The Armchair Traverse is something I keep hearing in the scrambling community. This highly rated route consists of the second highest peak in Garibaldi Provincial park and sustained class 4 to 5 between Mount Cook and Mount Weart. Naturally when I was invited by some friends to go to Wedgemount Lake for a camping trip, I went along and told them I might give this route a try if the time and weather are favourable, as the forecast calls for precipitation and I was not confident in my fitness after slogging up to Wedgemount Lake.

It was a typical drive up the Sea to Sky highway and the parking lot was reached at a decently early time although we somehow missed a turn. It started drizzling while we were getting ready but I could still see blue skies over the other side of the mountain so I was hoping that this wouldn’t last.

*Typical switchbacks* *to start off the elevation gain*

*First boulder field marks the half way point to the lake, there was still blue skies…*

*Final section to the lake*, *lots of boulder hopping*, *the sky did not look promising, there were also a few more groups ahead.*

*Top of the boulder field. what the fog…*

The weather deteriorated fast and my hope of attempting the traverse diminishes the higher up we went as the rocks were getting wet which indicates previous rain so the route was probably soaking wet anyways. The view was gorgeous nonetheless, the clouds were really putting on a show.

*Me approaching the white-out, we found snow and the wind picked up*, *feeling the cold now*

*The campground is in sight, the lake still looks gorgeous even in this weather. Unfortunately the clouds over the mountain peaks means that attempting any of the peaks would be stupid.*

The shelter was packed with people taking cover from the wind so we left to search for a place to tent. There were a few spots near the shelter but they didn’t seem to offer the best views so we opted to go down to the lake looking for some more “luxurious” accommodations. However, this came at the cost that our tents would be directly exposed to wind coming from all directions but I’d take extra tent stakes over mediocre views any days of the week(and somehow convinced my friend to agree with me). Little did I know that a few hours later I would really hope that we had better protection against the elements.

*Our campsite was chosen to be the flat ground near the very left of the lake, in my defence it did offer spectacular views of the lake and the glaciers.*

*Pitching the tent was a challenge to say the least..*

The wind picked up as we tried to pitch our tents. As spectacular as the views were, they provided no protection against the wind and one of our tent flies almost got blown into the lake (which would be a disaster because of what was to come). I managed to find some pretty sturdy rocks and really anchored the side of the tent that was getting wind-hammered. The temperature also dropped a few degrees in the meantime and I couldn’t really feel my fingers anymore after all that work as I only had a pair of thin liner gloves. Despite the condition we were still having fun and joking around so it wasn’t too bad.

I saw an opening in the clouds and because I was also tempted by the blue glaciers in a distance. I decided to go up and explore the route a bit more for the next attempt. The rest of our group decided they wanted to take a nap and have some warm food. I was quite jealous about that and regretted my decision of going up but the terrain in the upper part looked too tempting. So I left with my camera.

Rethel Mountain is obscured by the clouds, Not sure where the route is but the scree looks horrible

*Looking back at Wedgemount Lake. I followed the snow patch over and around the lake, it was more enjoyable than constantly fearing of breaking an ankle for sure..*

The upper lake (Tupper Lake) just below the thumb of the glacier. It is worth noting that this lake was not here before. It only appeared in recent years because of the melting of the Wedge glacier. 20 years ago the thumb of the Wedge glacier feeds directly into Wedgemount lake, which is about 100m below where it is now.

*Here’s a comparison between Aug. 2019 and Aug 2022..*

*The thumb of the glacier melting.* *Fallen rocks are all over. The ground is made of something similar to very fine sand and one would slowly sink down if standing still.*

*Lots of rock debris, Mount Rethel behind in the clouds.*

I saw some dark clouds rolling so it was time to go back down and have a hot meal. The way down was a bit hideous as I lost track of the way I took to get to where I was. Thankfully I managed to keep my shoes although I slipped on a few loose rocks when crossing the streams.

*It was still windy and cold after not moving but it was time for a hot meal!*

It turned out that the other were still sound asleep as we were all a bit sleep deprived. I made some wind shelter for my stove and started cooking my instant noodles. My plan was to eat an early dinner so I can go to bed early and wake up for the sunrise. I consumed dinner faster than what doctors would recommend and went into the warmth of the tent (the temperature was not that low but the wind chill was no joke). I went into my sleeping bag to warm up my hands and feet and slowly drifted away.

Then I woke up about half an hour later to find that about 10cm of snow had fallen and my tent was crooked under the weight of the snow. Bear in mind this is mid July… I was expecting a bit of snow but not this much. Once again this proves that snow can occur at anytime in the mountains. Now I have to do the hardest thing in the world — get out of my warm sleeping bag and go out into the cold to fix the tent and make sure it’s secured. Thankfully, the tent pegs were all still in the ground and I added some more tension to the guy-lines.

*We realized we forgot to put our food in the bear cache. Out in the cold we go..*

*It looks like a completely different place now!*

*And it magically cleared up — first clear look at Mount Rethel.*

*Looking back at the glacier, mount Weart and Wedge Mountain.*

*We even managed to catch a glimpse of the sunset*

*Back at the tent, I was excited about the snow*

I was optimistic that we could have a gorgeous sunrise the next morning so I set my alarm to wake up. It’s quite amazing how snow changes the views completely, it was almost like we experience the transition from summer to winter in the span of a few hours. I’d say the experience was worth the risk of hyperthermia and no one has lost a finger to frostbite so far so I’d call it a win.

Unfortunately the clouds came back at night and there was no sunrise in the morning so I slept in until 7 o’clock. I obnoxiously woke everyone up and had some hot chocolate. I suggested we go to the shelter and cook breakfast there so we would be more sheltered. Packing up was a pain as everything was covered in snow and it was cold.

*Retrieving the food from the bear cache*

*Two other parties camped next to us, the morning was quite*

*Mount Rethel once again hidden by clouds*

*The color of the lake seems different than yesterday*

*Mount Rethel appears from time to time*

After devouring 3 packs of instant oatmeal and some more hot chocolate we were ready to go. It started snowing again (quite heavily) and it really didn’t feel like a trip in July. In a distance we could see the sunlight hitting the valley below.

*Time to go home, looking down at the valley*

*Heading down the boulder field was a bit tricky, some loose rocks were obscured by the snow.*

*The sky cleared and the sun came out, but it was still snowing.*

Anyone know what animal left these tracks?

The rest of the trail was fairly straightforward and we found that it even snowed at a much lower elevation. I slipped on my butt a few times because of the combination of wet mud and fresh snow. It started raining again once we got back to the parking lot and we stopped by McDonald’s in Squamish before driving back to Vancouver. I didn’t get to check out the traverse route but experiencing the dramatic weather change made up for it. I will just have to come back another day in the summer that isn’t snowing in the mountains..

Not an ArmChair Traverse Attempt

Indra’s Net

Roland Burton Hut