High Ice

The High Ice is the vast plateau covered by Golarion's polar ice cap. It lies between the inhabitable tundra of the Outer Rim and the cold desert of the Boreal Expanse at the North Pole. The High Ice is situated on a mile-high massif, and in some places hides entire mountain ranges beneath its frozen bulk. Due to its elevation and distance from the equator, this region is frozen year-round. Nearly 2,000 miles across and a mile thick, the icepack is worn smooth by the wind over most of its expanse, though crevasses can open up unexpectedly due to glacial shifting.

The High Ice supports little life compared to the Outer Rim, but it is hardly devoid of inhabitants. Small animals such as foxes, ermines, martens, fishers, lynx, hares, and sable retreat to these highlands during the summer, and mountain goats live here year-round. Lichen and tiny bore-worms are ubiquitous, which provide food for the amphibian novosis and crustacean khabas.

There are few native humanoids on the High Ice, and of these, the Snowcaster elves are the most common, dwelling in the taiga on its edges. Frost and taiga giants from Urjuk sometimes roam the tundra. Some hunters, hermits, and merchants can be found wandering the waste, but humans by and large shun this region. The Path of Aganhei winds across the High Ice, leading back down onto the Outer Rim at the Koumssa Gap and Ovorikheer Pass.