The Wedge
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Elevation:
Height Gain:
Location:
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8,743 ft (2665M)
3,609 ft (1100M)
Kananaskis
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Note for 22 Oct 00: I went with Tina, John Ionescu and Rob Maiman. Lots of snow in the last few days, but
we went anyway. It was sunny, but windy and chilly 0°C. We got up to the final major
slope only to find everything iced over. We figured we could probably get to the first summit, but
the summit ridge (difficult and exposed) would wait until another day. Since we wouldn't be summitting,
we turned back right away.
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Note for 14 Sep 02: I went with Paul Russell. Sunny, light wind, 5-15°C. Completely dry conditions.
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Date |
Ascent Time |
Descent Time |
| 1st Time |
22 Oct 00 |
Incomplete |
Incomplete |
| 2nd Time |
14 Sep 02 |
2:36 |
1:29 |
The Wedge is a nice short scramble for days when you're pressed for time. There is a nice trail, and difficulties
are few. On the trail, you gain elevation quickly. The first flat spot in the trail comes while traversing between
the first and true summits. Here we see the Wedge in the morning glow of the sun. Paul and I got an early start,
which is always nice. That way, you beat the afternoon heat.
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The trail starts out in the trees. They aren't thick and the trail is well worn. Here we see Paul coming up behind
me.
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After emerging from the trees, you come to an open grassy slope. The trail cuts way over to the left (lower) part of
the shoulder. The lower angled ascent line is a nice break, but it does make for a longer walk. We pretty much stuck
to the trail. Eventually, you'll reach the shoulder and must walk toward the Wedge's face. The grassy slopes are much
nicer than the scree slopes found on other objectives.
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Here we see Paul making his way along the shoulder to the open face of the Wedge.
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Once you reach the face, just pick your line and aim for the upper right-hand corner. Here we see Paul angling up to the
left. We started out in the center of the face, then made our way to the right. This was rather tedious coming back down,
but going up was nice and easy.
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Quicker than you think, you'll end up at the first summit. Here we see Paul almost there. There's a cairn there, but
the register is over at the true summit.
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This is Paul standing at the first summit with a nice background. Shown by the red dots (left to right) are South Kidd,
Bogart, and Kidd. Not seen in the photo, but seen from the summit include Lawson, Fortress, Chester, Gusty, Galatea, Joffre, Opal
Ridge, and Lorette.
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After reaching the first summit, our next task was to go along the ridge to the true summit. The technical crux is a 6 ft
section angling slightly down and a bit knife edged. It really isn't that bad, and I'm not sure it deserves the difficult
rating that it was given. Other than the crux, the connecting ridge is about 3-6 ft wide, and the true summit is easily reached.
Here we see Paul a couple of steps before the crux.
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At this point, Paul is past the crux, and is now enjoying the views over the exposed cliff. The summit is very close.
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This is the final 10 feet before the summit cairn. We went up on the left side.
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This is taken from the summit and looking back along the connecting ridge, back to the first summit.
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