Gave up on reading? --> The video here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJNxlAWaVMw&feature=youtu.be
Myself and Dean left early Friday afternoon trying to make it around 8 PM to the wedgemount hut.
We started are hike up towards the lake exactly at 5 PM which was pretty much sunset. Therefore, headlamps became instantly a necessary accessory. We didn`t loose time on the trail as it was cold and very dark.
However, the constant high grade provides you plenty of opportunities of heating up naturally. We were very please to not have any snow (or almost none) until we hit the alpine section right before the steep slope under the lake`s plateau.
We arrived to an empty hut, had a quick dinner and went to sleep in a very cold hut.
The next morning,we snoozed and only got out of bed around 9. As I exited the hut, the amazing sun hit my face and got me in the best climbing mood ever. There is just something about blue skies and white snow.
We got ready in about an hour and headed down towards the lake in about 30 cm of easy traveling snow.
The lake really didn`t look frozen enough to securely cross it. We however, stayed on the ice and contoured the shore line.
This allowed us to be at the bottom of the couloir within 30 min. 
For those who have never been there, it was a pleasent surprise to see that the mouth of the lake is actually very shallow and the creek is easy to cross.
As we started our climb towards the narrower section of the couloir, some avi debris forced us to put crampons on as they created steep icy slopes.
However, right in the heart of the couloir, we only encountered deep, but easy, powder. I am sure that most skiers would have enjoyed the conditions.
The couloir was never steeper (besides the top) than 45 degrees and represents a great alpine climb for all levels.
I enjoyed the rock overhangs that provide some rest and safety from any falling debris (although risk was almost nil that day).
We took our time and made it to the top cornice in about 2 hours.
I arrived first at the cornice and realized our two options.
1. Go right and attack a very steep exit (60 degrees) with powder snow and not much for protection.
2. Break an exit in the cornice, while standing in it.
I opted for option 2 although it was the most time consuming.
It took me a good 30 min in an uncomfortable and unsecured position to make a decent ramp out to the summit ridge.
We were using ice tolls and I was glad I had an azde and not 2 hammers.
Dean quickly followed by a beautiful move to the top.
We had been all morning on the north face and had barely seen the sun. As soon as were on top, the sun lit our faces and warmed our climbing hands.
We first aimed for the summit of Rethel, where we stopped for a fast lunch break. All our fresh food was frozen and uneatable.
Because, I was already tired, I was a bit annoyed by the fact that the south face of Rethel is actually much more challenging then I had imagined. But it allowed some very nice pictures!
We made it to the Rethel-Parkhurst col, where we dropped most of out gear. We then headed towards the summit of Parkhurst via an easy but fairly long ridge. It definitely was a work out as the snow was deep at times and pot holing was frequesnt.
It took us about 45 min to arrive at the beautiful summit dome. 
Well worth the detour as we had an amazing 360 view and a intimate moment with Wedge mountain.
The sun kept us war although it must have been at least -10.
We rushed back to the col where we gathered our gear back.
We had no clue about the route back to the lake but enjoyed some steep and tricky down climbs.
We had a bit of route finding to do and realized that we were actually on a glacier (although crevasses must have been rare)
We arrived at small frozen tarn which allowed fast travel. Went down another slope and we were back the lake. Although the day must have added to the ice laer, we kept to our shoreline with some very scary loud cracking noises.
We arrived back at the hut right at sunset, where we were greeted by 5 campers. This made the night entertaining and much warmer!
We had a great 12 hour sleep and headed back the next morning. We were back in vancouver just before the rain hit the mountain.
HD Pictures:
Myself and Dean left early Friday afternoon trying to make it around 8 PM to the wedgemount hut.
We started are hike up towards the lake exactly at 5 PM which was pretty much sunset. Therefore, headlamps became instantly a necessary accessory. We didn`t loose time on the trail as it was cold and very dark.
However, the constant high grade provides you plenty of opportunities of heating up naturally. We were very please to not have any snow (or almost none) until we hit the alpine section right before the steep slope under the lake`s plateau.We arrived to an empty hut, had a quick dinner and went to sleep in a very cold hut.
The next morning,we snoozed and only got out of bed around 9. As I exited the hut, the amazing sun hit my face and got me in the best climbing mood ever. There is just something about blue skies and white snow.
We got ready in about an hour and headed down towards the lake in about 30 cm of easy traveling snow.
The lake really didn`t look frozen enough to securely cross it. We however, stayed on the ice and contoured the shore line.
This allowed us to be at the bottom of the couloir within 30 min. For those who have never been there, it was a pleasent surprise to see that the mouth of the lake is actually very shallow and the creek is easy to cross.
As we started our climb towards the narrower section of the couloir, some avi debris forced us to put crampons on as they created steep icy slopes.
However, right in the heart of the couloir, we only encountered deep, but easy, powder. I am sure that most skiers would have enjoyed the conditions.
The couloir was never steeper (besides the top) than 45 degrees and represents a great alpine climb for all levels.
I enjoyed the rock overhangs that provide some rest and safety from any falling debris (although risk was almost nil that day).
We took our time and made it to the top cornice in about 2 hours.
I arrived first at the cornice and realized our two options.
1. Go right and attack a very steep exit (60 degrees) with powder snow and not much for protection.
2. Break an exit in the cornice, while standing in it.
I opted for option 2 although it was the most time consuming.
It took me a good 30 min in an uncomfortable and unsecured position to make a decent ramp out to the summit ridge.
We were using ice tolls and I was glad I had an azde and not 2 hammers.
Dean quickly followed by a beautiful move to the top.
We had been all morning on the north face and had barely seen the sun. As soon as were on top, the sun lit our faces and warmed our climbing hands.
We first aimed for the summit of Rethel, where we stopped for a fast lunch break. All our fresh food was frozen and uneatable.
Because, I was already tired, I was a bit annoyed by the fact that the south face of Rethel is actually much more challenging then I had imagined. But it allowed some very nice pictures!
We made it to the Rethel-Parkhurst col, where we dropped most of out gear. We then headed towards the summit of Parkhurst via an easy but fairly long ridge. It definitely was a work out as the snow was deep at times and pot holing was frequesnt.
It took us about 45 min to arrive at the beautiful summit dome. Well worth the detour as we had an amazing 360 view and a intimate moment with Wedge mountain.
The sun kept us war although it must have been at least -10.
We rushed back to the col where we gathered our gear back.
We had no clue about the route back to the lake but enjoyed some steep and tricky down climbs.
We had a bit of route finding to do and realized that we were actually on a glacier (although crevasses must have been rare)
We arrived at small frozen tarn which allowed fast travel. Went down another slope and we were back the lake. Although the day must have added to the ice laer, we kept to our shoreline with some very scary loud cracking noises.
We arrived back at the hut right at sunset, where we were greeted by 5 campers. This made the night entertaining and much warmer!
We had a great 12 hour sleep and headed back the next morning. We were back in vancouver just before the rain hit the mountain.
HD Pictures:
No comments:
Post a Comment