North America, Greenland, Northeast Greenland, Shackletons Bjerg, Various Ascents

Publication Year: 1999.

Shackletons Bjerg, Various Ascents. On July 1, Nigel Edwards brought in a group of seven climbers that included the Greenland expedition veteran Derek Fordham. A total of ten ascents, of which seven are believed to be firsts, were made during their stay. Flying in on the Twin Otter arriving to pick up Paul Walker’s group (see below), they made a sixth ascent of Petermanns Bjerg via the south ridge, along with repeat ascents of peaks climbed by Walker’s group, before embarking on a multi-day ski tour to the fringes of the icecap to the west. From here, the husband-and-wife team of Duncan and Tessa Wardley made several ascents of new peaks (ca. 2150-2350m) while Edwards, Fordham and the remaining members of the team, Sean Crane, Dr. Roos Allsop and Dr. Dave Seddon, skied on for a further day to Shackletons Bjerg (2808m), which had been climbed once previously, by John Haller’s 1953 expedition. This posed a suitable objective to end the expedition; however, strong winds forced their retreat.

Meanwhile, at Constable Point airstrip, two further expeditions were busy preparing to visit the region. On July 17, the Twin Otter flew seven members of the Derby Mountain Rescue Team, led by Steve Hilditch, directly to a Base Camp beneath the southeast face of Shackletons Bjerg. The plane then diverted off to the west to collect Edward’s group from the icecap, leaving Edwards behind to join an incoming expedition that included his wife Nicky and that arrived in the area the following day. Five members of the DMRT group then reached the summit of Shackletons Bjerg on July 20 via a new route on the southeast face/southwest ridge, thus claiming its second ascent. A further 20 ascents of peaks and tops in the region were made by the group, the majority of them firsts, including Guldtindeme (2470m) and Hamlet Bjerg (2410m).

James Gregson, Alpine Club