09 Jul New Route in Baffin Island

 
Californian Dave Turner, winner of a 2009 Lyman Spitzer Cutting-Edge Award from the AAC, soloed a major new route in Baffin Island during a 65 day expedition.
 
In early May, Turner attempted the unclimbed north face of Beluga Spire, a circa1.300 meter face rising directly from the sea ice.  He did two attempts, climbing 650 meters of the route, mostly along mixed snow, ice, and rock in a steep crack system, but when he tried to switch to rock shoes to begin pure rock climbing, he found his frostbitten toes quickly went numb. His toes hindered his free climbing, making an alpine-style ascent impossible.
 
After returning to base camp and a consistent rest, he chose to attempt the unclimbed north face of Broad Peak by a 1.450 meter line consisting of an elegant curving arête, a steep snowfield, and a rock headwall.
 
A few mixed pitches gained the sharp rock arete, which he climbed for hundreds of meters to the broad, easy snow slope. On the headwall, he found seven pitches of aid up to A3, with a final mandatory free-climbing slab move and mantel (roughly 5.10+) to reach a moderate ice arête leading to the summit.
 
He made his route (VI 5.10 A3 60°)  on 39 hour nonstop push; this the second known line on the formation.
 
ms

source dave’s blog 
www.supertopo.com