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SOUTH GREENLANDCAPE FAREWELL REGIONUpper Tasermiut Fjord

HermelndalThe peaks east of the head of the Tasermiut Fjord were first explored in the

1960s and start of the 1970s (see The History, below), but since that time

there appears to have been little or no activity in this area of alpine summitsand granite walls. It was a visit to the Hermelndal (the generally snow-free

valley running south from near the lower reaches of the Sermitsiaq Glacier) in

2002 that sparked off renewed interest. In 2008 three parties visited the area: a

seven man Anglo-German team (Ged Desforges, Ruben Gutzat, Dan

McManus, Es Tresidder, Tom Spreyer, Tony Stone and James Vybiral), which

established one of the finest series of hard free rock routes achieved in

Greenland during recent years; the Slovenian couple Andrej and Tanja

Grmovsek, and the British couple Sarah and Tony Whitehouse. All had their

base camps below the Hermelnbjerg, well up valley from the fjord.

Tinninertuup II

Dan McManus and Es Tresidder kicked off a series of impressive routes on

Tinninertuup II (1,511m) by climbing the crest of the central pillar on the East

Face. From the valley they assumed this line would require full big wall tactics,

so initially only went for a 'look'. After c200m of soloing and moving together

on the lower slabs, they reached the start of steeper ground. Here, they were

surprised to find a succession of sustained but free-climbable pitches on

generally first-rate granite. Pitch 4 passed through a couple of bands of poor

rock at E4 5c, while above, the crux pitch over a roof went at E5 6a. After pitch

eight the climbing became more reasonable and after pitch 12 only scrambling

remained to the summit. They reached the top 14 hours after setting out and

relaxed with a brew in the twilight before descending north to the col between

II and I, and then down the couloir on the North East Face (generally

scrambling with a few rappels). A few days in the valley being bitten alive by

mosquitoes and consuming copious amounts of anti-histamine led to the route

being named Piriton Pillar (700m: E5 6a).

SUMMARY

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The East Pillar of Tininnertuup II with (1) War Cry (Desforges/Spreyer/Stone, 2008: 700m:

E5 6a), (2) Scorpion Grooves (Desforges/Spreyer, 2008: 700m: E3 5c), (3) Flying Viking

(Grmovsek/Grmovsek, 2008: 700m: 1,200m of climbing: VIII), (4) Piriton Pillar

(McManus/Tresidder, 2008: 700m: E5 6a), and (5) Anglo Bavarian Direct (Gutzat/Vybiral,

2008: 700m: E2). (6) The original ascent (Irish expedition, 1971) climbed behind the right

skyline (North West Ridge) from the col between Tininnertuups II and I. ANDREJ GRMOVSEK

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The final part of our report on Greenland 2008

covers the fabulous rock climbing found in the

Tasermiut Fjord of Cape Farewell. In the

Hermelndal there were hard new routes on the

big faces of Tininnertuup II, III and IV, the

Hermelnbjerg and Ketil Pyramid, one-day, on

sight, free ascents on Nalumasortoq and

Ulamertorssuaq, and the second overall, but first

free ascent of Stupid White Man on

Nalumasortoq. There is also a history of climbing

from the upper Tasermiut Fjord, an attempt at a

new route on the South Face of Apostelens

Tommelfinger, and the second ascent of the

Catalan Route on the West Face of Ketil.

PHOTODIAGRAMS

Included are the East Faces of Tininnertuup II, III and

IV, the North West Face of Hermelnbjerg, the South

Face of Apostelens Tommelfinger, plus panoramas

and a sketch map of the region around the upper

Tasermiut. There are also photodiagrams of the

South Face of Ketil Pyramid and Ulamertorssuaq.


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HEAUTHORITATIVEMOUNTAINEERINGN

EWSSERVICE

Three days later, on the 24th July, Desforges and

Spreyer climbed a line on the left flank of Piriton

Pillar, linking features that appeared impossible from

the valley. Every pitch offered superb free climbing.

Tired at the end of the day but believing the route

was in the bag, they were suddenly confronted witha intricate wall followed by a fierce off-width before

the summit could be gained. The 700m Scorpion

Grooves was E3 5c. On the 31st July Gutzat and

Vybiral added an Anglo-Bavarian Directto the valley

by climbing the initial slabs of Piriton Pillar and then

moving right to take a parallel line up the flank at E2.

The 700m route, following a series of cracks and

corners, was surprisingly bold. At the same time

Desforges, Spreyer and Stone were at grips with a

direct line to the left of Scorpion Grooves (and joining

it for the top section). This gave sustained climbing

with two pitches of E5 6a and one of E4 6a. The

crux gave Stone some desperate bridging on

smooth granite with spaced gear. It moved

Desforges to exclaim it was the most impressive

lead he'd ever seen. Stone's celebratory bellows of

choice expletives as he pulled through the final

overhang were heard at base camp and prompted

the name of the route; War Cry(700m: E5 6a)

All this activity left barely enough room for Andrej

and Tanya Grmovsek to add their own contribution

on the 10th August. Flying Viking (1,200m of

climbing: UIAA VIII) lies between Scorpion Grooves

and Piriton Pillar, sharing a little common ground

with the former at around half height. Ten pitches

led to a big ledge, where the difficulties began. The

remaining 12 pitches to the summit gave perfect

crack climbing on granite comparable to the best

the Mont Blanc Massif has to offer. And as with the

British team, the Slovenians used only natural gear,

leaving their lines as adventurous for others as theywere to them.

Tinninertuup III

The first ascent on Tinninertuup III (1,491m) in 2008

was made by Ruben Gutzat, Tony Stone and James

Vybiral, who climbed the slabby face right of the

impressive central pillar on the East Face to create

Head in the Clouds. Much of the climbing was

relatively easy before two steeper pitches of British

HVS led to the summit ridge. The 650m route had

an overall Alpine grade of AD. Later, Gutzat and

Vybiral returned to this same part of the wall, adding

Anglo-Bavarian Direct(650m: British E1). This

crosses Head in the Clouds, and although the

climbing was initially very poor, it was distinctly better

in the upper section, which is a direct variant to

Head in the Clouds. Because of this, the pair

recommends that future parties combine the first

half of Head in the Clouds with the second half of

Anglo-Bavarian Direct.

After their ascents in the Ketil-Ulamertorssuaq

Group, reported elsewhere, Andrej and Tanya

Grmovsek persuaded a local miner, who had come

to collect Polish climbers, to ferry them to the head

of the fjord, from where they accessed the

Hermelndal and quickly ascertained that the British

party had left perhaps only one major line

untouched. The central pillar on the East Face of

Tininnertuup III had already been attempted by

Desforges and Spreyer, who were disappointed by

Dan McManus starting the crux pitch (E5 6a) of Piriton Pillar. ES TRESIDDER

The East Face of Tininnertuup III (1,491m) with (1) Nalunaq (Grmovsek/Grmovsek, 2008: 900m: 23 pitches: VII/VII+) and (2)

Head in the Clouds/Anglo-Bavarian Direct (Gutzat/Stone/Vybiral - Gutzat/Vybiral, 2008: 650m: E1). (3) The original 1971 Irish

ascent climbed the North West Ridge (right skyline) via an approach up the North East Couloir between Tininnertuups II and

III (UIAA IV). ANDREJ GRMOVSEK

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the poor quality rock and mud chocked cracks (the

British team felt the rock on this peak to be almost

universally poor and friable). Sections of loose

ground no doubt present less of a problem to

home-grown Slovenians and the Grmoveks

completed the 900m line in a day - the 3rd August -naming it Nalunaq (UIAA VII/VII+). The pillar turned

out to be much bigger than it appeared from the

ground and the pair climbed 23 pitches (1,250m of

climbing) to gain the summit, from where they

descended the Original 1971 Irish route in the

unpleasantly loose gully on the East Face between

Tinninertuup II and III (for the first ascensionists this

was largely a snow couloir followed by an ascent of

the North West Ridge).

Tinninertuup IV

In the summer of 2007 Sarah and Tony Whitehouse,

based in the Hermelndal, attempted to climb a major

variation to the Swedish route, Rapakivi Road

(Jacobsson/Knutsson, 2004: 1,000m: 28 pitches:

5.11 and A2+) on the East Face of Tinninertuup IV

(1,725m). Using fixed rope, the pair attempted to

climb the prominent left-facing corner system directly

above the belay on pitch three, the point where the

original route moves right and surmounts a roof on

aid. Bad weather forced an unsuccessful conclusion

but the pair returned early in 2008 for a second

attempt. Again, using fixed rope, the Whitehouses

managed to climb four or five difficult independent

pitches before re-joining Rapakavi Road, which they

followed for a further five pitches to just below the

halfway ledge. They named their free variant Freeway

(British E3 5c) but as they only had three fine days of

weather in three weeks, were unable to continue

further up the face.

The two left the valley for Nanortalik on a pre-arranged pick up, but later returned to try the big

arch to the left of Freeway. After re-climbing the first

three pitches of Rapakivi Road, they branched left

and climbed four new pitches, the first, which had

very little gear, rated British E5 5c/6a. They were

unable to complete a fifth independent pitch due to

meltwater. The Whitehouses report that in 2008

Greenland had a very snowy winter but cold dry

spring: they had to walk across rocky ground all the

way from their campsite in the Hermelndal to the foot

of the wall, whereas in 2007 this journey had been

over snowfields. Rivers seemed much higher, and

several hardcore trekkers told them that river

crossings in the region were either impossible or

becoming dangerous.

Freeway provided the link to an all free ascent of

Rapakavi Road. Relatively early during their stay in

the valley Ruben Gutzat and Tony Stone climbed the

first three pitches of Rapakavi, then the next couple

or so of Freeway (E2 5b), before traversing right to

re-join Rapakavi, which they followed to the summit

in an almost continuous ascent of 25 hours (they

took a short break through the twilight hours). The

pair climbed every pitch free and on-sight, found the

quality of climbing to be excellent, the crux a pitch of

hard E3 5c four pitches above the halfway ledge,

and much sustained climbing at a slightly easier

standard. Remarkably, despite a total of 27 pitches

and 1,300m of climbing, Gutzat claimed that this

was the first trad route he'd ever climbed.

The 1,000m North East Face of

Tininnertuup IV (1,725m). (1) Whitehouse

attempt (Whitehouse/Whitehouse, 2008:

seven pitches: E5 5c/6a: independent

belay points marked). (2) Freeway

(Whitehouse/Whitehouse, 2007 and '08, as

far as the big ledge on 3: c12 pitches: E35b/5c: independent belay points marked).

(3) Rapakivi Road (Jacobsson/Knutsson,

2004: 1,000m: 1,300m of climbing and

27/28 pitches: 5.11 and A2+: free climbed

using variants in 2008 at E3 5c). (4)

Qivitooq (Blixt/Krane/Massih, 2002:

1,000m: 7a+ and A2). (L) marks the big

ledge at c500m. TONY WHITEHOUSE

The Hermelnbjerg from the north west. (A) is the West Top (c1,792m), while (B) is the Main Summit (1,912m). Until recently,

the hanging glacier/snowfield down to the left descended all the way to the valley. (1) Alle vil til Himmelen, men ingen vil do

(Halkjelsvik/Hetland/Mordal/Nessa, 2005: 1.000m to the West Top: 1,300m of climbing in 26 pitches: Norwegian 6+ [F6a+]

and A2). (2) Ramblin' Man (McManus/Tresidder, 2008: 1,000m to the West Top: 1,200m of climbing: British E5 6b). (E) is the

Eye. McManus and Tresidder also attempted the connecting ridge to the Main Summit but retreated due to appalling rock.

The 1971 first ascent route climbs the opposite side of the mountain. ES TRESIDDER


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Hermelnbjerg

The main event in the valley was the first ascent of the North West Pillarof the

Hermelnbjerg (1,912m) by Dan McManus and Es Tresidder. The pillar boasts a

formation at about one-third height that the pair named the Eye - a huge circular

area of very steep corners and artes that would most likely provide the crux of

the route. The first attempt failed near the top of the Eye after Tresidder took a

fall and it was discovered that their planned exit from this feature was going to

be far too bold. They returned on the 27th July and, already familiar with the

ground, made faster progress, juggling the leading to leave McManus fresh for

the crux section.

After an initial section of soloing or moving together roped, the pair crossed a

hard corner (E4 6b) to reach the base of the Eye. Four pitches through this

feature, finishing with an amazing corner and a leftward exit through the capping

roof, only made possible by a hidden hold (the crux E5 6b), led onto unknown

ground above. The climbers were immediately presented with a stiff off-width

(Friends 5 and 6), then a section of bold E5 6a to reach somewhat easier terrain.

This was interrupted by a very loose and serious pitch of E4 5b, but after 18

hours and 1,000m of climbing the pair reached a good ledge they had noted

from the valley. Here, they were able to melt snow, eat, and get a few hours'

sleep huddled under one sleeping bag. Next morning four cold pitches (one of

E2), following by an easy 40m gully brought them to the sunny summit ridge,

from where they scrambled 200m to Hermelnbjerg's West Top (c1,792m),

completing the 1,000m Ramblin Man (1,200m of climbing: E5 6b). From here,

McManus and Tresidder scrambled north east down a steep scree and boulder

slope to a hanging snowy valley, where they turned left (west) and returned to the

Hermelndal. The final drop into the Hermelndal was a moderately steep and

straightforward snow slope in 1971, and most likely the same in 2005, when it

was descended by Norwegians (see below). However, in the last few years

glacier retreat has exposed smooth slabs, which in 2008 required four rappels

(and in ascent four pitches of HVS).

Conscious that the most spectacular summit in the area, the main summit of

the Hermelnbjerg, had not been visited for 37 years, McManus and Tresidder

returned later in the trip to remedy the situation by attempting the West Ridge.

The pair reversed their route of descent, climbing the four pitches of HVS that the

glacier had previously covered and then ascending the long concave scree and

boulder slope (snow in 2005 for the Norwegians) to reach the lowest point on the

ridge connecting the West Top with the Main Summit. From here they scrambled

unroped along the ridge (at this point they had not changed out of their approach

shoes) until they came upon a very old Cassin peg with bleached rappel cord.

The Irish did not attempt this ridge, and the origins of the retreat anchor remain

something of a mystery, though not the reason for its placement.

A little above the peg the two quickly discovered the reason for failure: a long

section of narrow, horizontal ridge that appeared to be made of gravel mixed with

Weetabix. It was possible to make progress cheval, but the rock vibrated and

the whole experience was terrifying. They retreated, rappelling the way they had

come, and advised Gutzat and Stone, who were also interested in the summit,

that they would be better trying to repeat the original 1971 Irish Route up the

North East Ridge. Gutzat and Stone did this on the last possible day before the

pre-arranged pick-up back at the Tasermiut Fjord. They reached the summit on

the 10th August in a day from base camp, finding exceptional and spectacular

climbing up to E1, as well as many of the original rappel anchors. The total

ascent from base camp was 1,500m, though the ridge itself, which rises from an

obvious breche, is 650m and TD. Gutzat and Stone made it back down the ridge

and part way home to base camp before bivouacking.


Es Tresidder following a fine pitch in the middle of the Eye on Ramblin' Man, North West Pillar of the Hermelnbjerg. ES TRESIDDER COLLECTION


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North East of the TasermiutApostelens Tommelfinger

In 2003, Steffan Laetsch, Frank Polte, Jens and

Michael Richter from Germany attempted a new

route on the South Face of ApostelensTommelfinger (2,300m). This impressive rock peak

lies on the north side of the Lindenows, a long fjord

penetrating inland from the East Coast a little to the

north east of the Cathedral-Hermelnbjerg Group.

The Apostle's Thumb, far from being a single tower

as the name would imply, is actually a broad

complex mountain with three summits of almost

equal altitude, surrounded on all sides by huge,

steep rock walls.

The four Germans climbed an estimated

1,600m, with difficulties up to 6c+, A2 and 45, to

a point thought to be just 20m below the summit

icefield. At this moment a big storm arrived and

they retreated to a portaledge camp, hoping to

return and finish the job. During the night, a rock

came through the tent and broke Michael Richter'sfoot. The team had a hard time descending with

the stricken climber and left most of their gear on

the wall.

As reported in MARCH 2008 INFO, Richter

returned in 2005, hoping to access the peak from

the Tasermiut, but the non-arrival of air-freighted

gear, and a difficult glacier leading onto the icecap,

meant he was unable to reach the peak. In 2008,

Polte and Richter were helicoptered into the fjord,

and made two attempts to finish the route. On the

second they made rapid progress to the start of

the headwall at about half-height, only to find the

lower part of a pillar, climbed on their 2003

attempt, badly damaged by rockfall. The top of the

pillar had huge cracks and looked very unstable: italso appeared to have moved sideways. They

decided to retreat. Comparing photos on their

return, they realized a 40m high and 10m wide

section had moved, and a huge flake had departed

to leave a chimney.

Their helicopter pilot was able to fly to the

summit, and then to a point quite close to the

2003 high point. Richter could see that only 10m

of difficulties remained, after which 15m of

moderate ground led to the top of the rock section

and start of an easy stroll to the summit.

Another view of the Hermelnbjerg, this time from a more northerly direction. Only the c1,792m West Top is visible, the Main

Summit hidden behind. (1) Alle vil til Himmelen, men ingen vil do (Halkjelsvik/Hetland/Mordal/Nessa, 2005: 1.000m to the

West Top: 1,300m of climbing in 26 pitches, Norwegian 6+ [F6a+] and A2). (2) Ramblin' Man (McManus/Tresidder, 2008:

1,000m to the West Top: 1,200m of climbing: British E5 6b). (E) is the Eye. Descent from the West Top was via a large, steep

scree (formerly snow) slope behind the left skyline, then back across the obvious col and down the snowfield and glaciated

slabs below to the valley. ES TRESIDDER

Jens Richter (left) and Frank Polte stand in front of the

South Face of Apostelens Tommelfinger (2,300m). The

route attempted in 2003 (to within 25m of the summit

snow cap) and again in 2008 is marked. FRANK POLTE

The Minster (1,870m) from the west south west. This

fine peak was eventually climbed in 1971 via a steep

line just behind the left skyline (North Pillar: ED1:

UIAA VI and A2). Two previous attempts on the West

Pillar (falling to the horizontal snow shoulder) had

failed, the best reaching a point c200m below the

summit. The peak does not appear to have received

a second ascent and many hard unclimbed lines

remain. LINDSAY GRIFFIN

Looking east down the Lindenows Fjord from the fringes of the ice cap. The black outline of Apostelens Tommelfinger

(2,300m) is clearly visible right of centre, while the high peak on the left is the triple-summited Trident (2,481m). JOSS LYNAM


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EWSSERVICE

The HistoryThe first to climb any peaks in this region was a three-man primarily scientific

expedition in 1961 led by Roger Wallis. This spent nearly five months in Greenland

with Wallis and M Rhodes operating in the northern and middle Tasermiut for a full

11 weeks. M Kelly, Rhodes and Wallis climbed two major peaks: Akerna

(1,931m, north east of the Minster) and Lapworth (1,761m, west of Cathedral).

They also climbed 1,412m Sermitsiaq Qattaat and two hills/peaks from the

eastern shore of the Tasermiut, below the Tininnertuup group. This expedition

also climbed four peaks on the opposite (west) side of the fjord.

Joss Lynam led the first Irish Greenland Expedition in 1968, the team

comprising Joe Bent, Frank Doherty, Paul Hill, Noel Lynch, Dougie Milnes and

Ken Price. Unfortunately, they lost much time ice bound on the journey to

Nanortalik but eventually established base camp on the eastern shores of the

upper Tasermiut at a spot known as Kavdlukasiknear the snout of the

Sermitsiaq Glacier. Doherty and Hill made the first ascent of Francisbjerg

(1,738m) from where they had a good view of the South East Ridge of the

Cathedral (the altitude of this peak is variously quoted as 2,000m or 1,961m).

This information proved useful, as Lynch and Price were later able to follow the

ridge, which gave c500m of climbing, to the summit, one of the most impressive

in the area. The crux was a chimney near the top. Later, Bent, Hill and Lynam

made the first ascent ofFredricksbjerg (1,804m) almost due north of the

Minster. Bent with Lynam and Hill with Price climbed the West Summit ofTent

Peak (the East Summit is generally marked with the spot height of 1,967m). The

team also tried the West Pillarof the Minster, retreating c200m from the top,

and Tininnertuup I from the west.

Joss Lynam returned in 1971, leading a largely different team (S Billane, Tim

Cashman, Jim Colgan, George Garrett, Lindsay Griffin, Tom Hand, Dougie Milnes,

Shay Nolan, Denis Rankin and Christie Rice), this time accessing the area

relatively quickly (using a helicopter to reach Nanortalik) but experiencing only

eight fine days out of the 30 spent in the region. Like the 1968 expedition, the

team operated from a base camp on the shores of the Tasermiut. The main thrust

for the majority of expedition members was the first ascent of the complexApostelens Tommelfinger (the Apostle's Thumb) above the Lindenows Fjord.

This attempt, which involved establishing camps across the tail end of the ice

cap, was abandoned when they found a plush 16-man French expedition already

in-situ. The Irish switched to the nearby unclimbed 2,401m Trident, west of the

Apostelens, but the summit attempt failed when a member was injured in a

crevasse fall. However, during the approach to the Lindenows they did climb

Serpent Peak and reach the summit ridge of Tent Peak East. In the meantime

Billane, Griffin, Milnes and Rice were operating closer to the Tasermiut. After an

attempt by all four on the West Pillarof the Minster (1,870m) failed due to bad

rock not too far below the summit, Milnes and Rice made the first ascent via the

very steep North Pillar (ED1: UIAA VI and A2), while Billane and Griffin made the

first ascent of the Cathedral's North Ridge (ED1: UIAA VI: 17 hours with one

bivouac), rappelling the South West Face to the glacier. Billane and Griffin, after

inspecting other possibilities on the mountain, made the first ascent of the

Hermelnbjerg via the North East Ridge (TD: UIAA VI). They left base camp late

afternoon, approached through the night and began climbing the ridge after

dawn. After reaching the summit, they rappelled their ascent route and

bivouacked below the ridge on the walk back to base.

There appears to have been no known activity on the Hermelnbjerg until

2005, when Norwegians Rune Halkjelsvik, Lars Helland, Anders Mordal and Lars

Nessa made the first ascent of the North West Face via a chimney/fault line

towards the left. They climbed 26 pitches (1,200m) in capsule style at about

British E2 (or F6a+) and A2 to reach the West Top and complete Alle vil til

Himmelen, men ingen vil do. From this point they made five rappels to snow

slopes on the North Flankof the mountain, descended these to a hanging valley

and returned south west to the Hermelndal. Wet conditions forced the use of aid,

though the Norwegians felt the route would easily go free in the dry.

Towards the end of the 1971 expedition the Irish team turned to the five

Tininnertuup peaks (T 1, 1,440m; T 2, 1,511m; T III, 1,491m: T IV, 1,725m; T V,

1,706m) which line the western side of the Hermelndal. For want of a better name

(the local name of Tininnertuup was not known at the time) they had been

unimaginatively named the Aiguilles in 1968: in 1971 the highest summit, T IV,

was dubbed Aurora Borealis. First to be climbed was T III by Lynam and Rankin,

who climbed the North East Couloir (between II and III) and North West Ridge at

UIAA IV. Billane and Griffin climbed both T I (via the South Ridge) and T II (via theNorth West Ridge) by the North East Couloirto the gap between the two (UIAA II).

T IVand T Vwere climbed from the west, the former via the long West Ridge and

South West Face by Hand, Nolan, Rankin and Rice (mainly IV but with a difficult

section of UIAA VI close to the summit), and the latter by Rice and Milnes at UIAA

IV. The climbers noted great possibilities for technical ascents on the pillars

overlooking the Hermelndal.

Whether any of these peaks have been repeated since is not known, but the

first technical ascent from the Hermelndal came in 2002, when Marten Blixt, Erik

Massih, and Bjorn Andreas Krane climbed the magnificent prow forming the

1,000m-high East PillarofT IV.Their resulting route, Qivtooq, gave pitches of 7a+

and A2. This ascent suddenly awakened Scandinavians to the potential of a long-

forgotten valley, and in 2004 Swedes, Martin Jacobsson and Ola Knutsson,

added a second route to the East Face ofT IV, when they put up Rapakavi Road

on the inset face left of the prow of Qivtooq. The pair climbed capsule style in

seven days at 5.11 and A2+, finishing up the far (west) side of the peak on easy

broken ground to the needle-sharp summit. Rapakavi is the name of the fabulous

granite found in this region.

Let's now return to the Apostle's Thumb, one of the highest peaks in South

East Greenland. The 1971 French expedition (from the Paris-Chamonix section of

the French Alpine Club) was helicoptered to the glacier ice south of the Cathedral

and from there established camps towards the Lindenows. Before finally

attempting the Thumb they climbed the Trident and Pt 2,190m to its south east.

They then attempted the South Face of the Thumb leading to Pt 2,200m but

quite close to the summit one member fell and fractured his knee. The

subsequent evacuation was complex, two other members also sustained injuries,

and rescue eventually came in the form of a helicopter on board a ship diverted

into the Lindenows. Unfortunately, this ship was also carrying a Danish consulate,

and this incident most probably contributed to the ensuing major re-assessment

of insurance cover needed by expeditions climbing in the area.

Franco di Fachinetti led a 10-man team to the South West Face in 1973. They

sieged a line to within just 60m of the top with pitches of UIAA V and V+ butwere driven back from the last overhanging section by a severe storm. It was left

to a strong French team, comprising Maurice Barrard, Pierre Henri Feuillet,

Dominique Marchal, Georges Narbaud, Yves Payrau, Michel Pell and Grard

Vellay, to make the first ascent in July 1975 via a difficult 1,600m rock route up

the South Pillar and Ridge. They found only five pitches of poor rock. In 1976,

another French team, this time led by Marceau Agier made the second ascent,

most likely via a different line. In 1978 Jean Claude Marmier led a 12-member

French team to the Lindenows, arriving at the foot of the Thumb by helicopter.

They climbed several peaks by difficult routes as well as making the first ascent

of the 1,300m South East Couloirof the Thumb (difficult mixed climbing),

followed by a descent of the snowy North Couloir. Later, they made a two-day

first ascent of a difficult rock route on the 1,300m South East Face, and also

attempted a two-week siege of the North East Face, 1,400m of hard rock,

retreating in bad weather 300m below the top.


The 1971 sketch map of the area between the Tasermiut and Lindenows Fjords


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In 1995, in the sixth expedition to the mountain,

a strong six-man Austrian team successfully

climbed the 1,400m North East Face in more than

40 pitches. Ropes were fixed to three-quarters

height and a portaledge used for the final push. At

least 30 pitches were either VI, VII, or involved

long sections of A3.

Lower Tasermiut - Ketil Group

On the popular big walls of the Ketil Group there

were several ascents and unsuccessful attempts

but the most significant climbs were made by

Poles and Slovenians.

KetilWojciech Kurz, Artur Magiera and Pawe Wycislikfrom Poland arrived in the area intent on free

climbing existing big wall routes. They first

planned to make the second overall and first free

ascent of Anissa (Eduardo Alonso/David Jonglez,

2000: 1,200m: 6b+ obl and A3: stopped on the

summit ridge) on the West Face of 2,010m Ketil

(the Shield). However, after climbing the first four

pitches to reach a series of roofs, they discovered

it was impossible for them to free climb through

them. The first ascensionists climbed only three

pitches on aid, but these occur in the first six: the

rest is sustained slab climbing at 6a and 6b. As

the Poles had not come for extensive aid

climbing, they retreated and turned instead to the

Ketil Pyramid seen from the south. The unclimbed, slabby, South West Face is separated from the steeper, cleaner, c400m South Face by (1) South Pillar (Swiss, c1984: 11 pitches: VI+).

On the South Face lie (2) Polish Route (Ciesielski/Stefanski/Zakrzewski, 2008: 450m of climbing: 6c), (3) Lost Friends (Tivadar, solo, 2004: 10 pitches: V 5.10a A3c) and (4) Grmoland

(Grmovsek/Grmovsek, 2008: 370m of climbing: VII+). ANDREJ GRMOVSEK

Tanja Grmovsek on the diagonal ramp of Grmoland (370m of climbing: VII+), South Face of Ketil Pyramid (c1,600m). Behind

is Nalumasortoq (2,045m), with the c700m-high Left and Central Pillars clearly visible in profile. The lower, dark spire in front

of these is sometimes referred to as Little Nalum. The big slabby face behind the pillars (and to the left) is believed to be

unclimbed. ANDREJ GRMOVSEK


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T


EWSSERVICE

unrepeated 1984 Catalan Route (Martin/Nicolau/Ortega/Verdaquer: 1,200m:

UIAA VI and A3). The first two-thirds of this route has a good topo, made by a

Danish-Swedish team (Michael Hjorth, Uffe Mortensen, Magnus Nilsson and

Soren Smidt) that in 1987 climbed the route to the top of pitch 23 before

retreating in a storm (they had first tried what was to become Anissa, but

retreated due to loose rock). The Poles climbed in alpine style, making their first

bivouac at the top of pitch 20, their second on the summit ridge, and their third

and last during the descent. There were 33 roped pitches to reach the summit

ridge, after which 600m of scrambling along the crest led to the highest point.The team was forced to use rest points on a few of the pitches and on pitch 14

(5 and A1) and pitch 16 (5 and A2), where the route traverses below and then

crosses large roofs, they were unable to dispense with the aid. The crux free

pitch was 12 (originally UIAA V and A0) at 6c+. This was the second overall and

first alpine-style ascent of the route.

Ketil was the scene of the first real big wall route in the Tasermiut region,

when in 1974 Barrard, Marchal, Narbeaud, Payrau and Velley from a large

French expedition climbed the left side of the West Face in 33 pitches. The

route has been repeated several times and difficulties currently assessed as 6c

and A2. The Catalan Route climbs the first third or so of the French Route

before moving right and ascending the face through a prominent white rock

scar. The rock fall that caused this scar occurred sometime after the original

climb (and the 1987 attempt), and there had been some debate as to how it

might affect a repeat ascent.

Ketil PyramidKetil Pyramid (c1,600m) is the relativelysmall spire one kilometre south west of

Ketil's main summit. It is accessed from the Uiluit Qaqa Valleyand was probably

first climbed in 1960 by WallyKeay and Roger Wallis via theeasy East Face (300m:

UIAA III). From the souththe pyramid presents an unclimbed, slabby (and lichenous)South West Face, and a steeper, cleaner, South Face, which is c400m high.

Between thetwo lies the South Pillar, climbed by Swiss in the early 1980s (although

not confirmed, this is believed to be the 1984 Dalphin-Piola expedition). The route

was repeated by the 1987 Danish-Swedish party, reported above, and found to

give 11 pitches of fine sustained climbing from V to VI+. In 2004 the German

Thomas Tivadar made the first ascent of the South Face via the 425m (10-pitch)

Lost Friends (V 5.10a A3c). Tivadar climbed solo and completed the route over 18

days, though much of that was spent sitting out bad weather.

In 2008 two routes were added to the South Face. First, on the 26th July, was

Grmoland(370m of climbing: VII+) by Andrej and Tanja Grmovsek. The pair

followed an ascending right to left line across the face, finishing up similar ground

to the Swiss Route. The climbing was good quality, very enjoyable, and in a fine

position.

Shortly after, the Poles Maciek Ciesielski, Jurek Stefanski and Wawrzyniec

"Wawa" Zakrzewski added their own partial new route. This starts towards the left

side of the South Face and slants up left to join the South Pillar at a little belowhalf-height. From here they climbed similar ground to the Swiss Route, at one

point climbing two pitches across slabs where they found in-situ bolts. The Polish

Route was 450m in length and around 6c.

Nalumasortoq

There were no new routes on Nalumasortoq (2,045m) during 2008 but some

important free ascents. On the 29th July Andrej and Tanja Grmovsek made a one-

day free ascent of the 1995 British Route (Anderson/Dring/Dring/Tatersall: British

E4 and A2). The two Slovenians started up the route in a light drizzle: the rock is so

steep on Nalu that most of the face stayed dry. They climbed fast in deteriorating

weather but were pleasantly surprised to have the rain stop just as they reached

the crux cracks high on the route. The pair reached the top in 19 pitches after

climbing for only 10 hours. Andrej led every pitch free and on-sight.

The British Route was the first to be climbed on any of the three pillars of Nalu

and did not have a second ascent until 2002, when it was climbed in 18 hoursby Micah Dash, John Dickey and Evan Stevens at 5.11 with a bit of aid. The

following year and on their third attempt, Nathan Martin and Timmy O'Neil,

sharing leads, climbed the line all free at 5.12+ in 18 pitches, none easier than

5.10.

A day or two before the Grmovseks climbed Nalu, Ciesielski, Stefanski and

Zakrzewski, made the first free ascent of Stupid White Man

(Bansch/Becher/Laetsch, 2007: 640m: 6b and A1), which crosses the 1996

British route Umwelten (Thomas/Turner: British E5 and A1) at several points. In

2007 Ciesielski and Zakrzewski made three attempts to free climb the route,

accomplishing the first nine pitches (the hardest) at difficulties up to 5.12b,

before driven away by bad weather.

This time they climbed the route in a single 15-hour push. Once above the

first nine pitches, which follow a logical system of cracks and chimneys, and give

good climbing on sound granite, the route was not as pleasant. They were able

to climb the following nine pitches to the top of the wall on sight. These are

easier (5.11 at most), somewhat looser, and less logical: on this section the routeoften lies no more than 15m to one side of Umwelten, and crosses it at the 12th

and 15th belay.

Two teams made an effort to free climb the 2000 Japanese route, Life is

Beautiful (Suzuki/Yamaoka: 600m: 5.9 and A2+) on the left side of the Left Pillar.

The Poles Kurz, Magiera and Wycislik, after extensive gardening, climbed the

first two pitches at UIAA VII and VIII- before leaving in bad weather. Martin

Jakobsson and Erik Massih did slightly better, but were again thwarted by bad

weather (Massih returned in 2009 to make the free ascent, an account of which

will be reported in a future INFO).

UlamertorssuaqAt least two parties climbed the quasi-classic War and Poetryon 1,830m

Ulamertorssuaq. Like its neighbour Moby Dick, this route is one of the best

above the Tasermiut Fjord, offering superb and difficult free climbing. However, it


Not so much climbing, more hard work. One of the wide cracks overcome during the first

free ascent of Stupid White Man (Bansch/Becher/Laetsch, 2007: 640m: 6b and A1: all free

in 2008 at 5.12b). MACIEK CIESIELSKI


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is generally considered to be identical to the

Geneva Diedre except for five - seven pitches.

The in-situ belays are excellent, making for a

straightforward descent.

The c1,000m Geneva Diedre was climbed in1983 by the Swiss Dalphin, Piola, Probost and

Wiestlibach at 6b and A4. In 1998 it was repeated,

with variations, by Americans Bechtel, Bechtel,

Lilygren, Mallamo, Model, Piana and Skinner, who

worked on the line to create an all free route at

5.12c. Controversially, they renamed it, calling their

ascent War and Poetry.

On the 22nd July the Grmovseks and the three

Poles, Ciesielski, Stefanski and Zakrzewski, started

up the route with the Poles in front. The Grmovseks

spent the short night resting on a good ledge at the

top of pitch 22. The Poles were rather more

unfortunate. They climbed one pitch further, as their

topo suggested the last good ledge before the

summit was at the top of pitch 23. In fact the good

ledges are on the 26th and 27th belays (the route isabout 32 pitches long). The three spent a miserable

night on a pathetic ledge, suffering in the cold and

increasing wind. Next morning (3am) they allowed

the Grmovseks to forge ahead in icy and cloudy

conditions. Fortunately, the weather improved and

both parties reached the summit. Andrej Grmovsek

had led every pitch free and on-sight (the crux is

UIAA IX- or 7b+), the first time that this has been

done by a single person. The Poles had to redpoint

the 17th pitch (7b+) and the 24th pitch (7b) but

climbed the rest clean, for them the hardest pitch of

the second day being an off width graded 5.10d/6b.

Grmovsek feels that with all the major lines on

Ulamertorssuaq now climbed, the next stage in its

development is to make alpine-style free ascents of

the existing routes; one-push ascents from a two-

member team with all pitches climbed free by either

one or both members.

War and Poetry was also attempted by Kurz,

Magiera and Wycislik. They were unable to free

climb Pitch 26 and rather than use aid, decided

to retreat.

INFO: MaciekCiesielski/Andrej Grmovsek/Artur

Magiera/Erik Massih/Es Tresidder/Tony Whitehouse

and the reference source of the American Alpine

Journal

Correction December 2009A glaring error. The Nanga Parbat Group is in the

Western Himalaya not the Karakoram.


Andrej Grmovsek on pitch 19 (5.11) of War and Poetry

during the first on-sight ascent by a single climber.

MACIEK CIESIELSKI

Tony Stone leading the crux pitch of War Cry (E5 6a) on the East Pillar of Tininnertuup II. TOM SPREYER

Andrej and Tanja Grmovsek sit below the huge barrel of Ulamertorssuaq (1,830m). Marked is the line of the c1,000m Geneva

Diedre/War and Poetry (Dalphin/Piola/Probost/Wiestlibach, 1983: 6b and A4: free climbed with some variants in 1998 at 5.12c

by Bechtel/Bechtel/Lilygren/Mallamo/Model/Piana/Skinner). ANDREJ GRMOVSEK

Feb 10 Mount Info

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