Before climbing King George V Mountain (KGVM), I
asked the local Inuit population about the best routes to the summit. The majority of answers and suggestions
centered on two possibilities: a skidoo trail on the far left side of the
mountain, and going around on the right side near the airport. When I was climbing up the mountain directly,
I was so sure on making it to the top that I forgot about the alternate
routes. Thankfully, my desire to
postpone the rest of the hike had brought me to the skidoo trail. All was not lost. King George would not get the last laugh at
the end of the day.
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| Skidoo trail |
The slope that's used as a skidoo trail lies
between KGVM and a mountain that's littered with red rocks. The slope was completely covered in snow,
similar to the one I slid down on my boots.
The skidoo tracks looked fresh and went all the way to the top. I followed the skidoo tracks and reached the top
of the slope in 10 minutes.
I
was surprised to see so many red rocks; I had grown use to seeing the colours
black and dark brown. The red rocks
reminded me of the geological landscape of Australia. Nearby stood an odd looking rock formation
with a white & brown top. I
photographed it from different angles before continuing on along the rocky
edges. At this elevation, I could
clearly see Arctic Bay and Victor Bay.
Taking the phrase 'Living life on the edge' literally, I laid down on a
giant protruding red boulder and peaked over the edge. The drop was straight down. Gripping my camera tightly, I took a picture
of Arctic Bay and the surrounding landscape.
 |
| Victor Bay (right of centre). |
 |
| My original approach that came up short. |
There
was a cold wind blowing when I arrived at the small opening I was unable to
reach several hours before. Examining
the opening more closely reaffirmed my earlier conclusion that climbing it
without proper equipment would have been impossible. If I had made the attempt, I would have slipped
and tumbled all the way down the mountain.
I carefully navigated around the opening and continued walking towards
the inukshuks I had spotted on my earlier ascent. I was most interested in the inukshuk that
had been built on the edge of a protruding rock.
 |
| Summit of KGVM |
The
summit of KGVM is a wide plateau; not completely flat but a plateau
nonetheless. In the middle, the rocks
are brown, black, and beige. The red
rocks are along the edges. With so much
open space, I think it would be possible to build a small town on top of King
George's head. A very large & tall
beige inukshuk sits on the summit with small blue chords running around
it. Miniature lights are attached to the
chords. My guess is that the inukshuk is
lit at Christmas time with the help of a generator.
By
this time, the overcast clouds had returned.
After filming a 360 degree view from the summit, I carefully walked over
to the small beige inukshuk that had been built on a large red boulder. One must use extreme caution because the path
to the inukshuk lies between two steep drops.
Upon reaching the Inuit-made structure, I took several pictures and sat
down on the ground. I stayed there for a
few minutes, enjoying the view, waving to anyone and everyone in Arctic Bay,
and surveying the landscape through my binoculars. I scrambled back up the path and walked
further to the left side and got a clear view of the airport below. KGVM is a perfect spot to watch aircraft arrive
and depart from Arctic Bay. I was also
able to spot the pumping station where the water trucks go to bring water to
the people.
 |
| Arctic Bay Airport |
I
headed back to the skidoo trail on the far left side of the mountain. I had thought about descending down the right
side of KGVM but it was already late in the day and I didn't want to get home
at around midnight. I followed the
skidoo trail down the mountain until it connected to the road to Sewage
Lagoon. I continued on the road leading
me through the garbage dump. The sounds
of loud seagulls were gone. I examined
some of the discarded vehicles and objects before replacing my face mask &
ski goggles with a black toque & sunglasses. The temperature was a lot warmer and I didn't
want my face to sweat. With a grin on my
face, I looked in the direction of KGVM. Look
whose laughing now, George, I thought.
It was a pleasant walk back to my
residence with the sun setting in front of me.
The sun would dip just below the mountains and would remain like that
until the next morning. I arrived back
at my place at 8pm; my entire day excursion lasted 10 hours! Despite adding an extra 4 hours to my excursion,
I achieved my goal in reaching the summit.
The hike & climb gave me much needed exercise and the views were
breathtaking. Next time, though, I'll
have an ice axe and crampons for my boots.
End
of A Ridge (Nearly) Too Far Mini-Series.
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