North America, Greenland, Birmingham South Greenland Expedition
Birmingham South Greenland Expedition. Between May and September, the three members of the expedition Michael Kelly, Michael Rhodes and I, spent eleven weeks in the Tasermuit Fjord region of South Greenland. The fjord lies 75 miles northwest of Kap Farvel, Greenland’s southernmost point, and extends for 50 miles from Davis Strait to the Inland Ice. To the northwest lies a series of complex ranges of no particular merit rising to 4000 to 5000 feet, and above them rises the splendid unclimbed peak of Napassorssuaq (5100 feet). To the southeast the country is higher, rising to 7000 feet, and it is a heavily glaciated, alpine terrain. The chief mountaineering interest lies in the granite aiguilles and peaks, which provide 2000-to 4500-foot face climbs. The main purposes of the expedition were to make glaciological, surveying, meteorological, and glacial-geological studies of the 12-mile long Sermitsiaq Glacier at the head of the fjord and to make a primary geological survey of the region. We found time to climb seven peaks in the area, including the three highest climbed to date in this area of southern Greenland. We three climbed “Akerna” (6720 feet) on July 2 from a 3700-foot camp on Sermitsiaq, following an ice couloir on the southern side until a 120-foot pitch of class 4 rock led to the southeast ridge. We followed this to the east summit (6700 feet) and then the half-mile long, heavily corniced summit ridge to the main summit. “Lapworth Peak” (6200 feet) was climbed on the 10th by all three from the same camp. The col between “The Cathedral” and “Lapworth Peak” was gained from the north on snow and ice, and then the southeast ridge produced some pleasant climbing (class 4-5) to the summit. Rhodes and I climbed “Chaos” from sea-level on August 10. The route consisted of a 4000-foot rock climb up the southeast face with many pitches of 4+. The other four peaks were between 4000-5000 feet and were rock climbs of no particular difficulty or merit.
Roger H. Wallis, Birmingham (England) University