Date: August 9, 2023
Location: Fernie, British Columbia, Canada
Total Trip Distance: 10.16 mi / 16.35 km Total Elevation Gain: 3,725 ft / 1,135 m
Trip Duration: 4 hours 40 min
Team: Solo
Field Notes: Parking is in the lot right at the base of Fernie Alpine Resort. There are many trails to reach the ridge walk - the simplest being via Summer Road as many of the trails are for mountain bikers.
Rating: Class 1
Approach Via Summer Road
I was fired up on getting a mid-week hike in as I only did one trip the previous week. British Columbia has been raging with wildfires and experiencing a drought, so I was grateful to wake up to slightly clearer skies. I wanted to go for a solid hike and decided on Polar Peak at Fernie Alpine Resort.
The hike is split into two sections. First, the approach via "Summer Road" follows a gravel road. I wish I had my gravel bike! Second, summer road connects with the Polar Peak Ridge Walk trail. This is actually a hiking trail that follows a ridge for close to 2 miles, eventually topping out at the summit.
I made my way up Summer Road, occasionally veering off to go on some of the mountain bike trails. The day I was there I saw zero people. It was actually kind of eerie. Seriously - no one was there. I think I saw two staff the entire day. With that said, the mountain bike trails were downhill trails and they were actually very steep. In hindsight, I think it's better to just stay on Summer Road. If there were bikers I think it'd be quite annoying to stop for a hiker.
The day was cooler than normal with rain in the forecast and a slight breeze, which made hiking very pleasant. Soon enough I had reached the end of Summer Road where it meets Lost Boys Cafe. I took the Lost Boys trail where it meets the Polar Peak Ridge Walk.
Polar Peak Ridge Walk
This is where the actual hiking started and the beauty caught me by surprise. I followed the ridge for nearly two miles with amazing views of the Lizard Range. Storm clouds rolled in, the wind picked up, and rain started coming down. I took a break under a tree, ate a cliff bar, and listened to the silence. The sound of wind coming through the trees is haunting. It's one of those sounds that taps into something very animal, almost spiritual. Something impossible to explain in words.
I continued to follow the ridge. There isn't much of a trail, instead, rocks have been sprayed red to indicate the way forward. The ridge rolls up and down with the occasional rock hop. At one point, the ridge drops off where one needs to do some light scrambling. The resort actually has cables installed here. This seems overkill, but to each their own.
As I reached the final 200 feet to the summit, the rain began to pick up. I hadn't stopped for more than 5 minutes the whole day and was looking forward to taking a break at the summit. However, when I reached the peak the rain really started coming down. I wasn't thrown off in the slightest. We needed rain so bad you could hear the plants just begging for it. I sat down for two minutes in the pouring rain and then decided to head down. I actually didn't bring my hardshell. I usually just take my Patagonia Houdini wind jacket unless there is definite precipitation in the forecast. Today actually had definite precipitation in the forecast, but I still didn't bring my hardshell. You can lead a horse to water but can't make it drink. Oh well.
The skies started unloading as I made my way off the summit. Soon I was completely drenched. Either way it made no difference. In two hours time I would be soaking in a hot bath in a warm house. So I made the five mile walk out non-stop back to the car. As I write this the day after, the skies have cleared up dramatically. The rain was much needed.
Happy days...
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