Free Greenland

A strong group of British climbers completed an extremely successful free-climbing expedition to Torssuagatoq Sound in southern Greenland this summer. On the 2.600-foot Igdlorssuit Havn Tower, Nick Boden, Tom Briggs, Adrian Jebb and Rob Mirfin freed the 23-pitch Ujarak at 5.13; this was the first route on the wall, established by a Croatian-Slovenian team in 1996. Ben Heason and Simon Moore free-climbed the 23-pitch Wonderful World at E6 (5.12+). Miles Gibson and Steve McClure established Twenty One, a 23-pitch route with a wet roof crack that they said felt like 5.13d under the conditions. In a back-to-the-future departure from the tactics used in other areas of southern Greenland, all of these routes were free climbed without adding fixed protection.This valley now has dozens of crag-style and big-wall free climbs. It’s the same area where, three years ago, a British team climbed a 31-pitch 5.12c on the Thumbnail, which may be the highest sea cliff in the world. For photos of some of the new climbs, go to:http://www.planetfear.com/climbing/gallery/greenland/images.htm