UKC

Hi,
A few of us are planning a trip to Greenland next April/May and are looking for some more information on climbing Alpine routes in maybe the Stauning area. I have already been in touch with Tangent for certain logistics but was wondering if anyone has any more information from a previous trip they had been on? Thanks!

In reply to Drew52:

I've been to the Staunings a few times - an amazing area. If you can find a copy second hand, Donald Bennet's "Staunings Alps" (West Col, 1972) is a good starting point - make sure it has its two maps with it. After that a check through post 1972 copies of the Alpine Journal and the American Alpine Journal (both available at the Alpine Club library in London, should inform you to what has been climbed in the last 40 plus years.

There's a pdf of the expedition report from my last trip here: http://www.needlesports.com/needlesports/greenland/staunings2003report.pdf

Contact me with your email address and I may be able to help with more info.

In reply to Drew52:

Out of interest how were you planning to get in there at that time of year ? Is it the Twin Otter or can a helicopter make it into the main Staunings area? I would have thought April / May might be a bit early but am sure others would know better. I've flown very low over them on the way in to mountains further North and I think it was one of the most stunning looking mountain ranges I've ever seen.

In reply to Dave:

The second expedition I did there was in May, which I suspect these days is as late as you can still be certain of landing a twin otter on the glacier - hence why we opted for a helicopter in 2003 and why Tangent use snowmobiles for a lot of approaches these days. So good from that point of view and excellent for getting around on skis with pulks. From the climbing point of view though it was pretty cold, -10C in the day and -20C at night, so that any rock not in the sun was baltic and often verglassed. The voi normales would be OK but more technical routes could be a lot harder than later in the year.