If it was me I think I'd want a flatter shooting caliber.
I live on Kodiak and I remember reading a Craig Boddington article about when he visited Kodiak to hunt deer with a 35 Whelen. It turned out that all the shot opportunities were too long for the caliber (country too wide open) so he ended up using the guide's 300 WM with 150g bullets to shoot his deer.
In a light rifle to get a flat shooting round you either need to go for less powder or a smaller caliber (less lead). Personally I use a 260 remington (both less powder and less lead!) and it seems to do great in a light weight rifle - and I feel good out to 400 yards. But clearly there are lots of options out there!
It just seems to me that a 35 whelen would a little limiting in terms of longer range stuff.
