Live Trails - Report to Wedgemount Lake in Mainland-Southwest, BC, Canada

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966Km

Report to Trail: Wedgemount Lake
Distance: 14Km Elevation: 1160m High Point: 1920m Location: Mainland-Southwest, BC, Canada
Trail tags: 2WD campsite glacier-viewing hiking lake logging-road popular sleeping-shelter snowshoeing steep-trail winter-routefinding

By (Reads: 849)

Attempt result and date: Successful attempt

03/06/2010

Wedgemount Lake on a windless, sunny day has to be one of the most spectacular winter day trips. We headed out at 7 am on a warm, gorgeous day to about 12 km north of Whistler. We parked (elev. 615 m) our cars about half a click after the highway turnoff and trudged the 1.5 km up to trailhead.

Most of us used crampons or microspikes for the first half of the trip that was under the treeline. We then switched to snowshoes which were still slippery for some because of the warm conditions (it never got below zero until we hit the alpine.)

Using an alternate route to gain a left ridge beneath Mount Cook, we descended back down to Wedgemount Lake to a stunning vista of frozen lake, glaciers, and volcanic rocks - all basking in the searing heat of the alpine sun.

A few of us decided to explore the terminus of the Wedgemount Glacier and travelled the 1.6 km from the hut and up. Getting up close to see Weart, Parkhurst, and the North Arete of Wedge was inspiring; as were the sights of various glaciers intersecting at the bottom. The temperature swing once the sun went behind the high mountains was an incredible 26 degrees Celsius (from +12 to -14 in a couple of hours.) I shudder to think what the overnight camping temperature would have been, as the hut door was jammed shut by frozen ice.

We bum-slided our way down the steep gully that is the summer route, shaving much time. The descent then slowed as it got dark in the trees and the snow and ice hardened up. In the bottom section the ice was rock-like and unforgiving. A brief stop gazing at the stars near the end rounded out an exhilarating and fun day! And everyone enjoyed the sumptuous feast we treated ourselves to at the Shady Tree after.

A must-do trip for me every winter from now on, no doubt! :-)