Fort William Mountain Festival

This weekend I will be presenting a slideshow/talk on this spring's Baffin Island expedition at the Fort William Mountain Festival on Saturday night (18th Feb). If you are in the area why not come along! Tckets are available here.

Autumn slideshows

I am currently having a quiet weekend at home recovering from a hectic work trip - 4 countries in 8 days, and a hefty road trip around the UK to test out the Baffin slideshow/presentation - this was my first attempt at this kind of thing and the response has been amazing! - Thanks to everyone who came out to the Ski Mountaineering Symposium and the Hawkshead Brewery/Alpine Club event- it was interesting to meet some Baffin 'veterans' including one who made a trip there in 1961!

If you would like to catch the Baffin presentation then the next opportunity will be at the Fort William Mountain Festival on Sat 18th Feb 2017...

Baffin Island - Skiing the Ancient Hallways - part 2

On our trip to Gibbs Fjord we skied pretty much every one of the 21 days we spent on the ice - with 24 hour daylight if the weather is bad in the morning it may well be good come evening time... We skied 18 previously unrecorded lines up to 1300m high, along with repeats of 2 lines skied by a French team in 2014. No point in describing them all - suffice to say it mostly involved skinning across a flat fjord, booting up a couloir, and skiing back down again... So I have tried to pick out some highlights and other interesting points from this trip:

Melting snow - don't let anyone tell you any different, on a trip like this huge amounts of time are spent melting snow - every meal, every hot drink - wake up in the morning, get all your warm kit on, get over to the 'kitchen' and get the stove on. Get back from skiing - get the stove on. Fill thermoses for the night/morning - get the stove on... When it is -20C this all takes some time so patience is an essential ingredient for a trip like this!

Mind you, the views from the kitchen window weren't too bad:

Meanwhile, Ross & Ev scope out a line:

The revelation of the trip for me was kite-skiing. I had always sworn I would never get involved with kites having lost 2 friends to kite-surfing accidents in the mid 00's, but on the flat sea ice of the fjords they were a brilliant way to travel when the winds were playing ball - 5km cross-fjord in 8 minutes? Oh go on then!

Temperatures weren't as cold as Ross had experienced on his previous trip - we probably hit -20 or so during the first week, then gradually milder. Still glad to have plenty of warm kit... Neoprene overboots didn't get as much use as planned but were great for getting boots up to 'working temperature' before heading out (not my choice of colour...).

As soon as the wind blew every bit of skin needed to be covered though:

Opening ziplock bags with big mitts proved to be a challenge too far!

Most of our hot meals were freeze-dried - for fuel efficiency we had to avoid anything that might need washing up. Chipie is a chef though, so of course he came up with some high class improvised meals - Arctic MSR-grilled hot dogs:

Oh and the skiing, let's not forget the skiing...:

Baffin Island - skiing the ancient hallways - part 1

Baffin Island has been high on my 'bucket list' ever since I read an article by Andrew McLean on a trip he made in 2002 when he and Brad Barlage made over a dozen first descents in the Sam Ford Fjord and Walker Arm area, including now uber-classics like Polar Star couloir. Ross Hewitt and I had batted about the idea of a trip here for some time and it all came together for a trip in spring 2014. Unfortunately this also coincided with the arrival of my second child the previous autumn, and the timing simply was not good so I had to pass on that trip. I had resigned myself to having missed the chance as there are so many factors that go in to putting together a team for this kind of trip: a) partners capable of skiing the terrain, b) partners with a) and also capable of surviving on sea ice in -25/-30C temperatures, c) partners with a) and b) also with sufficient funds (this is an eye-wateringly expensive trip...), d) partners with a), b) and c) who have enough free time in April/May, e) partners with a), b), c) and d) who I would want to spend 3,5 weeks in a small tent on the sea ice with... etc etc

Fortunately Ross came back from the 2014 trip massively enthused to return, so 2016 was blocked in the diary and we started planning. The team was completed by Evan Cameron an NZ-based Scot and long-time climbing/skiing buddy of Ross's, and my buddy Stephen 'Chipie' Windross a Tarentaise-based roving skier and adventurer.


4 men and a whole lot of bags...

Iqaluit - probably the brightest airport in the world?

An omen...:

Clyde River airport 10 minutes after the plane has gone - best do lots of networking on the flight in otherwise it is a long walk into town...:

Big rabbits round here...:

The man the myth the legend - 75-year old Ilkoo still hunts and fishes and despite putting on a Yoda-like 'front' with a walking stick around town is still sprightly and hard as nails...

Chipie checking out our wildlife protection:

Skidoo and qumatik loaded and ready to go - possibly the most uncomfortable 14 hours I have ever spent - bumping across pressure ridges in the sea ice with very little padding...:

'I'm a livin' in a box' - Chipie & I in our 'kennel' on qumatik #2:

Polar bear gloves - warmer than a warm thing...:

Polar bear tracks - mother and cubs:

14 interminable hours later:

The views are 'alright' at 2 am:

Day 1: a late start after a long day, but blue skies were too good to waste - time to get busy!:

Today's target - the line to the right of the big cliffs - 1200m up to 50º:

Goin' up:

And coming down...
Ross:

Chipie:

Perfect cold snow for steep skiing:

Ross:

Heading for the exit door:

1000m rock walls above:

Back down into the freezer - cold air pools on the fjord so most days we climbed into warmer air and then skied back down into coldness again...:

Powder down to the fjord:

More to follow at some point...

Baffin Island - taster

I have finally made it back home after a long (and convoluted) journey back from Baffin Island. Awesome is an over-used word these days but truly deserved for this place. Lots of photos to follow, but here is one to get started... Ross skiing the upper section of our first line - 1200m of steepness to the fjord, first known descent, blue skies, cold powdery snow... mega!