Mount Caubvik, Torngat Mountains, 1982. Mount Caubvik (c. 1730 meters, 5840 feet), also known as L1 and Mont d’Iberville, is the highest mountain in eastern Canada. It is located in the Torngat Mountains on the border between Quebec and the Labrador portion of Newfoundland. On July 27, 1982, Hazen Russell, Robert Rogerson, and I completed the fifth recorded ascent of the Minaret Ridge. There has been at least one unrecorded ascent, the first of the peak, in 1973. Two days later Hazen and I made the first ascent of the north ridge, unofficially called the Newfoundland Ridge since it lies entirely within the Province of Newfoundland. The approach to the ridge was made from our camp at the base of the Minaret Glacier along the north side of the L1 Glacier to a low point on the north ridge. The route from here was slightly to the west of the crest of the ridge and took about five hours to gain the 300 to 400 meters to the summit from the low point. The ridge was very steep and very loose and the rope was used mainly to guard against a misstep, though there were some 4th and 5th class sections. The crest of the ridge would be better rock, but it would be characterized as a series of hard bouldering moves with lots of exposure. The other ridge, the Koroc Ridge, has not been climbed though the face between this ridge and the Minaret Ridge has been climbed.

Timothy E. Keliher