Pardeep on Sigurd Peak:
“For a tougher trip I was quite surprised that I was able to get five of my buddies to wake up at 5:00am for a hike. Bala ‘The Baritone Baller’ Kumar, Oudi ‘Owly’ Cherfi, Mark ‘MC Pirogi’ Bondyra, Mark ‘Dragonfly’ Jenkins, Ross ‘Ramblin’ Rose’ Polutnik, and myself P. Diddy Montaigne’ made good on our collective word to reach the summit of Sigurd Peak or Station Rose as others may know it as.
The trailhead can easily be reached with 2WD vehicle; for driving directions visit the Club Tread page for Sigurd Peak, https://www.clubtread.com/routes/Route.aspx?Route=1121. The trail initially starts out along an old road bed, but quickly it veers right off into the forest. The trees that I saw during this were awesomely huge and beautiful! If the late great Randy Stoltmann’s name is associated with an area, you can expect to view some majestic cedars.
The trail is for the most part quite steep; think of doing the Grouse Grind for about nine hours; there is no gondola! I love steep slopes, they’re something so cathartic of pushing yourself physically through an old growth forest and seeing views of the Squamish River Valley and Ossa/Pelion Mountains.
At about 1170 m elevation, the route pushes North around a bluff section, before curling back East, and then heading up the main East running ridge system. Three of the group followed that route, while three went South and then East. I was with the group that went South; it was an interesting choice. We quickly had to start veggie belaying, and eventually were cliffed out. I would recommend not going this way, haha.
The East Ridge itself is quite broad and has great views in all directions; that’s if you’re not socked in. Though the clouds pushed in and out sporadically, that which I did see was superb! The final section of the summit ridge was heavily corniced. I would suggest just sticking to the middle and avoid any complications may arise from travelling too far to the edge of the ridge.
For a group of six young opinionated males, we worked well as a collective. I really enjoyed this trip with my friends, and would like to thank them all for coming along! The next trip? Tzsil Mountain near Joffre Lakes, or something in central Cheam Range.”