This summer, Leo Houlding returned to Arctic Canada for some unfinished business on the North Wall of Mount Asgard on Baffin Island. Alongside Waldo Etherington and Wilson Cutbirth, Leo planned to free the 17-pitch route Inukshuk (VI 5.10 A3+), a line he had climbed in 2009 for 'The Asgard Project' expedition. Unseasonably poor weather in July forced the team to shift focus to "the more approachable but even taller" 1200m East Face, resulting in a new 12-pitch line called Loki's Mischief before they summitted via the 1972 Scott Route. 

Loki is the Norse god of mischief. "It felt like we were his play things on this trip and my previous one," Leo said. The trip was a test of the team's resilience and patience as they waited out snow storms for elusive weather windows before changing their objective. Unfortunately, the team ran out of time for lead attempts on the crux E7 6c pitch, but Wilson top-roped the pitch clean on his flash attempt. 

Having led climbing expeditions around the world, Leo is one of Britain's foremost climbers and adventurers. In 2010, he became the first Brit to free a new route on El Capitan in Yosemite by establishing The Prophet. In 2013, Leo led a team to make the first ascent of a new line up the north-east ridge of Ulvetanna Peak in Antarctica. In 2015, his team succeeded on a new big-wall route on the unclimbed Mirror Wall in Arctic Greenland. In 2017, he summited the remote Spectre (2,020m) in Antarctica's Gothic Mountains with an international team after a gruelling sledge crossing. In 2019, he headed up a team of six climbers and two local guides to establish a first ascent on the 600m overhanging prow of Mount Roraima in Guyana. 

14 years after his first expedition to Baffin Island, much has changed in Leo's life. He is now a father to two young children and has significantly more adventurous climbing experience to his name. We sent him some questions to find out more about this latest trip and how his approach to climbing and expeditions has evolved over the years.

Loki's Mischief, Mount Asgard, Baffin Island, Arctic Canada. 5.11+ R (E5 6b) / A3 (*TR 5.13- (E7 6c) 4500ft, 29-pitches (1500ft, 12-new)

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Why did you decide to go back to free your North wall line now, 14 years later?

Unfinished business! In 2009 we were a bit late in the season and got hammered by serious, wintery conditions. I'm not sure the line we climbed - Inuksuk (2nd ascent, first by Swiss team over two seasons by Denis Burdet, Cedric Choffat, Pierre Robert & Jean-Michel Zweiacker) - would go 100% free but there were a bunch of amazing pitches that we aided that would be free-climbable at the highest quality and there may be a totally free variation somewhere up there. The rock on the north / north west side of the north tower is as good as it gets and in my eyes it's one of the world's greatest faces yet to be freed.

What climbing trips and/or specific training did you do beforehand?

Nothing specific but I'm always pretty active with both family and personal missions. I climbed and quested in Mallorca and Saudi Arabia, skied and snow-kited in Norway and France and did an awesome sail/climbing trip to the Outer Hebrides followed by a North Coast 500 sea stack tour in May. I made sure to carry extra-heavy loads at every opportunity which proved to be the most valuable training! Lots of gear testing and kit refinement too.

The planned approach to Mt. Asgard doubled in distance due to a frozen fjord. How did this impact you physically and mentally at the very start of the trip?

Back in April I'd shipped a load of gear and food to an outfitter (Peter Kilabuk) in Pangnirtung who snowmobiled it into the park. He was hoping to cache it right at the base of the Turner glacier only a few miles from Asgard but unusual spring conditions meant he had to leave it about 10 miles away. That was Loki (the Norse god of mischief)'s - first trick! 

We found out from Peter just before our arrival that the fjord was still frozen even though for the past decade it has been melted by the end of June (Loki's next trick!). Our loads were so bloody heavy when we set off and the weather was so shit, the terrain so rough and the distance so great (almost 80km) that it was utterly overwhelming. I'll never forget the tidal wave of anxiety that struck me in the first 100m. It just seemed absurd, stumbling into the wilderness knowing how serious the challenge would be when we finally got to the wall and how hard the climb and vertical logistics would be having had such a hard time with them in 2009 when we skydived and air dropped all the kit right to the base of the wall!

We took it slow and steady on the approach to gain fitness rather than tire out. Month-plus expeditions are different to those that last a week or two. It's a war of attrition and staying healthy, fit and avoiding minor ailments and injuries is important. It took a week to get to the cache. It snowed 10cm the next day on 1 July then the weather was rubbish for most of the month.

It sounds as though you had difficult conditions throughout this trip. Can you describe the weather you faced, and how you kept sane?

For the first couple of weeks it was just like the Lakes in winter; cold, wet, windy and cloudy with a bit of snow — then it got a bit warmer and more wet. Dense low cloud most days. Really uninspiring and impossible to attempt anything. There were one or two days of fine weather but crappy conditions either side. For a week in mid July all the flights to Pang were cancelled due to fog and the park was closed due to flooding, although we didn't find out until we got out. 

Finally, two days before we had to hike out, Loki relented and granted us a decent spell of high pressure. It felt like a completely different place!  

It looks like you didn't have a film crew with you? Does this change the nature of expeditions when you have a smaller team/less documentation of it?

Of course! Making a high production value film on an expedition greatly complicates and exaggerates the challenge. Pretty much by a factor of two. I thought we were going to get loads more climbing done on this trip, but the weather had other plans!

Did you get to go on the North wall at all?

No - we barely even saw it though the clag!

Tell us about the 12 new pitches on the East wall. What are the standout sections? 

It's not a continuous line of cracks like the other routes on the lower buttress. There are some big blank sections that looked questionable. We had to stance drill one bolt on the second pitch. 

Thankfully the rock is quite featured, under vertical and immaculate gneiss. For the most part it was easier than it appeared and top quality.

The best pitch was the hair line crack that Waldo aid climbed with my titanium pin rack in the rain at A3. Wilson flashed it on top rope on send day at around 5.13- (E7 6c) but unfortunately we didn't have time to lead it.

How did it feel to finish up Doug Scott's 1972 route?

By that stage in the trip getting some nice weather and being able to do anything felt amazing as we'd pretty much written off climbing.

We did spy an independent finish, but the most obvious lines of weakness on that headwall have all been climbed now. The remaining lines look harder and more complicated.

There was still a lot of water running down the face, we had very limited time and were really psyched just to be able to get to the top. 

I climbed the Scott route in 2009 and BASE jumped off the North side. The route finding on the middle part was much more complicated than I remembered.

The second to last pitch is the crux, a really high quality offwidth - a very impressive lead by Dennis Hennek in 1972! The Scott/Hennek is an outstanding adventure climb - possibly my very favourite easier route.  

You BASE jumped from the summit with Sean Leary in 2009. This time round, you dropped a rock off the top in his memory. What was it like to be back there and complete a new challenge without him?

Stanley died in 2014 so thinking of him now brings more of a smile than a tear. We found the exit point we jumped from and hung out for a while contemplating. It felt nostalgic for me to be back on that same elusive summit as such a different man to the one who had stood there half a lifetime earlier. I've done and learned so much since last time. I have two children and a comfortable family life in the Lakes, and I've been on stacks more expeditions and complex trips. I quit BASE jumping after Stan died, so the descent took a while longer —especially since we ditched the bivi gear on the top of the lower buttress so rapped the entire Scott route which was pretty lengthy and involved!   

'Reflecting for my book - Closer to the Edge - I realised it was the end of the "Wild Times" of my Stone Monkey, Yosemite years and the beginning of the "Big Times" leading serious expeditions to the greatest walls of the world.' How has your approach to expeditions (and climbing more broadly) changed since 2009, especially now that you are a father?

I've definitely got a lot better at organising complex projects. There are quite a lot of moving parts and things to consider on a longer remote expedition and I feel I've refined the process over the years, although my nickname has been promoted from Captain to Major General Faff!

The hundreds or even thousands of things you get right are far less noticeable than the few things you may get wrong! On this trip we had precisely what we needed, when and where we needed it (mostly!) and little else. That is what you aim for.

How did you feel physically and technically on the wall compared to the climber you were 14 years ago?

I have so much more expedition experience now. I think the planning and logistics were pretty seamless this time. Wilson is a real badass with new-school big-wall techniques and tricks and Waldo is second to none with advanced rigging and rope work. We've done a lot together and I've learned so much from them. Our systems and kit are really developed with loads of cool customisations and neat modifications. It's all way more advanced and efficient than how I used to roll. Unfortunately the weather thoroughly doused our slick tricks and plans and we didn't really get to properly pull down.

Did you notice any change to the glaciers (and maybe even the wall due to permafrost thaw?) on Baffin island since your previous visit?

Auyuittuq means the land that never melts in Inuktitut which is ironic because there is a massive thawing event every summer when the winter snow melts and the landscape changes drastically week to week. However you can still se a marked decrease in the formerly permanent snow patch on the cliffs. The original start to the Scott route is at least 30 feet lower than before and it's actually quite hard getting off the ground now. The really noticeable change was the increased precipitation and unstable weather. Supposedly Baffin is drier than the Mojave desert, not this year! Peter said he couldn't remember such poor June/July conditions in 25 years.

Will you ever go back to free/lead either route?

I would definitely return to Asgard and wouldn't rule out another crack at either or both routes. An independent finish to Loki's Mischief would be worthwhile. I'd love to make a family ascent of the Scott route. It's just such a short season - early July to mid August - and there are so many other amazing venues to check out at that time, so there's no immediate plan to return. 

What's next?

I went directly from Baffin to family vanventures in the Picos and have only just got back. My legs have never been stronger, but sadly I can't say the same for my arms...so I need to address that.

I'm presenting my book at Banff Mountain Film Festival and it has been shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.

I also have a new film about last summer's family outing coming out soon: Two Point Four. It's surprising what you can get up to with young 'uns. Plenty of ideas, but no solid plans for next year's expedition.