TR: Nothing short of a Wedge(ie) 05.13-14.06

[Squirrel99]

Last year, Powder11 relocated to Whistler. Since then, he has been constantly tormented by the view from his deck:


Oh so close, yet oh so far


A plan was then hatched. While skiing with Powder11 last May, it was decided that the NW Couloir of Wedge would be elevated to the top of the tick list. Wedge Mountain is the tallest peak in Garibaldi Provincial Park- topping out at 2900m (or 9600'). Originally the plan was to hike up to the Wedgemount Hut, then stay over night and make the summit push early in the morning. A heli drop would have been ideal, but as Powder11 was told, that option expired 15 years ago. Another person advised it could be done in a day...little did we realize you'd have to be superhuman to do that- so we figured we'd at least give it a go. Worst case scenario, we get an accurate scouting trip out of it.

The first 500m was a steep dirt trail. Meandering through rock gardens and creekbeds.


Improvising became the theme of the day


"uh, can we put our skins on yet? pleazeeee!"


Powder11 emerging from the Keebler Elf Forest.


Finally, after 700m - some views worth looking at!




tempting couloir on lower Parkhurst Mtn

and looky here-> a trackhead line, complete with mandatory rappel


almost 1/2 to the hut!


Shirk & Powder11 with Parkhurst Mtn jawdropping us with the background




Ahhh, I can feel it!


Arrived at the Wedgemount Hut after 4 hours of scrambling. Our intended destination is...still behind this massive peak (thanks for clarifying Stomp- that this is actually still Parkhurst!




Yeah, I think I could wake up to this view


Faced with a tough decision, time was certainly not on our side. And rapidly rising freezing levels were cause for concern. Although initially disappointed, we decided it was best to return and make this mission a 2-day effort. So we holstered up some chairs @ the hut and soaked in the view for a little while.

Powder11 couldn't have been more excited about this state of the art bathroom!


How could you close the door on such incredible views?


This would be the view from the left...


And again from the right...


Alternate plans were made to harvest a little low angle corn




Powder11


Shirk




"Shirk, You're the next contestant on..Another 4 hours to the car!"


"I hope I go 2 for 2 today"




Yeah, we may have been skunked. And the hike to turn ratio was rather low. But we've seen the objective. It still sits there, staring at us- taunting. One day...redemption shall come. Until then, thoughts will circle the mind, plans will be made, and you...shall be ours.

So what better way to get rid of frustrations than tearing up a ripe Whistler Mountain on day 2?

Who knew Powder11 was a rockstar (after all, he did meet Tommy Lee this year)


Powder11 on finds leftover powder on Glacier Couloir


It even skis like winter!

[Squirrel99]

One-Way, Do not enter? No problem.


Grapedrink takes the express Elevator


Shirk & Powder11 warp speed ahead




Time Out for obligatory T-Bar steeze


Whistler wonders if Spring has finally arrived


Not convinced? Neither am I.


Fueling up for the drive home


But the drive goes by pretty fast when you have these views to look at


Beer, Liquor and a Mountain Woman for takeout!


And the hole made famous in Happy Gilmore - "Price is wrong, Bitch!"



Traffic Jam in Vancouver allowed a quick second to look back (and ahead) to next attempt at Wedge.

[PulverSchwein]

How could any other poop possibly compare?

[stomp]

hope you don't mind if i piggyback your thread, but a buddy and i made a similar attempt a couple of weeks ago so i thought i'd add on instead of posting a separate tr.

i thought that fucked up 'bridge' looked familiar...

my buddy tak arriving at wedge hut

happy to be done with the hike (mt weart and armchair glacier in the background)

that coolie you thought was the nw couloir is actually the y couloir on parkhurst.. the nw couloir isn't visible from the hut. so tasty...

starting up wedge glacier on our second day

approaching wedge on the glacier.. salivating

blue ice is the shit

unknown couloir on wedge as seen from parkhurst-wedge col. (nw couloir is to lookers right)

the nw couloir on wedge

unfortunately we ran out of time as we were climbing up the nw shoulder and decided to turn back as we needed to make it back to the valley by sundown (hiking out on that trail in the dark would have been way too tricky). however we got some turns in on the upper shoulder..

tak with torque

not our objective.. fun as hell nonetheless


next time i go up there i'm gonna get heli dropped on mt. currie at the radio tower and bring a weeks worth of supplies to the hut. so many lines to hit in that area it's redonkulous.

[shera]

Good schtuff.

[Mofro261]

Now that's THE SHIT right there !


noice work

[Squirrel99]

that coolie you thought was the nw couloir is actually the y couloir on parkhurst.. the nw couloir isn't visible from the hut. so tasty...

that makes sense now- we thought it was 'too close' to be Wedge- and without a good topo of the area (surprisingly, Escape Route & other places in town didn't have one)- was tough to judge. Either way, there are just a shit ton of lines to be had up there. Next time, I'm parking my ass @ the hut for a few days.

[shirk]

so many lines to hit in that area it's redonkulous.

Yes yes it is redonkulous.
Next time, next time...

[girlski0912]

Whoa...your weekend was far more hardcore than mine. That hut looks like one of the cooler places in the world. Better luck next time kids!

[slippy]

The way I've seen it done in one day is to skin out from Blackcomb when the resort is still open, going up that huge open face on the Wedge. I was too tired and didn't go that day, wish i did.

[iskibc]

Excellent! Those views sure are pretty.

[Arty50]

I'm adding that to my list of "Most beautiful places to take a dump."

Rad TR, Squirrely!

[LeeLau]

Nice effort guys. I thought I'd mentioned this all before but i'll repost anyhow

Fairley's book has it as 4 hours from the lake. when i climbed it - that was about right. On skis i would guess 3 hours.

Bivouac.com has the description and waypoints for the approach via SW ridge.

Maps are at trail.brijn.nu

Trip to James Turner area and avalanche report http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topi...TOPIC_ID=16035

and another writeup http://www.astro.washington.edu/roskar/jimmy/jimmy.html

[Monique]

What is that saying? "The scenic poo is its own reward" or something like that?

Great TR, Your Rodentia (and Stomp).

[dipstik]

woah, sweet!

[Schmear]

Nice pics. Looks like a pretty worthy place to get skunked.

[Camel Toad]

Very nice. So many good lines! Hmmmm maybe I need to go on a road trip next year.

[Graupel]

Nice effort! You got some great shots on this scouting trip. Way to get after it.

I'm going to the toilet now ... with the door closed.

[powder11]

"Most beautiful places to take a dump."

thats exactly what I said!

heres a few pics off my camera:

squirrel gathering his nuts for the approach at 4am



everyone is all smiley to finally put skis on after a steep 2 hr dirt slog



Shirk finding his happy place up near Wedge Lake



oh man this really is a 2 day trip...



... to get all the way up there



as the sun starts baking, an alternate plan of attack is quickly formulated



to check out the Armchair glacier



a few turns on the way back down




it was nice to see my house from a different angle



I know I dropped some breadcrumbs on the way up...



squirrel having a deja vu moment



all in all, it was a nice recon mission for our next adventure up to Wedge. Im stoked to make another run at it next season under better conditions.

[mtnbikerskierchick]

I'm confused? What season is it in Whistler? Half of your photos look like winter, the others look like summer!

Way to get after it boys! Looks like fun

[shirk]

Beta for another trip


SQ99 doing the point


powder11 harvesting a little corn


more corn for SQ99


a thumbs up day

[LeeLau]

How were the shin splints after the hike down? That's the predominant memory of my old slog up to Wedge. The hike down is a killer

[bcrider]

This makes the dry approach skier666 was complaining about on Saturday look like child’s play.

These guys have full overnight packs too mr cane!


Strong work squirrel99 and P11. You gotta love seeing effort like that, regardless of whether the objective was accomplished. Your next trip there will be easier because of this trip.

I like the way the TR shows the journey from the forest to the alpine too….sick!

Ps. Nice playground! $$$

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

very cool squirrelly

[Bodhi]

ROTFLMAO!

Just hope it was state of the art enough to be down wind.

Sirs, once again a most excellent TR all the way through.

peace,
D.