Our thighs are bigger after summiting High Rigger
East Island
AvCan Vancouver Island , Thursday 30th March, 2023 4:20PM
The fun in the sun continues. Today we set our sights on High Rigger Peak in the Prince of Wales Range (POW for short!). It was our first attempt at this particular peak and boy are we glad we went. With the machines fueled and doughnuts in our bellys we drove north turning on to the Dalrymple Main in the Sayward Valley. The road was steep and a bit overgrown, we met a patchy snow line at just under 600 m. From there we used our snowmobiles, then were forced to start on foot at the bottom of a large south facing cut block at roughly 1000 m. By 11:00 am the sun had already warmed the top 15 cm of snow, making travel up the steep cut block tedious with a firm crust underneath. At the top of the block, we were relieved to take shelter from the sun as we skinned up and across a beautifully spaced forest of larger trees. Travel became easier as the day went on and the surface snow became more edge-able to side hill. On the peak the views were stupendous as we enjoyed a snack. The ski down was a mix bag of fun. From icy alpine slopes, to soft treeline openings and even open variable tree skiing, High Rigger delivered the goods. With varying amounts of new snow in the forecast across the island, stay posted to our website before heading out this weekend.