North America, Canada, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic, Breidablik, Asgard and Other Peaks, Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island

Publication Year: 1992.

Breidablik, Asgard and Other Peaks, Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island. Our German Alpine Club (DAV) Training Expedition was active on Baffin Island from June 30 to August 18. We established our Base Camp on the southeast bank of the Weasel River at the foot of the west side of Mount Thor. We believe that all climbs we completed were new routes. Fritz Mussner, Wolfgang Wahl, Thomas Holzmann and Johannes Göppl climbed the 500-meter high north buttress of Breidablik with a bivouac on the route. On July 19, Robert Tanner and Jörn Eysell climbed a 450-meter-high route on the south face of the south tower of Asgard. On July 20 and 21, Franz Perchtold, Andy Fuchs, Wahl and I made a partially new route on the 1000-meter-high east face of the north tower of Asgard. We followed the Scott route for eight pitches and then deviated to the left up a crack system that led directly to the summit. On July 27, Eysell, Holzmann and Göppl climbed the 450-meter-high south face of an unnamed peak, which we called “Mount Annie.” To get to this peak we hiked up the Fork Beard Glacier and turned to the left up the second valley. At the head of the valley, one can see the rock face and a beautifully curved snow ridge on the left. Our last new climb was on the second peak to the right of the Fork Beard Glacier behind Mount Thor; we called it the “Chinese Tower.” This 50° to 60° ice climb was first done by Perchtold and Günter Bahr and repeated later by Mussner, Wahl, Holzmann and Göppl. We also made two unsuccessful attempts. Perchtold, Bahr, Fuchs and I attempted to repeat the 1986 Refem route on the 1500-meter-high granite face of Mount Thor but gave up after 400 meters because of objective danger. Perchtold, Bahr and I tried to climb the direct north buttress of Mount Tyr but quit after climbing 250 meters because compact slabs prevented access to a crack system unless we drilled many bolts.

Christoph Krah, Deutscher Alpenverein