7/28/2019 Feb 10 Mount Info
1/9
mountain-equipment.co.uk
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
FEB 2010 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM 59
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
TOREAD THEFULL REPORT. YOUCANDOWNLOAD AT WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM
6
5
4
3
1
2
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.
7/28/2019 Feb 10 Mount Info
2/9
T
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
60 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM FEB 2010
3
1
2
7/28/2019 Feb 10 Mount Info
3/9
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
FEB 2010 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM 61
A
E
B
21
3
4
12
3
L
7/28/2019 Feb 10 Mount Info
4/9
WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM
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.
62 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM FEB 2010
Es Tresidder following a fine pitch in the middle of the Eye on Ramblin' Man, North West Pillar of the Hermelnbjerg. ES TRESIDDER COLLECTION
7/28/2019 Feb 10 Mount Info
5/9
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
FEB 2010 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM 63
1 2
E
7/28/2019 Feb 10 Mount Info
6/9
T
HEAUTHORITATIVEMOUNTAINEERINGN
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.
64 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM FEB 2010
The 1971 sketch map of the area between the Tasermiut and Lindenows Fjords
7/28/2019 Feb 10 Mount Info
7/9
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
FEB 2010 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM 65
3
4
2
1
1
7/28/2019 Feb 10 Mount Info
8/9
T
HEAUTHORITATIVEMOUNTAINEERINGN
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
66 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM FEB 2010
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
7/28/2019 Feb 10 Mount Info
9/9
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.
FEB 2010 WWW.CLIMBMAGAZINE.COM 67
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
Top Related