Menhir, Auyuittuq National Park, Baffin Island. Though somewhat thwarted by bad weather, we managed to do a new route on Menhir, the prominent triangular peak directly behind the Thor Shelter. On August 10, we climbed a snow gully that leads to the ridge, which in fact is a rounded corner that separates the northeast and southeast faces. We climbed a large chockstone in the gully on the left, using a few moves of aid. After a rock pitch up a red-rock buttress, we were forced right into a series of iced-up corners and slabs, which form a continuous system most of the way up. We tried to trend left to what we hoped would be the ridge but were forced back right near the top when we hit the southeast face. Two more difficult pitches were followed by an easy walk to the very exposed summit. We made the climb in 12½ hours in crampons after the first pitch. (10 pitches on the upper face, 5.7, verglas to 60°.)

Rob Driscoll and Bill Durtler, Alpine Club of Canada