Overview
The Wedge is a distinctive peak located in Kananaskis Country, Kananaskis Provincial Park of the southern Canadian Rockies. It is located close to Kananaskis Highway (40) between the Fisher and Opal mountain ranges. Its official name is descriptive of the mountain as its summit is shaped like a carpenter’s wedge. The Wedge should not to be confused with Wedge Mountain located in the Crowsnest River Valley.
The Wedge offers a variety of steep technical routes on its west side. The published scramble route utilizes the northwest ridge and face. This is not a remarkable scramble, but does give up decent ridge views.
Getting ThereTake the Kananaskis Trial (Highway 40) exit off of the Trans-Canada Highway between Calgary and Canmore. Travel 30 km south on Highway 40 and turn left into the Wedge Pond day use area.
Red Tape
There are no permit requirements to enter, climb and/or park in Kananaskis Provincial Park. This is active grizzly country however. Take bear spray. You drive by the park headquarters on the way in on Highway 40. Any recent notices will be posted on the bulletin board outside. If they are open, check in with the ranger staff, they have tons of beta and are always friendly.
When To ClimbAs with most scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June through September. I climbed The Wedge in June when much snow still covered other prospects in the area. There are no published backcountry ski routes on the mountain, nor would it be conducive to ski.
Camping
The closest camping is across Hwy 40 at the Eau Claire Campground. You cannot camp outside of the marked specific camping areas in Kananaskis. Refer to the Kananaskis Provincial Park website for more information regarding camping and/or lodging.
Mountain ConditionsThe Kananaskis Provincial Park website is a very thorough park website, including trail conditions or closures, wildlife notices, weather conditions, avalanche conditions, camping permits, whitewater conditions, etc. It is an excellent source if you are going to spend any time here and comparable to any National Park website I have used. Outside of the parks web site, Canadian Avalanche Association is also useful, particularly for winter travel.
External Links Images
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Canadian Rockies Scrambles
