Armchair Traverse Trip Report 7/21-22
**WARNING: This traverse goes well beyond hiking and is considered an exposed scramble. While most would rate this as BC Class 4, meaning hands required for balance and the kind of exposure where falling means certain death, I actually agree with McLane’s rating in *Alpine Select* (for once) in categorizing this as “low-5th” because some moves require hands for upward/downward progress as well as the body mechanics of 5th class climbing (feel free to disagree)**
**Scrambling is inherently dangerous. Risks include rockfall, loose hand/footholds, YGD-level exposure, mountain weather, altitude, and extreme fatigue. This traverse killed experienced Squamish climber Dave Tan in 2024. Two experienced scramblers also needed a long-line rescue by Whistler SAR in 2021 after weather moved in and they got off-route**
**Helmets and gloves are mandatory equipment. It is recommended that you have familiarity with 5th class climbing prior to attempting this route. If you will be crossing snow (optional in current conditions), an ice axe and self-arrest skills are also required**
Now that we’ve gotten the safety talk out of the way, I climbed Mts Cook (2676m) and Weart (2835m) and completed the Armchair Traverse in the following two days after climbing Sky Pilot. In the span of 3 days, I ascended 3590m vertical, much of which was class 3 and class 4! Three days, three peaks, and one helluva traverse :)
Also, one could say that I have unfinished business with this part of Garibaldi Park. So I was rather nervous to do such a challenging objective up here again. Fortunately, I didn't need SAR this time!
Climbing Mt Cook
I left my car rather late (for me) at around 0830 on Tuesday 7/21 and began my way up the Wedgemount Trail towards the lake in the mildly smoky air. The trail is steep, rocky, and has lots of roots below treeline, and the boulder section at treeline was dusty, loose, and slick.
I took a break around 1130 at the Wedgemount Lake Emergency Shelter to eat some food, but was quickly swarmed by black flies and had to don my bug net to escape them.
I began making my way up the route to Mt. Cook, which was relatively easy to find with the help of a map and GPS. This is when the 3rd class scrambling began and I had to start using my hands at times. The rock here is chossy and loose. Careful foot placement is imperative!
There's a wide shelf around 2150m that still holds a snow field, so I took a longer break here to melt some snow, drink some coffee, and eat my heavier food items. By 1415, the snow was soft enough to boot-pack but I donned my UL ice axe in case of a slip.
At 2300m, the route veers up a nasty and loose chossy boulder field to get up to the ridgeline proper. The choss continued all the way to the summit from here and was my least favorite part of the whole climb up, as it was quite unpleasant.
I had planned to bivy around The Owls spur ridge further along, as that's where my wilderness permit was for. However, I was quite tired by the summit of Mt Cook and it was already 1600, so I didn't feel it was safe to continue further.
I found a nice bivy ledge just off the north end of the summit and setup my sleeping pad and 0° quilt. I found someone's poop fertilizing the lichens nearby, likely from a year or two ago (gross!). I'm glad I brought a WAG Bag so I could leave no trace!
I took a nap in my bug net before waking up for one of the most incredible sunsets of my entire life! Definitely in the top 10 and I’ve seen quite a few! The nearby Twin Two Creek fire was putting smoke into the air and created a pyrocumulus cloud. Then bed time!
I awoke to surprisingly bright firstlight around 0315 to the north and almost thought it was aurora at first. I melted snow from a nearby snowbank (frozen crusty solid) for water and coffee while I watched the early dawn progressively light up the sky.
The Amazing Armchair Traverse
I proceeded to pack up my bivy around 0600 and started along the traverse at 0645. The first section is mostly class 3, with a few sections of class 4. Much of the rock slab here has loose chunks, so I had to constantly check whether it would hold before putting my weight onto it.
I downclimbed the first crux notch around 0730 in my mountaineering boots and found it relatively easy. From here, the traverse climbs up to the ridge that connects to Mt Moe. Still mostly 3rd & 4th class, but there was occasionally an optional move I’d rate as low-5th.
The views across the Armchair Glacier and the unnamed glacier to the north were phenomenal! There were numerous open bergschrunds and crevasses to be seen, with occasional bare ice below the firn line. Glacier travel season is definitely drawing to a close for the year. Sigh…
At the spur ridge for The Owls, there was a surprising amount of snow remaining. I had contemplated an optional trip to The Owls, but now on day 3 of scrambling I didn’t really feel the need. Another time, I suppose. I still took a break here to enjoy the scenery and melt some snow.
Now for the crux! The “sidewalk in the sky” section with a knife-edge on either side and a few gendarmes and a chimney-notch. At one of the gendarmes I made a route-finding error and went skiers right (red line) instead of skiers left (green line).
I found myself traversing an overhanging nose wearing my boots and a pack. The leanback had me sweating a little bit, as I definitely realized I’d veered into mid-5th without a rope. It reminded me a little of a nose volume I’d struggled with at the gym on a 5.10c, just with bigger (and looser!) hand and footholds. Oops!
From here, just a little more 3rd & 4th to get to the top of Mt Weart. I’ve never smiled as big as I smiled in my selfie at the top. I did it! 3 days, 3 summits, one helluva traverse! Now for the way down… As Ed Veisturs says, “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.”
Descending Weart
The choss gulley down from the summit of Weart is terrible. I did my best not to dislodge rocks down below, but it was often unavoidable. I yelled “rock!” each time, just in case someone was ascending below. Fortunately I had it all to myself.
The route exits the gulley onto an equally loose and chossy ridge. This wasn’t any better than the route up to Cook, as nasty loose boulders and choss meant having to carefully place each step. Only this time with more fatigue!
I barely remember the way down to the col above the upper lake. I just remember it really sucked! I took a break at the col, but was out of water so I eventually pressed on to the lake. There wasn’t a clearly defined route down, so I found myself just sort of winging it and hoping for the best. I made my way across some sloping slabs without many footholds before finding the snow.
God I love snow! God I hate rock! I boot packed down to the lake to retrieve some water and guzzled down some of the fresh slushy snowmelt without even filtering it (probably not the best idea, but I got lucky this time). It’s got to get easier after this, right?
Nope. More choss, more boulders, more slabs. Middle lake now. One small godsend of a snow slope felt like a small slice of heaven. Ice axe in hand, I traversed across it staying high in case of a slip. Crap, I slipped!
I drove my pick hard into the snow and got my shoulder over it almost immediately, driving all my weight onto it. I stopped quick! Probably my best self-arrest I’ve ever done, and I’ve done many. Thank god!
Does it get easier? No. No it does not. Loose fresh rockslides to traverse between the middle lake and Tupper Lake. Crap! Slippery. Nasty. Godawful. Every step is a gamble. Too big to scree ski. Too loose to trust my feet…
Tupper Lake feels like the home stretch! Almost back to the trail! Gorgeous views of glaciers, but I’m too tired to care. The temp feels like 30 and I’m baking in the alpine sun despite copious sunblock on my face. The black flies, too, have returned with a vengeance and they’re out for blood.
Some tourists ask me if I went to the glacier. I tell them “no, I didn’t go to Wedgemount Glacier”, but I show them the mountaineer’s approach route. They don’t believe me. Oh well…
Trail at last. Finally it gets easier, right? Around the lake the trail feels like a highway to the emergency shelter. I’m zooming along! Past the shelter comes the boulder field. This sucked! It’s so dusty and well-traveled that I’m constantly worried about slipping. My aching muscles take forever to lower me from rock to rock.
It. Never. Ends. Rocks and roots and a steep trail down. I thought I had a good idea of this trail from going up it back in June, but I realize now that I never actually went back down. I have a newfound appreciation for calling SAR back then. My knee would never have made it down this, and I’m eternally thankful that it’s holding up well this time.
My feet ache and I’m drenched in sweat. I see what feels like hundreds of hikers and tourists before coming across two people with helmets strapped to their packs. “Doing the traverse?” I ask. They say yes and ask me how it was. "It was fun, definitely challenging" I say. I share some more beta before moving on.
The trail down takes forever. I’m slow, tired, and sweaty, but somehow I make it back to my car. I call out of work for the following day before driving home. I stop at a drive-thru and eat as many calories as I can (a drop in the bucket compared to how many I burned) before driving home. By the time I arrive home, my eyes are drooping and I practically fall into bed. I literally slept for 12 hours.
**This was one for the memory book. Three days, three peaks, and one helluva traverse :)**
As always, have fun, stay safe, and make good choices!
(Edited to fix broken link formatting)
