South-East Renland in Greenland
by Tom, Niall, Cameron and Neil
From June 26th to July 31st 2019 a team made up of Tom Harding, Niall Newport, Cameron Ree and Neil Cox explored new terrain and made a number of first ascents in South-East Renland in Greenland.
Many of the coastal valleys in this region are largely unexplored but photographs taken by a previous team (British Renland 2016 MEF-16-25) to one of these unnamed valleys showed great climbing potential in its upper reaches as well two unclimbed peaks on which we aimed to make first ascents. Getting to the bottom of this climbing turned out to be a lengthy but rewarding journey.
Based on the recommendations of the previous team we planned to arrive early in the season to take advantage of lower temperatures and hopefully less rockfall. The team flew into Nerlerit Inaat on 27th June but were initially delayed for 4 days by sea ice in the Scorsby Sund preventing the onward journey to Renland. Two small boats arrived on 2nd July and took under 4 hours to cover the 180km to a beach-camp in Renland. The next 8 days were spent hauling food and equipment through technical and heavily glaciated terrain to establish a high camp at 1300m (71° 11' 14.6''N 25° 51' 00.4"W). This camp was in a previously unexplored area and gave access to a huge number of worthwhile objectives. We spent 11 days at this camp where good weather and high-quality rock led to a very productive trip.
During this time the team made the first ascent of 5 peaks and climbed 3 long rock routes including the first ascent of a huge spire that dominates the entire va1ley. Its incredible unclimbed 700m+ east face had been investigated in 2016 but this team found more broken terrain on the west face, reaching the summit of the 'Northern Sun Spire' (71° 10' 32.10'' N, 25° 48' 37.44" W) via 'A Grand Day Out' (PD+ III 450m). The team also made the first ascent of 'Skyline Peak’, climbing it via a superb wide crack and calling the route 'The Bristol Flyer' (AD+ 5a 55° 480m). Finally, we made an ascent of 'The Bastion' (71° 11' 17.40'N, 25° 53' 47.10''W) via its south face. The route followed a steep ridge on excellent rock culminating in wild positions on a final blocky tower. We called the route 'Footloose' (AD 4c 50° 520m).
Unfortunately, home commitments meant Neil Cox left the expedition on 16th July via a helicopter flight from high-camp to the airfield at Constable Point. On 22nd July we received a message from our home contact warning of incoming bad weather, something we hadn't had for the entire trip. That night we received a huge amount of snow and we beat a hasty retreat, spending the next 4 days moving all our kit back to the beach-camp. The poor weather also stopped the boats from picking us up on time and we travelled at the last minute, arriving at Constable Point at 5am with our flight at 2pm. In the end this flight was cancelled as heavy rain had turned the dirt runway to mud; fortunately, flights back to Iceland resumed the next day.
Overall, the logistics all came together. We only used an agent for transport in-country and the hire of some equipment; this meant permits, insurance and all other travel logistics were done ourselves. There was relief when the permit was secured just 6 weeks before our departure, but we had no problems regarding paperwork while in Greenland. Doing all of our own organisation was a long and complex process but was ultimately hugely rewarding and saved a considerable amount of money. Hopefully this will influence teams in the future to go down this route.
All in all, the team had an incredible time and feel very fortunate to visit such a beautiful area. The rock quality was excellent and there is still great potential for future expeditions to the area. The team have published the first large scale map of the valley which should also help future expeditions.
The incredible final pitch of Footloose. Perfect rock and a tower with huge drops each side
Photos taken by2019 Renland Expedition team.
The team descending from the first ascent of ‘Peak 1881’ and ‘Peak 1763’
Later we climbed a steep buttress in the centre of the face on the left
The lower valley - the team made the ascent of Northern Sun Spire on the right and Peak 1881 behind to the left
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