Mapping
Tour Pamiagdluk in pictures
Expedition
Timeline
Expedition life
Expedition Reports
Members Pictures
Expedition archive
Sponsors
Links
Peak 1300m.
|
Expedition Background
This is the final story of the Karabiner Mountaineering Club’s 2004 Expedition to
the island of Pamiagdluk, Southern Greenland, near Cape Farewell.
A mixed team of 12 headed out by plane, helicopter and boat to near the head of
Kangerdluarssuk fjord, deep in the heart of Pamiagdluk, an area not previously
recorded as having a climbing team visit. The team had a mixed bag of weather, but
with fine spells at the start and end, and managed to put up on few new lengthy new
rock routes on the western side of the fjord, do much cragging, and some likely first
ascents of various peaks. The expedition was considered a success for the majority,
and many had their first experience of an expedition.
The expedition began as an idea amongst a small, slightly inebriated core group in
November 2003 with the thought that, as 2004 was the 60th anniversary of the KMC,
something special should be done to mark the occasion. As there had been an expedition
to East Greenland in 1994, it seemed appropriate to run an expedition to somewhere in
Greenland, and open it out to all members of the club and immediate friends, so all could
gain expedition experience. With Greenland being the world’s largest island, the question
was ‘where’. We duly consulted with the Club’s Greenland guru, Jim Gregson, who gave us
essentially two choices – the sunny, snow clad hills of Eastern Greenland, or the ‘wet’
non-snow covered peaks of Southern Greenland. His photos of blue skies and snow looked
brilliant but in the end we opted for the rock of the South. We all preferred primarily rock
climbing, with but one of us being keen on skiing, we wanted it to be open to as wide a group
as possible, and there was the factor of the prospect of hiring Twin Otter planes sending
frissons of anxiety through our bank managers. Thus, with the admonition “it’ll rain all the
time!” ringing in our ears, we set out to research climbing at the southern tip of Greenland.
Our objectives were to explore, and establish new rock and mountaineering routes of all
grades on the western side of Kangerdluarssuk Fjord, Pamiagdluk Island. Interesting looking
climbing targets looked like the steep SW facing wall of point 1300m close to the proposed
camp at the head of an inlet off the fjord. The Baron from the East was a possibility. The
peaks of Sermikasik and Umanangua, etc. south of the Baron should be first ascents. There
ought to be potential for new routes all round the 1300m-1030m massif. The Qaqarssuaq
massif could be explored from the south for routes. And nothing had been recorded heading up
from the eastern side of the fjord, though there was greater doubt as to its accessibility. We
obtained support from the MEF, the BMC and the Club.
The final reports, and routes
climbed, are now available on this site. You can also see what‘our’ section of the
island looked like, and gain an impression of the
expedition here, as well as viewing some of the
members pictures. It's a great area, perhaps best described as the “Chamonix Aiguilles
with icebergs”.
|
