The Fin, Nanuq. From August 27 to September 7, Natxo Barriuso, Txus Lizarraga, Raul Melero and I, all from Basque Country, made the first ascent of The Fin in Sam Ford Fjord via the route Nanuq (VI 5.10 A3, 600m) on the wall’s west-northwest face. We had attempted the first three pitches in 1995. The first third of the route was aid climbing that wandered up the compact and overhanging wall, traversing along various roofs that forced us to attack the pitches from the side.

The second part is an obvious dihedral that continues to the summit. It featured beautiful granite climbing with chimneys and off widths. The last pitches we climbed were iced up. The route featured almost 700 meters of climbing on 600 meters of wall.

We climbed capsule style, with only one camp on the wall before the dihedral. Six days were spent fixing the first part and seven were spent in hammocks. We reached the summit on September 7, then rapped the route. We approached the mouth of the fjord in canoes, with local guides from Clyde River.

Miguel Berazaluce, Basque Country, Spain