arctic - Climb Magazine

Transcription

in association with
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The North West side of the Asiaq Group on Quvernit Island, Cape Farewell. (A) Morel Tower, (B) Asiaq Tower, (C) Angegoq Tower and (D) Tupilak. (1) North West Face
(Holzhauser/Morel/Wyser, 2004: 420m/10 pitches of climbing: VII). (2) North North West Pillar (Tresch/Tresch, 2004: 620m/11 pitches of climbing: VIII). (3) Ghetto Boys
(Lamprecht/Reichel/Tresch/Tresch, 2004: 700m/16 pitches of climbing: IX or 7c). (4) West Pillar (Lamprecht/Reichel/Tresch/Tresch, 2004: 700m/15 pitches of
climbing: VIII). (5) North West Pillar (Holzhauser/Wyser, 2004: 930m/20 pitches of climbing: VII+ and A0). JVAN TRESCH
ARCTIC
GREENLAND 2004
Part two of our report mainly covers the
most popular and most accessible region
for climbers visiting Greenland – Cape
Farewell
078
SOUTH GREENLAND
Cape Farewell Region
Quvernit Island
A very powerful Swiss-German team spent
five weeks on Quvernit Island, climbing nine
big rock routes on generally excellent granite.
After a four-hour boat ride from Nanortalik,
Tom Holzhauser, Caro Morel, the brothers
Michi and Jvan Tresch, and Michi Wyser from
Switzerland, plus Toni Lamprecht (who when
not climbing is lead singer with the ‘old
school’ punk rock band Analstahl and another
Cuban Folk band) and Wanja Reichel from
Germany, reached the northern end of the
Itivdliap Isthmus, a narrow strip of water
separating Quvernit from the large island of
Tornarssuk. Both islands lie immediately
southeast of Pamiagdluk. The mountains can
only be reached by the use of Zodiacs (the
team had two) and the combined facts that
there is no recorded history of climbing on
this island, the local boatmen have never
taken anyone there, and there was no sign of
previous human presence, either at the only
camp site or on the mountains, all led the
climbers to believe the seven peaks they
summited were previously virgin.
The first new route completed was in the
valley above Base Camp and named Grön. It
gave 700m (12 pitches) of climbing, up mixed
rock and snow patches to a vertical headwall,
which was climbed right of the fall line from
the summit. Difficulties were VIII and A1 and
the route climbed on the 30th July by the
Tresch brothers. The next objectives were a
Toni Lamprecht on the second pitch (VIII-) of Ghetto
Boys, West Pillar of Angegoq Tower, Quvernit
Island. JVAN TRESCH
group of fine steep, west-facing, rock walls
leading to peaks on the east side of a small
glacier, east of the inlet. This required a 15minute ride in the Zodiac. On the most
northerly peak, named the Morel Tower,
Holzhauser, Morel and Wyser climbed the
420m (10-pitch) North West Face at VII. Two
days later, on the 7th August, Lamprecht,
Reichel and both Treschs climbed the lower
southerly summit, Angagoq, of the peak to
the right (south) via the fine West Pillar
(700m: 15 pitches: VIII), vertical in the lower
section with a stack of hard off-widths. The
same team returned to this pillar and over
the 12th-13th climbed it again via a hard
variation start to the left, which they named
Ghetto Boys (700m: 16 pitches: IX or 7c). This
was perhaps the highlight of the trip; a
perfectly clean line with many pitches
between VI and VIII+. The wall is vertical and
the line follows cracks that provide the full
spectrum from fingers to large off-widths.
Next, on the 17th, came the North West
Face of Ghecko Tower
(Holzhauser/Morel/Wyser: 750m: 17 pitches:
VII-), the right edge of a subsidiary pillar on
one of the more southerly summits,
christened Immanaq. This was followed on
the 1st September by a long route Immanaq,
which first repeated the North West Face of
Ghecko Tower, before dropping down the far
side and continuing up the face above to the
summit. Lamprecht and Reichel covered
1,100m of climbing (20 pitches) up to VIII in a
24 hours round trip from camp. The same day
the Treschs climbed the North North West
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Pillar of Asiaq (620m: 11 pitches: VIII), the
main (higher and more northerly) summit of
Angagoq, while Holzhauser and Wyser
climbed Tupilak (930m of climbing: 20
pitches: VII+ and A0) via the North West Pillar
of this previously unclimbed summit between
Angagoq and Immanaq. Finally, on the 4th,
Holzhauser and the two Treschs put up Dos
Canones on the West Face of a twin-summited
tower that lies in the next fjord along from
Base Camp and was reached after a 30minute boat ride. The route gave 650m (10
pitches) of VII+/VIII- and one of the most
beautiful crack climbs of the entire
expedition. According to the authors, it is very
comparable with some Joshua Tree sport
climbs. All distances quoted relate to the
length of the climb, not the vertical interval
and at all times the teams avoided placing
bolts and tried to climb their routes in a day.
In this they were aided by perfect weather. On
only three days were they forced into inactivity
by rain.
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The North West Face of Ghecko Tower and Immanaq on the island of Quvernit, Cape Farewell. (1) Ghecko
Tower (Holzhauser/Morel/Wyser, 2004: 750m of climbing/17 pitches: UIAA VII-). (2) Immanaq (Ghecko
Tower continuation: Lamprecht/Reichel, 2004: 1,100m of climbing/20 pitches: VIII). JVAN TRESCH
12 peaks. Their Pt 1,900m to the southwest of
Tupilak Tower, climbed via a c1,300m
snow/ice route at D, is more than likely the
same as that climbed by the Italians and very
possibly the same as Pt 1,990m climbed (at
grade IV) by the 1956 team.
PAMIAGDLUK ISLAND
Three primarily British teams, plus a fourth
from Germany, visited this island of
Michi Tresch enjoying excellent crack climbing on the perfect granite of the Asiaq Group, Quvernit Island.
JVAN TRESCH
079
Kangikitsoq Fjord
Giangi Angeloni, Sergio Dalla Longa, Rosa
Morotti and Ennio Spiranelli, spent two weeks
on the west side of this fjord during July and
August. During the first it rained and they
were plagued by the ubiquitous mosquitoes.
Fortunately, the second was fine and sunny
and two probable new routes were achieved.
On the 3rd August they climbed a new route
up the North Face of Pt 1,900m, which they
accessed from the glacier west of Tupilak
Tower. At first they believed the summit to be
virgin but some plastic packaging and a large
cairn on top persuaded them otherwise and
that the peak had, in all probability, been
previously climbed from the easier southern
slopes. They named their possible new line
Sandro e Vito after friends lost climbing. It was
eight pitches (300m) with snow, ice and rock
to IV+.
On the 7th, the four made the possible first
ascent of Pt 1,030m on the west side of the
fjord, which they named Lorenzo Peak after
Angeloni’s first born son. They climbed a
slabby line almost straight out of the fjord and
right of a depression on the big East Face.
Freedom Pillar was 600m and 22 pitches up to
V+, followed by 250m of scrambling up the
north ridge to the summit. They used 200m of
fixed rope and made two bivouacs on good
ledges, descending via 21 rappels. The granite
was excellent and although neither route was
extreme, the ambience was truly wild.
This area came to prominence in 2000
when it was visited by Chris Bonington’s
Anglo-American team which established
some hard rock routes. However, it had been
extensively explored as long ago as 1956 by
Claude Kogan’s expedition, which climbed 16
peaks, including three summits on the west
side of the Kangititsok, one of which could
possibly be Pt 1,030m. Later, in 1975, David
Walsh’s Irish expedition approached the west
side of the fjord from the south and climbed
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Seen from the west (A) The Question Mark, (B) The Baronet and (C) The Baron (1,340m) on Pamiagdluk Island. (1) North West Face (Browner/O’Sullivan, 2004: 13
pitches: British E4 6a). (2) The Cams, The Cams (Callaghan/Huxter, 2004: 7 pitches: E2 5c). (3) 21st Century Arctic Fox (Neill/Wilkinson, 2004: six pitches: E5 6b or E4
6a and A1). (4) Supercrack of Greenland (Callaghan/Huxter, 2004: four pitches: E3 5c). (5) Little Foxy (Briggs, 2001: one pitch: E3 6a). (6) Banana Crack attempt
(Neill/Riley/Wilkinson, 2004: 10 pitches climbed to E3 5c and A1). (7) Amphibian (Browner/O’Sullivan, 2004: 17 pitches: E5 6a). (8) Ghandi’s Ramp (Cowie/Marsh,
2004: 16 pitches plus 150m of scrambling: E6 6b). (9) Red Dihedral (Cowie/Marsh, 2004: 15 pitches: E3 6a: repeated several times in the same season, first by
Callaghan and Huxter in 22 pitches). (10) South Ridge (Cowie/Browner/Marsh/O’Sullivan, 2004, although part of the route had been climbed by Hey and Grimes in
2001 and the whole line may have an ascent prior to this: 600m of climbing at HVS/E1 5b via the easiest line). ROSS COWIE
spectacular rocky spires east of the
Torssukatak Fjord. It has become well-known
in the last few years for its development of big
aid/free wall climbs in the north by Germans,
such as Easy or Squeezy (25 pitches: 5.12b
and A4) on Los Capitanos and largely all-free
ascents of routes on the impressive North
West Face of the Baroness by British. But the
history of exploration, as with most of South
Greenland/Cape Farewell, tends to be
incomplete and a little confused.
Pamiagdluk was certainly explored and a
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The Baron group seen from below Pt 1,300m to the northeast. (A) The Baron (1,340m). (B) The Baron’s
Appendage. (C) The Baronet. (D) The Butler (c900m). (1) The North Ridge of Cornice Peak (1,070m: off
picture: Dave Bone/Ian Heginbotham, July 2004: PD). (2) Baron Greenback (Ian Heginbotham/Scott Sadler,
July 2004: 900m of climbing: 15 pitches: British E1 5b). (3) Attempt on the East Ridge of the Baron’s
Appendage (Dave Bone/Duncan Lee: 260m of climbing and five pitches to E2 5c). (4) North East Flank Original Route (a French expedition in 1957: AD). (5) South Face - The Cripple and the Tortoise (Dewi
Durban/Jon Roberts, July 2003: 200m and six pitches above the obvious shoulder: E2 5c and A1). SCOTT
080
SADLER
number of peaks climbed in 1957, at the very
start of mountaineering in this region. It was
most likely visited several times again in the
next two decades, mountains being climbed
by their easiest lines. High standard rock
routes were put up as early as 1974 as noted
below and in 1975 one of Phil Gribbon’s
regular St Andrews University expeditions to
South Greenland claim the probable first
ascent of the highest peak, Pt 1,373m.
However, they only reached the lower summit
(in the mist) and the highest point was
actually reached by Ray Finlay’s Irish
expedition in 1978 or 1981 (year uncertain).
This is located on the eastern side of the
island and was later dubbed the Twin Pillars.
Strong German teams arrived in the mid1990s and put up many, long, fine rock routes
up to 20 pitches in length and VII and A2,
mostly in the eastern half of the island
Pamiagdluk Island - The Baron
The first of the three British teams set up
Base Camp on the west shore at the now
established Baroness Base Camp. Ross
Cowie and Tim Marsh (UK) with Ronan
Browner and Donie O’Sullivan (Ireland) then
made an ascent of the South Ridge of The
Baron, a striking 1,340m spire conspicuous
from the Torssukatak Fjord, which like other
British parties they believed to be unclimbed.
Cowie with Marsh, climbed a different line to
the other pair and although a lower pitch on
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Looking north from the summit of the Baron
(1,340m), Pamiagdluk Island. Identifying the
distant peaks is not straightforward but it is
thought (A) might be Pt 2,040m east of the head
of the Kangikitoq Fjord, (B) part of the
Ivssuglussoq Group (1,475m) and (C) Igdlorssuit
Qaqat (2,292m) east of the head of the
Kangersuneq Qingordleq Fjord. (D) is the westeast continuation of the Torssukatak Sound,
Augipilaqtoq Avangna, and (E) the northerly
continuation leading up to the Kangikitsoq and
Nup Kangerdlua Fjords. (F) is the location of the
main settlement, Augpilagtoq. (G) is the main
summit of Pt 1,300m, most likely first climbed in
1974 by two members of a British team via the
North West Ridge (c350m: VI and A2). These two
climbers approached from the north coast up the
valley to the left of the peak. The straightforward
mountains visible above the left (west) side of the
valley were climbed by Helana Bestova and Karel
Prochazka (Czech) in July 2004 but were most
probably first ascended during earlier
explorations of the island. Large unclimbed
slabby walls fall west into the valley from the
ridge running north of Pt 1,300m but the really
big walls, climbed by Germans, lie on the
opposite side of this ridge and fall east into the
San Antonio Valley. (H) is Consolation Point
(1,250m). In the foreground (I) is the Butler. (1)
the route attempted by Ian Heginbotham and
Scott Sadler (six pitches to E3 5c). (2) South Ridge
of Consolation Point (Dave Bone/Duncan Lee, July
2004: c1,000m of climbing: D+: British VS 4c/5a.).
(3) South Face - The Cripple and the Tortoise
(Dewi Durban/Jon Roberts, July 2003: six pitches
of belayed climbing to E2 5c and A1). SCOTT
SADLER
thin crack, giving it an overall grade of E6 6b.
Gandhi’s Ramp involves 16 pitches to the ridge
plus 150m of scrambling and is now one of
the hardest free routes on the island. As the
two sat on the summit, two rather surprised
climbers suddenly appeared. Another larger
British expedition had arrived on the East
Coast, also half expecting to make the first
ascent of The Baron. However, the two new
climbers were somewhat comforted to hear
they were several decades late rather than
just minutes.
Meanwhile Browner and O’Sullivan had
re-located to below the North West Face of
The Baron’s lower western summit, dubbed
The Baronet. On the 17th July they climbed
the obvious cleft up the centre of the face
above the halfway ledge. Reaching the ledge
involved six pitches up to E3 6a, while above,
the terrain involved off-width cracks (Friend
6) and a crux, wet, square-cut groove at E4
6a. The 13-pitch route was climbed quickly
and the pair were able to return to camp,
pack and descend to the fjord the same day.
Commendably, this four-man team took no
bolts and placed only one peg on the entire
trip.
Towards the end of July a second British
team set up Base Camp to the southwest of
The Baron, two to three hours above the
Baroness Base Camp. From there, nine
routes were climbed. Most of these were
located on the lower flanks of both The
Baron and Baronet and did not go to the
summit. Leanne Callaghan and Glenda
Huxter climbed three new routes. On the
pinkish-orange South East Face of The
Baron, a steep triangular wall right of the
South Ridge, the pair put up Free Will
(370m: 12 pitches: E3 5c) following an
impressive line up a huge diagonal crack
system to reach the crest of the South Ridge,
which was descended by rappel. This ascent
took place on the 3rd August. On the 15th
they climbed a prominent corner system on
the South East Face of The Baronet to create
The Cams, the Cams (300m: seven pitches:
E2 5c). This ended at the midway terrace
and as the rock on the upper section of this
face did not look very appealing, this and
other routes subsequently established did
not continue to the summit. A week later
the same pair put up the Supercrack of
Greenland (170m: four pitches: E3 5c) a
superb and sustained crack-line to the right
of The Cams... They also repeated Red
Dihedral and the South Ridge (as did
everyone else on the expedition), which they
found excellent, particularly the Dihedral; a
superb route of classic status. Their route
up the South Ridge involved two pitches of
E2 5c, passing an in situ bolt.
Tim Neill and Louise Wilkinson repeated
Little Foxy (one pitch: E3 6a) to the right of
Supercrack, a line first climbed in 2001 by
Tom Briggs. They then moved 50m left of
Supercrack and re-climbed another Tom
Briggs pitch (55m, E5 6b), then extended it
for a further five pitches to the midway
terrace to create 21st Century Arctic Fox
(250m). A small crag below the face also
yielded Life of Riley (100m: two-pitches: E2
5c). With Tim Riley they also attempted the
big banana-shaped groove 150m right of
Supercrack, climbing 10 pitches and nearly
two-thirds of the way up the face at E3 5c
and A1 before dangerously poised blocks in
an inescapable corner blocked further
progress.
Neill and Riley followed Callaghan and
081
one of the routes was British E3 6a, it could
have easily been avoided and a grade of E1 5b
is more accurate for the 600m of climbing. As
they triumphantly approached the summit on
the afternoon of the 2nd July they were
somewhat deflated to discover a big cairn and
old rusty peg.
As noted above, while rock-climbing in the
Cape Farewell region has certainly come of
age in the last decade or so, the area has
been visited since the 1950s. In 1956 Claude
Kogan’s primarily French expedition to the
Kangikitsoq region further north stopped off
at Pamiagdluk. They climbed Pt 1,240m, now
known as Qaqarssuaq, in the north of the
island and christened the impressive doublesummited spire, now known as The Baron, Le
Grande Aiguille. They made a reconnaissance
from the north and it seems the peak was
most likely climbed the following year by
another French expedition, which summited
six new peaks on Pamiagdluk. This team also
approached from the north and refer to it, not
without good reason, as The Dru. It was
certainly climbed again from the northeast in
1978 or 1981 by Irish mountaineers, Ray
Finlay and Roy Hudson, who found the French
cairn. In 2001, Naill Grimes and Ian Hey, who
had been climbing on The Baroness, started
up the South Ridge but then slanted right on a
ramp above the steep section of the South
East Face. They retreated in high winds,
having climbed difficulties up to around E1.
The peak will have a local Greenlandic name
but this has yet to be found.
Working from a camp below the South
South West Face, three more routes were
added. After some preparation of the lower,
very steep, concave central section, where
ropes were left fixed, the team established
two new routes on the 14th July. Browner and
O’Sullivan climbed more or less directly up
the centre of the face, cutting through a ramp
that slants left across the whole wall at
around half-height, to create the 17-pitch
Amphibian. This had two crux E5 6a pitches
but was sustained, with nine of the pitches
being E2 and above. In the meantime Cowie
and Marsh had climbed up to the right end of
the ramp, then moved up and right into a
huge diedre. After a total of 11 pitches they
reached the upper South Ridge, where four
more easy rope lengths led to the summit.
The Red Dihedral has eight pitches of E2 and
above with a crux of E3 6a. Dampness proved
a problem on some sections of both routes.
Fortuitously, as the two pairs coincided on the
summit, they were able to make a communal
rappel down the middle of the face, arriving
back at camp after a 20-hour day.
Two days later Cowie and Marsh returned
to follow the ramp left across the face to the
North Ridge and up this via an easy scramble
to the summit. The climbing was not
sustained but the middle of the ramp had a
section of E4 6b, while a 35m pitch just before
the end, led by Marsh, featured thin moves
across a slab with negligible gear and a hard
in association with
Huxter up Red Dihedral but just below the
summit a falling rock struck Riley hard. He
sustained chest injuries but was tidily
evacuated to Base Camp by the rest of the
team. A further five days went by before a
passing boat could be attracted and Riley
rescued.
The remaining two members of this team,
Matt Perrier and Jude Spancken, repeated
several routes and added The Pink Power
Tower, a seven-pitch crack system in a corner
on the South East Face of The Baron, finishing
on top of a tower. Neill and Wilkinson
repeated the E4/5 6a route, praising the
quality and suggesting it was better than
Astroman in Yosemite. One bolt was placed at
most belays.
Let’s now return to the two climbers who
arrived on the summit of The Baron at the
same time as Cowie and Marsh on the 16th
July. These were Ian Heginbotham and Scott
Sadler, who were part of a 12-member British
team (celebrating the 60th anniversary of the
founding of the Karabiner Mountaineering
Club), which had landed at Eagle Bay near the
head of the Kangerdluarssuk Fjord that
almost splits Pamiagdluk in two. They
approached The Baron from the east,
climbing to a col at the base of the South East
Face. There, and right of the vertical pinkishorange wall, they climbed into a scoop and
then out to the South East Ridge on the right,
completing 15 pitches up to E1 5b. Baron
Greenback gave 900m of climbing. A later
attempt at a line on the left side of the South
East Face by the same pair stopped after four
pitches (though they still gave it a name:
Baron Munchausen, E3 6a). On the 26th,
Duncan Lee and Al Metelko repeated, at least
in the upper section, what is almost certainly
the Original Route on The Baron. The pair
climbed a long, east-facing, snow gully to
reach a col between Mark and the Butler,
then headed south, contouring to the col
between The Butler and Baron, where they
found the remains of an ancient bivouac site.
From there they climbed a long scree slope
on the North East Face, then a snow couloir to
the gap between the Baron and its easterly
top (c100m lower and now dubbed the
Baron’s Appendage). Scrambling led to the
main summit and the route rated AD. A later
attempt on the East Ridge of the Appendage
by Lee and Dave Bone was thwarted by the
lateness of the hour after E2 climbing.
082
Pamiagdluk – Pt 1,300m
The other major peak attempted by the KMC
team was Pt 1,300m approximately four
kilometres northeast of The Baron. This is a
striking double-summited top, which Dave
Bone and Duncan Lee tried on the 14th July.
The pair followed the South Ridge,
approached via a long snow couloir. The
climbing was not sustained, some scrambling
and two pitches of VS before the 1,225m
foresummit was reached. The way ahead,
across a deep snowy notch followed by a
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The c1,000m high West Face of Ulamertorssuaq (North Summit: c1,880m: hidden) in the Tasermiut Fjord,
Cape Farewell. (A) Little Ulamertorssuaq (a.k.a. The Pyramid: c1,440m) and (B) the West Summit (1,830m).
All lines are approximate. (1) Mosquito Attack (Körner/Redder, 2000: seven pitches: 6b and A0). (2) Jacques
Cousteau (Gallego/Clavel/Matas/Seiquier, 1997: 6c and A4). (3) Magic Tromblon (Agier/Payrau/Vigier, 1977:
6b and A2: climbs a huge diedre left of the Moby Dick pillar). (4) Moby Dick
Albert/Gargitter/Glowacz/Götz/Langen/Masterson, 1994: 31 pitches: IX+ or 7c+ and A1: FFA Beranek, 1998:
7c+). (5) Piteraq (Haugen/Körner/Redder/Søndergaard, 2000: 22 pitches: A3+ 5.9/F5+). (6) Geneva Diedre
(Dalphin/Piola/Probost/Wiestlibach, 1983: F6b and A4: climbed free with several variations as War and
Poetry by Bechtel/Bechtel/Lilygren/Mallamo/Model/Piana/Skinner, 1998: 5.12c/F7b+). (7) Quadrophenia
(Cavagnetto/Motto/Piola/Ravaschietto, 1995: 6b obl and A4). (8) Südtiroler Profil (Hainz/Obrist, July 1996:
bolt protected 7c). (9) L’inespérée (Daudet/Robert, June 1996: 7b and A4). (10) Le Temps de L’innocence
(Degoulet/Sabot/Thévenet, July 2004: 29 pitches: 7a+, A1 and C1). (11) What’s Bred in the Bone
(Condon/Prohaska, 2000: 5.10+/F6a+ and A2+). RICH PROHASKA
steep and loose-looking summit tower, was
not inviting and the team descended, naming
the foresummit Consolation Point. A later
attempt at a route on the West Face ground to
a halt in rain after six pitches up to E3 5c. It is
not clear exactly when the first ascent of this
peak was made but Rick Hoare and Gregory
Moseley (UK) climbed it in 1974, approaching
from the northwest, via a c350m rock route of
VI and A2.
The KMC expedition also made first
ascents on some of the lower buttresses that
lay closer to Base Camp, below and east of
The Butler: Fat City Buttress (two routes of E1
and E2); Shelob’s Ridge (AD); Bone Machine
Buttress (665m of climbing to E3 6a). Two
points on the ridge north of Pt 1,300m were
climbed (Red Tor and KMC Peak), as were
Lord and Lady Berkeley’s Peaks (1,010m and
1,015m) to the south of The Baron via the easy
Pamiagdluk East
The eastern side of the island was again
visited by a German team. During two weeks
of perfect weather in the second half of
August, Daniela and Hans-Jochen Hägele
with Andreas and Sandra Holle repeated
several of the routes put up by the 1994
Bayerland and 1996 Freisinger expeditions,
and added one or two of their own. Setting up
Base Camp in the valley leading west from
the shores of Anordliutsoq Ima past the large
lake towards Twin Pillar, they started with
Naujarssuit (c1,100m), first climbed in 1994,
where they put up Stümerkante (eight pitches:
VI-). Then it was the reddish concave South
Face of Frenchbird (1,242m) where they
repeated Haute Cuisine (15 pitches: VIII-). On
the Red Wall (c1,050m), which lies southwest
of Qilerdike at the head of the valley, they
repeated Nordlicht (VII+ and A2) as far as the
10th pitch then rappelled. Turning their
attentions towards the island’s highest peak,
1,373m Twin Pillar, they climbed the 10-pitch
Vereinsausflug (VII+). Later, the Holles climbed
Aurora (12 pitches: all free at VII+/VIII-) on
Qilerdike (1,200m) to the end of the
difficulties. The day before they were due to
leave the Hägeles added another route to the
South Face of Frenchbird with Kurz vor Knapp
(nine pitches: VII-). The easier routes climbed
by the Bayerland team sported occasional
slings and pegs but some of the harder routes
had one bolt per belay. Last year’s German
team carried no bolts just a normal Alpine
rack.
TASERMIUT FJORD
Ulamertorssuaq
The now quasi-classic Moby Dick
(Albert/Gargitter/Glowacz/Gotz/Langen/Maste
rson, 1994: 1,000m and 31 pitches: FFA Dusan
Beranek, 1996 at 7c+), proved very popular
this season. Swedish climbers, Marco
Kuppianen and Erik Massih came very close
to an impressive on-sight ascent. They
climbed the route in two blocks with
Kuppianen leading the first 15 and Massih the
remaining 17 pitches. The only flaws occurred
on pitch 28, where Massih took one fall before
climbing it clean, and on the 7c+ pitch 30,
where a couple of points of aid had to be
used. The route was climbed and rappelled in
a 36 hours push. The two Swedes found the
route to be very good but were rather
disappointed by the number of bolts, which at
times were right next to perfect crack
placements.
An eight-member team of young French
climbers on their first expedition was very
active in this area from the end of June to
early August and four of the group, Jérôme
Masoundabe, Benoît Montfort, Magali Salle
and Rémy Sifilio, all from the Pyrenees,
repeated Moby Dick from the 15th-17th July.
3
9
7
4
6
8
2
5
1
3
The c700m Central and Right-Hand Pillars of
Nalumasortoq showing: (1) the approximate
line of Umwelten (Thomas/Turner, 1996:
British E5 and A1); (2) Turkish Garland Figs
(Balcar/Jonák/?atava/Vrkoslav, 2001: 17
pitches: IX); (3). Vertical Dream
(Castella/Dalphin/Lehner/Truffer/Zambetti,
1998: 7a and A2: exact line not known); (4) One
Way Ticket
(Ahmedkhanov/Dorfman/Lastochkin/Lifanov/R
ozov/Seregin, 2003: 20 pitches: A4 and 6b); (5)
Cheese Finger at Three O’Clock
(Berthet/Brambati/Dalphin/Flugi/Vitali, 1996:
6b and A3+); (6) Prowed and Free
(Martin/Odgen, 2004: 15 pitches: 5.12+ in
Alpine Style); (7) Conspiracy Planet
(Fluder/Golab/Piecuch/Tomaszewski, 2000: VII
and A3+); (8) Non C’e Due Senza Tre
(completed by Arpin/Manica/Vando, 2000: 6c
and A3: climbed by Dash and Friday in 2003 at
5.11+: free climbed again to within 60m of the
summit by Martin and Ogden in 2004); (9)
South Face
(Chapoutot/Domenech/Gorgeon/Guillot/Perrotet,
1975: TD: 5+). ARKADY SEREGIN/ANNA PIUNOVA WWW.MOUNTAIN.RU
They started up the route without sleeping
bags or portaledges, reaching the good ledge
at the top of pitch 15 on the first day. Next day
they gained the narrow ledge at the top of
pitch 28 and climbed to the summit the
following morning, rappelling the route from
existing anchors. They note the upper 600m
are very steep and sustained with largely
hanging and uncomfortable belays.
Later, on the 4th August, Americans,
Nathan Martin and Jared Ogden, raced up the
route in an astonishing 11 hours and 56
mnutes, pulling on occasional gear. This was
their first attempt, no fixed ropes were used
and the pitches climbed on-sight. The
previous fastest time was thought to be 28
hours. The two added two more rappel bolts
on the descent. The route was also climbed by
Annicka Bergquist and Sofia Sandgren from
Sweden to make probably the first allfemale ascent.
Three other members of the young French
party, Frédéric Degoulet, Rémi Sabot and
Francois-Régis Thévenet, all 21-23 years old
and from Lyon, had more ambitious plans
and first tackled a new route up the West
Face of the tapering tower leading to the
West Summit (1,830m) of Ulamertorssuaq,
right of the characteristic barrel-shaped
buttress. The first ascent of this pillar took
place in 2000 when Canadians, Jia Condon
and Rich Prohaska, climbed What’s Bred in
the Bone, a 1,100m line with 29 pitches, only
two of which required aid (A2+). The rest
gave fine free difficulties up to 5.10+, notably
in the middle to upper sections where the
line follows a prominent right-facing diedre.
However, some of this was interspersed with
poor rock.
The Canadians climbed onto the right side
of the pillar having first gained the top of the
large hanging serac formation at its base.
However, two years previously an Icelandic
team had tried to avoid the seracs by
starting up the first few pitches of
L’inesperée on the main face
(Daudet/Robert, 1996; 7b and A4), then
working up right across the intervening
depression to reach the pillar. They found
serious stonefall in the depression so
retreated.
The three French, who took a similar
start, appear to have experienced the same
problems. At the second portaledge camp
stonefall ripped through the fly while they
were ensconced one night and they later
were lucky to escape a huge volley while
jumaring back up to Camp 3. Higher, one of
the climbers pulled off a large flake directly
above the belayers but fortunately managed
to hold on and throw it clear. The trio had
started up the wall to the right of
L’Inesperée, close to the seracs, moved right
on to the snow field at its top, then climbed
compact slabby rock just left of the central
depression until they could traverse across it
and reach the pillar a little below half-height
(at approximately pitch 13). From there the
wall steepens and the difficulties increased.
A series of diedres and a final exposed arête
led directly to the summit, keeping left of the
Canadian route until eventually joining it at
the last belay. Twelve days were spent
climbing, with eight nights on the wall in a
portaledge. The summit was reached late in
the day on the 3rd July. Due to the perfect
weather throughout, the climb was named
Le Temps de L’innocence and gave 29 pitches
with difficulties up to 7a+, A1 and C1
(although there is only one aid pitch). The
route sports double-bolt belays and the
party left around eight protection bolts and
three to four pegs in place, noting that a very
comprehensive rack of nuts and cams (to
Camalot 5) is essential.
083
North Ridge (AD), while several routes up to
four pitches and E3 5c were put up on a crag
above the western shores of the fjord.
in association with
The c1,600m Ketil Pyramid seen from the south. The slabby South West Face on the left is separated from the
South Face by the South Pillar, climbed by a Swiss team in the 1980s and repeated by a Danish-Swedish
quartet in 1987 (11 pitches: V to VI+). The line of the new Thomas Tivadar route, climbed solo in 2004, is
marked: Lost Friends (425m: 10 pitches: V 5.10a A3c). The sharp spire behind and to the left is the Ketil
Tower. THOMAS TIVADAR
Nalumatorsoq - Central Pillar
Arguably the best achievement in this region
of the Tasermiut was Nathan Martin and
Jared Ogden’s new, all-free route on the prow
at the right side of the South West Face. This
completed an attempt by Martin and Tim
O’Neill in 2003. The two Americans started
early on the 18th July, hoping to make a single
push ascent. The route follows a thin finger
crack on the right edge, slanting slightly left
for seven pitches with maximum difficulties of
5.11+. Near the top of this section they
crossed the original route of the face, Cheese
Finger at Three O’Clock
(Berthet/Brambati/Dalphin/Flugi/Vitali, 1996:
6b and A3) and where their crack ended made
a difficult traverse left, protected by the only
bolt on the route. This gave access to a corner
system parallel to Cheese Finger, which was
also the 2003 high point. Martin led the 5.12+
traverse on his first attempt and the pair set
off up demanding new terrain, with the next
four pitches never less than 5.12-. On two or
three of these cleaning was necessary and the
pair resorted to hanging on aid. Above, they
joined an existing line, probably the top
section of Vertical Dream
(Castella/Dalphin/Lehner/Truffer/Zambetti,
1998: 7a and A2), and climbed for three
pitches (5.11; 5.9 and 5.8) to the summit.
A day later it began to rain and continued
for the following 17 days, so it wasn’t until the
2nd August that Martin and Ogden could
contemplate a one-day redpoint ascent. Both
climbers led or followed the route entirely free
and despite arm cramps, reached the top in
16 hours. Of the 15 pitches, two are 5.12+, one
12, two 12- and four 11 or 11+. Prowed and
Free is the first of the modern hard routes on
Nalumatorsoq to be established in an Alpine
style single push with no fixed ropes.
Nalumatorsoq – Right-Hand Pillar
On the 2nd July, Nathan Martin and Jared
Ogden attempted an all-free one-day ascent
of Non C’è Due Senza Tre (Arpin/Manica/Vaudo,
2000: 800m: 19 pitches: 6c and A3: FFA
Dash/Friday, 2003: 5.11+ or F6c+/7a). By
nightfall they reached the ledge c60m below
the top and decided to sit it out. After three
very cold hours they gave up and descended,
praising the route’s excellent clean jamming
cracks and quality free climbing.
Nalumatorsoq – Left-Hand Pillar
After their ascent of Moby Dick, described
elsewhere, Jérôme Masoundabe, Benoît
2
The North East Face of Tininnertuup (1,725m)
showing (1) Rapakivi Road (Martin Jacobsson/Ola
1
Knutsson, July 2004: 1,000m: 28 pitches/c1,300m of
climbing: 5.11 and A2+). (2) Qivitooq (Marten
Blixt/Bjorn Andreas Krane/Eric Massih, July 2002:
1,000m: 26 pitches: US VI: F7a+ and A2). The summit
of this peak was first reached in August 1971 via the
West Ridge and South West Face by Tom Hand, Shay
Nolan, Denis Rankin and Christie Rice (mostly UIAA
084
IV with a few pitches of V/VI). OLA KNUTSSON
Tininnertuup. He is carry the remaining water, having found the hard way that the poor-quality water bottles
could not stand the pressure of being packed tightly inside the haul bag. OLA KNUTSSON COLLECTION
Montfort, Magali Salle and Rémy Sifilio were
joined by Pierre Labbre for their next
objective, which they began on the 30th July:
the Original British Route on the South West
Face of the Left Pillar
(Anderson/Dring/Dring/Tattersall, 1995:
c600m: 7b+ or 7a/British E4 and A2: FFA in
2003). Ropes were fixed to the top of the 8th
pitch, then on the 1st August these were reascended and a portaledge camp established
at the top of pitch 10. On the 2nd they
continued up a superb series of jamming
cracks and diedres, reached the top and
descended to their camp for the night. They
found the line very elegant, steep all the way
and with sustained difficulties of 6b+ and
higher.
Ketil Pyramid
Munich big wall climber, Thomas Tivadar,
arrived in the area at the end of July, hoping
to be the first climber to solo a new big wall
route. He was surprised to find eight teams
with a total of 30 climbers at Base Camp,
though by the start of the second week of
August most of these had departed. His plan
had been to add another route to the South
West Face of Nalumasortoq but he found the
small glacier on the approach rather too
crevassed to cross safely on his own and
instead turned his attention further north to
Ketil Pyramid. This is a c400m-high spire one
kilometre southwest of Ketil’s 2,010m main
summit, accessed via the Uiluit Qaqa Valley
and far removed from other climbers. It is
c1,600m and most probably first climbed via
its easy East Face (300m: III) in 1960 by
British mountaineers, Wally Keay and Roger
Wallis.
Tivadar spent till the start of August
ferrying all his equipment up the trackless
1,350m of height-gain to the base of the
South Face. The South Pillar of Ketil Pyramid
was reportedly climbed in the 1980s by a
Swiss team to give 11 pitches from UIAA V to
VI+. Although unconfirmed this is likely to
have been members from the Christian
Dalphin/Michel Piola team, which put up a
new route on the West Face of Ketil in 1984.
The Pillar was certainly repeated in 1987 by
three Danes and a Swede (Micheal Hjorth et
al). However, the sheer South Face to the
right and the more slabby South West Face on
the left remained untouched.
Adopting fixed rope tactics Tivadar began
up the centre of the face on the 1st August
and after six days’ climbing was just 20m
below the East Ridge. The climbing had been
excellent, following diedres, cracks and slabs
in absolutely perfect granite. Then wind and
rain prevented movement above Base Camp
for four days and it wasn’t until the 18th that
he could finish the route and rappel the wall.
Lost Friends is 425m and 10 pitches up to 65m
each. Around half the route required aid
(Tivadar carried a not inconsiderable amount
of equipment, including 54 Friends, 20 hooks
and 21 copperheads) and some bolts were
placed. The difficulties were not severe, with
the route felt to warrant an American grade of
V 5.10a A3c.
Ketil
After their new route on Ulamertorssuaq
described elsewhere, Frédéric Degoulet,
Rémi Sabot and Francois-Régis Thévenet
moved north to 2,010m Ketil, a spectacular
peak also known locally as Uiluit Qaqa and
famous for its big wall routes on the 1,200m
West Face. There, they planned to add a third
route to the less well-known South Face. They
began on the 15th July and spent three days
fixing the first 350m. A capsule style attempt
was then driven back by storm and it wasn’t
until the 30th that they were able to jug the
ropes and continue with a portaledge for four
more days to the summit. Clémence de l’Ogre
Tininnertuup
South of the Sermitsiaq at the head of the
Tasermiut Fjord, Martin Jacobsson and Ola
Knutsson, from Sweden have added a
second route to the huge North East Face of
Tininnertuup (1,725m). The pair spent three
weeks in the rather underdeveloped valley
that lies between the Tininnertuup Qaqqat
Group and the Hermelnbjerg, initially hoping
to put up a steep big wall aid route.
However, most of the walls were less steep
and more suited to free climbing; one of the
most appealing objectives being the face
immediately left of the highest of the three
big pillars that characterise the northeast
flank of the group. It was this same pillar,
the most southerly of the three, that was
climbed in July 2002 by Marten Blixt and
Eric Massih from Sweden, with Bjorn
Andreas Krane from Norway, to create
Qivitooq (1,000m: 26 pitches: US VI: F7a+
and A2).
The line chosen by Jacobsson and
Knutsson climbed two successive pillars,
after which it was possible to reach the far
side of the main peak, where easy broken
climbing led to the needle-sharp summit.
They fixed the first three pitches (the first
two the worst on the climb, easy but loose
and difficult to protect), then climbed
capsule style with a portaledge. Pitch 4
climbed through a big roof at A2, while
pitches 5-14 were completed over the next
two days and gave really solid climbing (5.8
to 5.10 with a pitch of A2+ that would likely
go free but would be hard to protect). This
brought them to a large ledge at the base of
the second pillar, where they spent a day
and a half sitting out a rainstorm. In the
afternoon of their seventh day the rock dried
and the pair set off in a lightweight push for
the top. Pitches 15-18 gave the hardest free
085
Ola Knutsson jumaring the immaculate clean-cut corner that forms the seventh pitch (5.8) of Rapakivi Road,
(1,000m: 22 pitches, of which four required
aid: F7a, A1 and C1) is the first direct line up
the face, climbing more or less up the centre
where there is a vague prow in the upper
section. All belays are equipped with two
bolts but only two other bolts and two pegs
were left in place. Seventy metre ropes
are strongly advised, as is at least one
Camalot 5.
The Original Route to the summit of Ketil
(TD: V and VI: probable second ascent in
1987) was done as long ago as 1974 by an
Austrian party
(Abermann/Barnard/Baumgartner/Gassler/
Jeller/Rienzner/Schiestl) that started up a
couloir on the North West Face and
eventually traversed around to the upper
South Face, from where they reached the
summit. It was descended one year later by
the French team of Agier, Amy, Lemoine and
Walter, who climbed the complete South
Face at TD+ (VI) with one bivouac, although
this is reported to be a devious line
connecting ledge systems with paths of least
resistance.
in association with
make an unroped climb up a c600m rocky
ridge north of Base Camp with maximum
difficulties of 5.8, before stormy weather drove
them down to the shore and a ride back to
Upernavik.
Martin Jacobsson admires the impressive view of unclimbed walls and couloirs on the West Face of the
Hermelnbjerg (1,912m) from the halfway ledge of Rapakivi Road, Tininnertuup. It is believed that the summit
of this peak, the highest point on the left, may not have been re-visited after the first ascent in August 1971
(North East Ridge: Billane/Griffin: TD). OLA KNUTSSON
climbing with a 5.11 hand crack and 5.10 offwidth, after which several pitches of 5.6-5.8
led to the top of the pillar. One short but
difficult pitch with an unprotected crux led to
easier broken ground and at midnight on the
6th July, after a total of 28 pitches, the two
arrived on the summit. A couple of days and
1,300m of rappelling later, they had
descended their route through falling snow
and freezing temperatures and, having
sacrificed all their gear on anchors, were
unable to do any more climbing. The route
has been christened Rapakivi Road (1,300m of
climbing: 5.11 and A2+) after the name of the
fabulous granite found in the region.
The immediate area was well-explored by
the 1968 and 1971 Irish expeditions that
completed relatively hard rock routes (for the
period) on the Minster (1,870m), Cathedral
(2,000m) and Hermelnbjerg (1,912m), as well
as climbing all five summits of Tininnertuup
(the highest of which, Pt 1,725m, they named
Aurora Borealis) by their easiest routes.
However, despite considerable potential,
there appears to have been very few
subsequent visits.
086
GREENLAND WEST COAST
Nutarmuit Island
After hitching a ride on a mail boat from
Upernavik, Americans, Lynnea Anderson and
Donny Alexander, travelled south round the
great sea cliffs of Sanderson’s Hope and the
south coast of the island on which it stands,
Qaersorssuaq, to arrive close to the
southwest tip of the large island Nutarmuit.
There, they were able to establish a new hard
rock route, still a rare occurrence in this
infrequently visited (by climbers) corner of
Greenland. From a Base Camp at c250m by
the first lake, they warmed up with an easy
300m snow couloir and then a four-pitch 5.9,
both further up valley, before tackling a virgin
350m wall to the left of a taller, more slabby,
protruding buttress on a formation directly
south of their camp. The approach to this wall
involved a a 250m snowfield followed by 100m
of very loose rock. However, once on the wall
the climbing proved to be excellent, despite
the fact that much of the ascent took place in
the rain. After less than 200m they reached a
prominent pillar, which began with an
awkward aid pitch. After a bivouac, the upper
pillar went mostly free at 10b and the pair
reached the top in an approaching storm.
Drilling several bolt anchors they rappelled to
their food and water 20 hours after leaving
and then continued down to their camp. As a
lot of the route had been climbed through the
night, the pair decided to name it Ullukkuit (V
5.10c A2+), which is the Greenlandic word for
In the Daytime. After this they had time to
Akuliarusinguaq Peninsula and other ascents
Bob Shepton and his 10m fiberglass yacht,
Dodo’s Delight, again visited the west coast.
After sailing from Scotland to Godthab (Nuuk)
via Cape Farewell, the crew progressed a
short distance to 65°N and anchored in the
c25km Kangerdluarssugssauq Fjord. The
climbing there is not technical but the scale is
big with difficult route finding and often loose
and bouldery terrain. Unusually poor summer
weather in 2004 also hindered activity. On the
25th July, Keith Geddes and Shepton climbed
Pt 1,650m east of the fjord head. This had
been climbed before but almost certainly not
from the west. The ascent involved a 30km
round trip and took 28 hours. Shepton, now in
his late 60s, was heard to say he was quite
pleased.
On the 27th, Geddes, Shepton and Phil Ham
made the first ascent of Mount Stevenson
(1,115m) via a ‘perfect mountain day’. On the
same day Emily Brooks and Nigel Harrison
made the first ascent of 1,430m Mount Peters,
a fine peak climbed by the northern glacier.
The team then took the boat further up the
coast to 71°N and into the northern end of
Uummaanaq Fjord to reach Akuliarusinguaq
Peninsula, an area previously explored by
Shepton in both 1998 and 2001. The principal
objectives there were four remaining
unclimbed peaks of more than 2,000m.
Attempts were not successful at first, though
ascents were made of Pt 1,815m, a little to the
northwest of spot height 1,790, and several
peaks on the nearby island of Qeqertarssuaq
(Nugatsiaq): Pt 1,511m (previously climbed);
two adjacent unnamed summits and four
summits (Pt 1,735m, spot height 1,750m,
1,645m Twin 1 and 1,715m Twin 2) lying on an
east-to-west ridge in the northern sector of
the island. Then, over the 13th-14th August,
Shepton made the first ascent of Solo Snow
Dome (2,065m) on the peninsula via an easy
but energy-sapping snow ridge. In all 14
peaks were climbed and 12 of these believed
to be previously virgin.
The boat then moved further north to
Upernavik, where there was a change of crew.
It then continued up the coastline with the
intention of seeing how far north it was
possible to sail a fiberglass yacht. Dodo’s
Delight eventually reached 78° 32’N in Nares
Strait above Etah, probably as far north up the
Greenland coast as any ordinary yacht has
been. Returning south, the boat moored close
to Thule, from where Polly Murray and Tash
Wright made the first east-to-west ski
traverse of Herbert Island (77° 25’N), c30km
of exacting soft snow at an average altitude of
850m, completed from the 20th - 23rd
September.
INFO: Lynnea Anderson/Dave Bone/Leanne
Callaghan/Ross Cowie/Sergio dalla Longa/Ian
Hey/Klettern/Ola Knutsson/Nathan Martin/Erik
Massih/MEF/Thomas Tivadar/Jvan
Tresch/Vertical/David Walsh.
ASIA
KRYGHYZSTAN 2004
The cover of the new Kyrghyzstan map and guide
production shows Slovenian climber, Irena Mrak,
at a camp on the Kyzyl Asker Glacier. The broad
couloir directly above would give access to the
New Maps
The American Alpine Club with Martin
Gamache of the Alpine Mapping Guild have
produced new maps to the Ala Archa
(1:50,000), West Kokshaal-Too (1:150,000) and
the Karavshin (1:200,000). These will be
included in this year’s American Alpine Journal
mailings to AAC members and will also be
distributed by, and available from, The
Mountaineers (www.mountaineersbooks.org)
for the price of $12. Based on Russian
Topographic mapping and clear satellite
images, the maps have been annotated with
popular up-to-date toponomy based on
consultation with climbers who have visited
the regions. Part of the profit from sales will
be donated to Garth Willis’s Alpine Fund
mentioned elsewhere in this report. For more
information visit www.americanalpineclub.org
and www.alpinemapguild.com
TIEN SHAN
WEST KOKSHAAL-TOO
Kyzyl Asker and The Great Walls of China
Guy Robertson and Es Tresidder returned to
the Kyzyl Asker region of the West KokshaalToo in September 2004 for another crack at
the spectacular and ephemeral goulotte that
splits the 1,300m South East Face of Kyzyl
Asker (The Red Soldier: 5,842m). The pair
had twice attempted the line in August 2002,
only to be thwarted by melting conditions
when there was the slightest hint of
sunshine. Their best effort took them 500600m above the base and included difficulties
up to Scottish VII (including a thin and
unprotected 25m section) before everything
turned to mush.
In 2004, Robertson and Tresidder were
joined by Pete Benson, Matt Halls and Robin
Thomas. These five climbers made the long
approach up the Komorova Glacier and
crossed Window Col, descending the
unnamed glacier on the far side to put an
Advanced Base below the South East Face.
Although it was significantly colder than their
previous visit, thawing was still depressingly
significant and the line was not attempted.
Instead, the five climbers focused their
attentions to neighbouring formations,
establishing several fine new routes.
North Face of Kyzyl Asker. The ridge to the right,
facing the camera, is the unclimbed North Ridge
of Kyzyl Asker leading to the North Shoulder. The
main summit, much higher and further back, is
out of sight.
Benson, Robertson and Tresidder began by
climbing a new line on the South Face of Pik
Panfilovski Division (5,290m), which lies on
the frontier ridge just east of Kyzyl Asker.
They followed an icy corner almost directly
below the summit and left of a much wider
couloir. The first four pitches gave fine
technical ice and mixed climbing, after which
the three moved together up insecure ground
before joining the main couloir c200m below
the summit. At this point altitude and very
heavy spindrift took its toll and the three
descended the wide couloir on Abalakovs.
Their 500m unfinished line was named Haggis
Supper (WI 5+) and completed in an 18-hour
round trip. This peak has only one known
previous ascent; in 1980 a Soviet team led by
Yuri Popenko attempted the West Face of
Kyzyl Asker but retreated and instead climbed
a technical rock and mixed route up the North
Looking from the slopes of Pik Jerry Garcia, through Window Col to the east-facing c600m-high Great Walls
of China. The highest summit, on the right, is 5,180m. Marked is the line of the first and only route to date,
Border Control (Robertson/Tresidder, 2004: ED2: 13 pitches: WI 5, Scottish mixed VII/VIII and A1). The
granite here is superb but on closer inspection it appears that anything exposed to full sunlight might prove
dangerous due to rock fall. Everything else visible in this picture is unclimbed. LINDSAY GRIFFIN
087
Part one of this report covers the
spectacular but often climatically challenged
region of the West Kokshaal-Too, leaving the
remaining Tien Shan and Pamir regions for a
future issue.
West Face of Panfilovski Division.
Next, Thomas and Halls, climbed a new
route up an ice couloir on the South Face of
Pik Jerry Garcia, a c5,250m peak on the
frontier ridge east of Window Col. The
mountain was originally climbed from the
north in 1997 by Beckwith, Engelien, Green
and Griffin from an Anglo-American-German
expedition that was the first to explore peaks
above the Komorova Glacier and the first nonSoviet team to visit this western end of the
West Kokshaal-Too. The mountain has been
climbed on several occasions since. Thomas
and Halls managed to climb the crux of their
new route before the sun caused too much
melting and completed an elegant 500m line
with difficulties of Scottish V.
Robertson and Tresidder then made a longawaited first ascent of The Great Walls of
China, a series of steep and impressive eastfacing granite walls rising c600m from the
unnamed glacier south of Kyzyl Asker. The
highest and most northerly summit is 5,186m.
Snowy conditions allowed them to tackle a
mixed route up a northeast-facing chimney on
the more southerly sector of the walls but
they were forced to terminate their ascent in
the dark on reaching the final ridge. The
summit was not reached. The pair attempted
the line in a single push but the day started
badly with an errant crampon point bursting
their main water container, leaving them with
very little liquid for the climb. The climb
proved sustained, of the 13 pitches only three
were easier than Scottish V and maximum
difficulties involved WI 5 and Scottish Mixed
VII/VIII with two points of aid (A1). The crux
pitches involved thin ice, with some difficult
rock on the more discontinuous sections.
Passing an excellent bivouac cave above the
end of the main difficulties, but with neither
water nor gear to make use of it, the pair
reached the ridge after around 20 hours of
in association with
ascent by Benson and Halls. This pair climbed
a devious route that involved a steep southfacing gully (one pitch of Scottish VI) to the col
between the mountain and Panfilovski
Division. This proved the key to gaining access
to the huge glaciated North Face above a
band of seracs that threatens the lower
section. A steep icy traverse in an airy
situation allowed the two climbers to reach
the main face, which was quite easy-angled
and was more or less skied in both directions,
apart from steeper summit slopes. The
1,200m route was completed in an 18-hour
round trip.
Kyzyl Asker may have received two previous
ascents, although only one of these has ever
been confirmed, the 1985 ascent of a 1,500m
big wall route on the West Face to North
Ridge (Russian 6A), climbed during the
competition era by Kasbek Valiev’s
Kazakhstan team (a little to the left of the
1980 Popenko attempt). A mid to late 1960s
ascent is rumoured, most likely by the North
Face but this fine mountain has certainly
remained unclimbed since 1985. Halls and
Thomas attempted the unclimbed South Ridge
but found complex route finding and harder
technical climbing than expected.
To round off the trip Benson and Tresidder
added another route to the Ochre Walls, after
caching gear below the face on their way back
to the snout of the Komorova Glacier and
pick-up point for the journey home. The two
climbed the prominent ice smear left of Beef
Cake (de Capio/Isaac, 2001: 600m: IV M5 WI 4)
on the North East Face of a c4,800m unnamed
summit between Piks Zuckerman and
Carnovsky. The British route involved a hard
mixed pitch of Scottish 7 followed by thin
brittle ice to gain an easy ridge leading to the
The c600m-high Great Walls of China rise from
the right bank of a large unnamed glacier south
of Kyzyl Asker. The start of Border Control
(Robertson/Tresidder, 2004: ED2: 500m: 13
pitches: WI 5, Scottish mixed VII/VIII and A1) is
marked. The route climbs the steep icy chimney
and through the two triangular snow patches
above to the summit ridge, where it terminated.
ES TRESIDDER
climbing. At this point they opted for a rappel
descent (made more interesting by Tresidder
dropping his belay plate) and reached camp
after a continuous 28 hours on the go. Border
Control was c500m and ED2.
In the meantime, Benson, Halls and
Thomas made two attempts on Kyzyl Asker,
which were followed by a third and successful
C
1
4
3
B
A
1
2
The Ochre Walls seen from the northeast across the West Komorova Glacier. (A) The Unmarked Soldier
(5,352m). (B) Pik Zuckerman (5,046m). (C) Unnamed c4,800m summit. (1) North East Couloir (Edwards, 1998:
600m: AI3/4). Edwards then continued to solo along the Ochre Ridge to Pik Carnovsky (c4,860m) to the right
of the picture. (2) Ak-Saitan (Buil/Cabo/de Castro/Latorre, c600m: A3+, 6a+, 80°). (3) Fire and Ice
(Benson/Tresidder, 2004: 600m: ED1: Scottish VII). (4) Beef Cake (DeCapio/Isaac, 2001: 600m: IV M5 WI4).
088
SEAN ISAAC
Es Tresidder approaches the crux of the unfinished
line, Haggis Supper (500m: WI 5+) on the South
Face of Pik Panfilovski Division during the first
ascent. ES TRESIDDER COLLECTION
summit, which they reached at dusk. They
returned to their tent in an 18-hour round trip,
most of it through horrendous spindrift and
bitter cold. Fire and Ice (ED1: Scottish VII)
seemed an appropriate name for the route.
This is the fourth ascent of the summit,
making it one of the most visited in the Kyzyl
Asker region. Guy Edwards almost certainly
crossed it in July 1998 during the first traverse
from Zuckerman to Carnovsky and a fourperson Spanish team made the third ascent in
2002 after a new route up the rock pillar left
of the Beef Cake couloir. On the same day that
Benson and Tresidder completed their climb,
Halls and Robertson tried another line on the
Ochre Walls but found their route quickly
turning to slush in the sun. Further
information on this fine region can be found in
INFOs 182, 199, 237 and 249.
Pik Sabor
In 2003, the French Groupe Militaire de Haute
Montagne suffered a tragic loss when two
well-known members, Antoine de Choudens
and Philippe Renard, were killed while
acclimatizing for an Alpine style ascent of the
South West Face of Xixabangma. The group
re-gathered in 2004 and planned an attempt
on the coveted South East Face of Kyzyl Asker.
However, heavy costs imposed by the Chinese
and the eventual notification that the team
would not be allowed to cross the border from
Kyrghyzstan, meant a change of plan. Instead,
the climbers opted for a new route on Pik
Sabor (4,850m), an impressive rock bastion on
the ridge south of the Ochre Walls and
opposite (east of) the end of Kyzyl Asker’s
unclimbed North Ridge. The first ascent of
this peak took place in 1985 when Kasbek
Valiev’s team climbed a big, primarily rock
route up the West South West Rib (the same
expedition also made the first ascent of Kyzyl
Asker via the 1,500m West Face).
Unable to drive to their proposed Kyzyl
Asker Base Camp due to boggy ground, the
team was forced to ferry loads 15km to an
Advanced Base three kilometres short of
Sabor’s 700m-high West Face. Bad weather in
the first half of July proved a constant hassle
(early in the trip it deposited one and a half
metres of snow in Base Camp over a two-day
period) and it wasn’t until the 22nd that the
climbers could embark on a new line up the
West Face. They fixed the first 150m
(approximately seven pitches) before
Guillaume Baillargé, Manu Pellissier and
Francois Savary set off with a portaledge. The
granite was magnificent but the cracks proved
either wet or choked with ice. Above the end
of the ropes, the three only managed four
pitches over the next two days, nice F5c
cracks having to be climbed laboriously at A2.
Then, at a point roughly halfway up the wall, a
storm moved in and three very wet and
bedraggled climbers were forced to retreat to
Base.
In the meantime the other two on the
expedition, Lionel Albrieux and Thomas
Faucheur, repeated the British Route on the
North Ridge (Neal Crampton/Blair Fyffe, 10th11th August 2002: c800m: TD+: Scottish 6).
The French pair climbed the route in a long
day on the 31st July. A day or two later
Baillargé, Pellissier and Savary also climbed
the line (which they report as 500m) in less
than 12 hours, finding it mostly mixed up to
M5. The weather continued poor until the
French left the area, having experienced only
two fine days in the 20 spent at or above base.
A
1
1
B
2
4
3
The impressive granite walls of Pik Sabor seen from a camp on the Kyzyl Asker Glacier to the north
west. (A) Sabor (4,850m) and (B) Pik Panfilovski Division (5,290m). (1) North Ridge (Neal Crampton/Blair
Fyffe, August 2002: TD+: Scottish 6: repeated in July and August 2004 by five French climbers, who
thought the vertical interval to be around 500m and the difficulties M5). (2) West Face attempted by
B
H
E F
G
C
French in 2004. (3) West South West Rib, mostly hidden behind the vertical pillar of the West Face
(Kasbek Valiev and team, 1985). (4) North West Face (Popenko and team, 1980: descent was made via the
North Ridge and slopes to the east of Sabor). BLAIR FYFFE
pointy summit of rotten shale at the northern
end of the Ochre Walls ridge. It lies
immediately north of Pik Gronky and was first
I
J
N
K
M
O
D
A
L
Looking more or less south from the vicinity of the Komorova Base Camp. (A) Central Komorova Glacier. (B)
Pik Babuchka (5,282m: FA Guy Edwards, solo, 1998). (C) Pik Jerry Garcia (5,250m: FA Christian
Beckwith/Matthias Engelien/Nick Green/Lindsay Griffin, 1997). (D) Window Col. (E) Pik Unmarked Soldier
(5,352m: FA Christian Beckwith/Matthias Engelien/Nick Green, 1997). (F) Pik Zuckerman (5,046m: FA Guy
Edwards, solo, 1998). (G) Unnamed (c4,800m: FA Guy Edwards, solo, 1998). (H) Pic Carnovsky (4,860m: FA Guy
Edwards, solo, 1998). (I) Pik Gronky (5,080m: FA Guy Edwards/Sean Isaac, 1998). (J) Pik Yurnos (c4,720m: FA
Christian Beckwith/Guy Edwards/Sean Isaac, 1998). (K) Kyzyl Asker (5,842m: First Confirmed Ascent Kasbek
Valiev and team, 1985). (L) West Komorova Glacier. (M) Pik Ecstacy (c4,700m: FA as 4,700m by Christian
Beckwith/Guy Edwards/Sean Isaac, 1998). (N) Kyzyl Asker North Shoulder (unclimbed). (O) Pik Bagger
(4,640m: FA Guy Edwards, solo, 1998). SEAN ISAAC
climbed from the Kyzyl Asker side in 1998
by Christian Beckwith, Guy Edwards and
Sean Isaac via an easy snow face and rocky
scramble. This 1998 American team
climbed all four peaks at the end of the
ridge, naming them from south-to-north:
Gronky (which they estimated as 5,000m
and is in fact 5,080m on the new map);
Yurnos (c4,720m); Ecstacy (c4,700m); Pik
Bagger (c4,640m) all straightforward
ascents.
The American women climbed a series of
ice couloirs at an estimated grade of III AI 4,
christened their route Dreaming of White
Elephants and then descended the North
Ridge in white-out conditions. At the time
they believed the peak to be unclimbed.
After, they attempted a prominent
unclimbed peak two mountains north of Pik
52 Years of American Duct Tape but
retreated two-thirds of the way up the
North Ridge due to unstable snow
conditions. It is also rumoured a Norwegian
team was active in the area at much the
same time but no details have been
forthcoming.
INFO: AAJ/Martin Gamache/Sean Isaac/Es
Tresidder
089
Pik Yurnos
After warming up in the accessible Ala Archa
National Park, outside the country’s capital,
Bishkek, Americans, Melis Coady and Molly
Loomis, visited the Komorova Glacier. On the
26th August, they made the first ascent of the
East Face of Pik Yurnos (c4,720m), a sharp

arctic - Climb Magazine

Transcription

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