The Wedge Smear Ice Climb near Kananaskis Village, Alberta within Spray Valley Provincial Park sits along the northwestern slopes of The Wedge, in a mountain hollow below Limestone Mountain's peak where a seasonal mountain seep freezes into a fun and engaging ice climb during the winter.
Cougars and grizzly bears: This area is home to the cougar (mountain lion) and grizzly bears. While encounters are rare, it's best to travel in groups and not solo hike if you can avoid it. You can learn more about hiking in cougar habitats or hiking in grizzly bear habitats on the Alberta Park's official site.
Ice Climb Difficulty Rating
According to Will Gadd's app, Ice and Mixed Climbing: Western Canada (iOS, Android), this is Class 1 ice with a WI2 - 4 difficulty rating, depending on where you climb. The height of the entire ice wall is approximately 30 meters.Hiking to Wedge Smear
The hike to reach Wedge Smear is fairly straight forward. Starting at the Galatea Creek parking area, you'll head north along Alberta Highway 40 for approximately 580 meters to reach the Wedge Smear Trail, located on the east side of the road. Hike down the trail for about 230 meters and take a right-hand turn to continue following the Wedge Smear Trail. The hike uphill mostly begins here as it gradually ascends for about 600 meters before the elevation grade picks up. During the winter, assuming you're hiking up to ice climb, you might want to consider attaching your crampons around this area since the trail turns into a full-on ice run. The hike up the ice is straight forward with several easy switchbacks built directly into the frozen run. Many people will attempt to bypass some of this ice for safety, but traversing up the frozen run can be fun too. You'll reach the bottom of Wedge Smear around 1.72 km from the parking lot—this is where the real fun begins. The ice climb of Wedge Smear is a whole lot of fun, especially if you're with someone who knows what they're doing. For this trip, I hired Will Gadd to show me the ropes—literally—and to help me learn and improve from my previous solo ice adventures. Will chose Wedge Smear for our first day and it turned out to be a great spot to teach me and my friend how to tie in, communicate, belay, and climb vertical ice. We spent several hours at Wedge Smear climbing and having a whole lot of fun. Oh and if you're tired of climbing this frozen mountain seep, you can always turn around to find beautiful views of Mt. Kidd located across the valley. When done exploring or climbing the ice, the hike back is straight forward, but make sure to be extra mindful of the ice run that slopes down into the trees.Parking
There's a very large parking lot located on the west side of Highway 40 at the parking coordinates provided at the Galatea Creek access lot. The lot can fit approximately 50 vehicles as of March 2025. It's best to not leave anything valuable in your vehicle just in case.Pets
Dogs are allowed, should be leashed, and picked up after.Warning
Ice is slippery: This route traverses through a fairly steep ice run that leads up to the base of the main ice climb of Wedge Smear. Even traversing the lower frozen run to reach the base of the climb can be a real hazard, especially if you slip on your crampon, roll and ankle, trip, or fall. If planning to traverse any ice, you must bring and wear the proper gear (crampons, et al.) for your own safety. Additionally, standing at the base of the climb features a fairly skinny section of ice to walk around for belaying so watch your step at all times and take extra caution.Cougars and grizzly bears: This area is home to the cougar (mountain lion) and grizzly bears. While encounters are rare, it's best to travel in groups and not solo hike if you can avoid it. You can learn more about hiking in cougar habitats or hiking in grizzly bear habitats on the Alberta Park's official site.
