Irish Expedition to Tasermiut Fjord, South Greenland. We spent a month at the head of Tasermiut Fjord near Cape Farewell. The area is not renowned for good weather, but eight fine days out of thirty must be a new low. Shay Billane and Lindsay Griffin on July 24 and 25 made a new route up Cathedral (6562 feet) by the long north ridge. (First ascent by east ridge by Price, Lynch, 1968. A.A.J., 1969, 16:2, p. 418.) This UIAA Grade VI climb took 17 hours climbing time to the summit with a bivouac. The same pair climbed the Hermelnbjerg (6273 feet; Grade V) by the northeast ridge on August 4. The north ridge of the Minster (6135 feet; Grade VI) was climbed on July 24 by Christie Rice and Doug Milnes. The difficulties were compressed into 650 feet, which took nine hours. The attempt on the Apostelen Tommelfinger (Apostle’s Thumb) was tactfully abandoned when a plush 17-member French expedition was found trying it. (It was unsuccessful; three injured climbers were helicoptered out in a major rescue.) Instead we attempted P 2481 (8140 feet; “Trident”). After a long approach with five camps, this failed due to bad weather and one of the party falling down a crevasse. During the approach, on July 19 Dennis Rankin, Jim Colgan and I climbed the Serpent (5905 feet; Grade III) by the northeast ridge and an attempt on Tent East Peak (6657 feet) by Tom Hand, Tim Cashman and George Garrett was stopped by bad weather and darkness on the summit ridge. The five Aiguilles between Base Camp and the Hermelnbjerg were all climbed: N° 1 and N° 2 (4790 and 5085 feet; both Grade II) by Griffin and Billane on August 8, N° 3 (5020 feet; Grade IV) by Rankin and me on July 27, N° 4 (5807 feet; Grade VI) by Rice, Hand, Rankin and Shay Nolan on August 9, and N° 5 (5742 feet; Grade IV) by Rice and Milnes on August 4. The trip finished with a desperate walk-out down the shore of the fjord in bad weather by Billane, Rankin and Rice, when the boat to collect us failed to arrive.

JOSS LYNAM, Irish Mountaineering Club