Dronning Maud Land, Various Ascents. Mikel Zabalaza, Ferrán Latorre and I spent a month on the Fenristunga Glacier at the base of Ulvetanna in Queen Maud Land. We flew in from Cape Town to Blue-1 on January 6 and landed in Base Camp on January 8, at about 2000 meters and half an hour away from Alain Hubert’s base camp (see above). First we attempted a new route on the west face of Holtanna South, but after 12 pitches we ran into very compact rock, which would force highly technical climbing and slow progress. With bad rock quality and our limited time, this seemed a losing bet. Therefore, we decided to repeat the Norwegian route on the north spur of Kinntanna (2721m). Mikel Zabalaza, Ferrán Latorre, and I summited on January 24.

On January 28, we climbed the west face of Stetind (2558m) and on February 5, Mikel and Ferrán completed a new route on the northeast face of Holtanna South (2650m). We also climbed Tungespissen (2277m), on the north edge of the massif, and the Mundlauga (2455m) on the south edge. We returned to Blue-1 on February 9 and arrived in Cape Town the next day with the other two expedition members, Antonio Perezgrueso and cameramen Manolo Rojo.

JosÉ Carlos Tamayo, Spain