In late June, just before the sea ice starts to melt, Sarah McNair-Landry and I headed out from Clyde River and skied 100km to Inuksuit Fjord (sometimes called Inugsuin) and Perfection Valley, which lie approximately 70km southwest of Clyde River as the crow flies. We towed our kayaks loaded with 45 days of food, camping equipment, and climbing gear. Our kayaks and dry suits proved useful for crossing sections of rotten ice and open water.

Once in the fjord, our plan was to climb some of the impressive peaks around camp and then head inland, portaging our kayaks, to paddle waterfalls on four different rivers. The Nuksuklorolu Pinnacles towered over our small base camp, and we felt very small in this huge landscape of peaks and glaciers. It was an unusually cold and wet summer, and the weather tested our patience. Even in July, the weather alternated between snow and rain.

On July 3, we started up our first climb on Nuksuklorolu Pinnacle South. We approached via a long scree scramble that led to loose, easy climbing followed by several pitches of quality rock. We encountered a clean slab with a thin crack that we protected with a small piton, and the final pitch had a nice roof to a hand crack finish. We found no evidence of previous climbs on the feature, although, given its location, it is possible someone has climbed it. [Editor’s Note: A large Italian expedition in 1998 climbed nine routes in this area, including Welcome, Nunavut (800m, VI 5.11 A1) on Nuksukorolu Tower, the largest of the pinnacles, and a 1,000m 5.10 A0 route on the “Belluno Spur,” which is likely very similar to a line climbed by Steve Sheriff, Gray Thompson, and Jon Turk in 1989, called Inugsuin Point Buttress and rated 5.9. See AAJs 1991 and 1999.]

Our next objective was a beautiful arête, only accessible by a 2.5-hour ocean paddle to the northwest. We found great rock with sustained and varied 5.10 climbing. It drizzled throughout the day, and after nine pitches, heavier rain moved in, causing us to rappel back down to our boats. We got back to camp after 24 hours. We called the incomplete route The Road to Nowhere.

Next up was Nuksuklorolu Pinnacle Middle, which was climbed by a longtime friend Jon Turk, who did the second ascent in 1989; the first ascent was solo by Uwe Embacher in 1977. Our first attempt ended early, when it started snowing and we ran out of protectable cracks. On our second attempt we aided up wet, mossy, dripping cracks and climbed some hard free pitches (up to 5.11). Route-finding was the biggest challenge. Within a few pitches of the summit and after 32 hours of climbing, we came to a dead end and rapped back down. We were getting the adventure we wanted but were also being humbled by the climbing in this wild place. [Editor’s Note: It’s likely they were climbing a new route, as the 1989 climb was rated 5.8.]

Our last climb, Hotel Gina (320m, 6b+), was a route established by Hansjörg Auer, Ben Lepesant, and Matteo Mocellin in 2012 on the east face of the White Wall in the Perfection Valley (AAJ 2013). This was our favorite climb, following quality cracks and corners up a spectacular wall.

For the second part of our journey, we loaded up our white-water kayaks with 20 days of food and camping gear and headed inland, where we’d identified four new rivers to paddle. We completed 30km of the McBeth River (class IV+), 3km of Teacup River (V+), 10km of the Inuksuit River, and 3km of what we called Awesome River (class V+). We found huge waterfalls and high-quality rapids—Awesome River was the highlight, as Erik got to paddle 40- and 60-foot waterfalls.

— Erik Boomer and Sarah McNair-Landry, Canada