was a little soft, but it was ~11am at this point. The snow never got to the point of slushiness but it did start to ball up my crampons from time to time. Once through the initial layer of softness, our pickets would sink in quite firmly and securely. Didn't feel like falling and testing them though...

 

The last little bit gets marginally steeper just before topping out the ridge and I saved a picket to place just before transitioning onto the rock. The snow wasn't deep enough to be worth holding even a psychological picket placement, so I just kept climbing. I went to traverse across the boot track and noticed where the snow thinned enough there was ice beneath it. I swung at it a few times and it held my alpine pick, so I got out a screw and turned it into the ice and clipped in the rope. I had brought them for the glacier and didn't even think I'd use them once this high on the route...

 

So I got onto the rock and improvised an anchor using a sling and a rock as a chockstone in a crack. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done after my dad pulled the screw (I wanted something for pro, and as I said- I brought none.). I sent him up and away and we topped out the ridge within 3 or so ropelengths, ~1300.

 

The summit ridge is like a big rocky beach with great views and the hike to the summit is no more than just that- a hike. We ditched gear, scrambled our way up there and took pictures and ate a bite.

 

After a while, we packed our junk and headed for the west ridge. There is a cairn at the west end of the summit ridge, but that has nothing to do with finding the west ridge. If you make like you're going to descend the back side and continue to do a descending traverse to the right, that's the most accurate description of how it feels, you'll eventually get down. Simply keep traversing right as you make your descent.

 

If you're on the west ridge, you won't see the Parkhurst summit or the col. You'll see Green Lake and Whistler and you'll feel like you've been descending forever. And you do. You'll find a pocket glacier as Parkhurst becomes more and more visible. Drop down onto this glacier and traverse it to the right as well. At this point you will start to see Parkhurst summit and the Wedge/Parkhurst Col. It's about 400' of climbing to get back up and over the col, starting from the right and working to the left as you come across, and you end up on a snow patch on the far west/north side of the col. This will let you drop straight back down to the Wedgemont and back to the lake.

 

It's really straightforward and quite enjoyable- save for the de/ascent to the Wedge/Parkhurst Col. One or two stoppers and Tri-cams and a few long slings and I think I would have been completely happy for pro. Obviously we made due without it though.

 

 

The trail up to the lake is well maintained and easy to follow, steep in spots (Boston Basin-esque). The hut at the lake is The Ritz-Carlton! We got to move in and sleep there both nights and it rocks! Views are great and the route is truly breath-taking.

 

There was talk on our way down that the BC gov't was going to "close" the backcountry due to fire danger. Give a call somewhere to make sure that you can still get in and bring your passport if you have a border crossing to deal with (are you in BC already?).

 

Also the road you turn onto is pretty decent, but it quickly deteriorates into an unmaintained road. My Suburban did fine, but you may end up walking a bit if you're in some kind of a low ground clearance vehicle.

 

In the end, the glacier should be dry and easily passable. Bring pickets for the arete as it's still in fine shape. I'd still bring one screw for each rope team and a minimal amount of rock pro. The west ridge will suck, but it's probably your safest way down. Go, do the arete, take lots of pictures, post a TR and enjoy yourself. You won't regret this trip.

 

Chris

 

If anyone else has ?'s, drop me a PM.