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Friday, October 6, 2006

[MCR] NE Ridge of Wedge mountain (Coast range)

Out on the NE ridge of Wedge yesterday.
The hut is totally re-done. New roof, door paint,
ext... As well parks Canada has built new camping
sites at the hut and the lower ones at the lake. There
is also a fine new trail from the hut to the lake.
Glacier travel was the same as usual. Going far
left in the beginning and then right at the short mid
section at mid height works best to avoid the bulk of
the crevasses. We took the glacier all the way to the
upper ridge.This still works quite well. The 200m
steep section on the right has a nice few meter wide
path of snow to avoid the blue ice. The upper bench
has no major holes to navigate around.
The knife edge section on the NE ridge is a bit
more "real" than usual. The ridge has many exposed
sections of blue ice or very hard firn snow. This
makes for exposed climb and more cation needs to be
taken than regularly. A few more ice screws on the
rack should help out. The upper face section either
has a 50 degree blue ice section or 100m section of
kinda loose rock.
Temperatures were cool all day with below 0
temperatures above 7500 ft. With these temperatures
there was no softening of the snow or ice throughout
the day.
Have fun. Craig McGee, IFMGA Mountain guide.

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These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
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