Arctic Mountains

G4 Expedition, Watkins Mountains, East Greenland

May 30 2004 - Istind, Skorsteinseggi, Skjærseggi

Jan-Frode and Per Ove left early for a final attempt on Istind. We truly hope they succeed, even if we found another map error. The mountain is 200m lower than the map indicates. Petter and I are heading towards Skorsteinseggi. The name is composed of Skorstein (chimney) + eggi (sharp ridge). The chimney is the primary characteristic feature on the mountain.

We went to Skorsteinseggi, fully equipped. I was mentally prepared to go on a steep snow ascent, but when I looked closer at the mountain, it was much steeper than I had anticipated, and several smaller avalanches had gone off down the mountain. I was determined to see if I could find an easier route, and sought towards the far ridge.

I found a trivial route up to the summit, and signaled to Petter from the high ridge that he should follow. I arrived the summit 10:30AM, and Petter followed 20 minutes later. From the summit, I could see Torstein on the way from BC3. He had been watching in the binoculars, and noticed that the ascent was easy. Despite his bad neck, he put on the skis and followed.

Back in camp, Ståle reports that Jan-Frode and Per Ove is descending Istind after a successful ascent. Petter heads towards Rabben alone. I was sitting in camp watching Petter, Jan-Frode and Per Ove as they were doing their things on different mountains. Eventually, both parties are back in BC3, and we're ready to move the camp to the final destination.

19:40PM: Last camp is established, and I have completed the toilet. The trip down the glacier took less than 1 hour. The glacier is beautiful and enclosed by sharp and wild peaks. This must be the warmest day so far. After dinner, we made pancakes. This was a lengthy process, and I got restless. I was given OK to go solo up to Skjærseggi. I left camp 20:00PM and reached the summit 21:10PM. The ascent was fairly trivial, although I had to avoid stumbling. The guys in camp noticed me on the summit, and captured me with a zoom lens. After a quick descent, I was back in camp 21:45PM, definitely much less restless.

"Skjærseggi" has a sharp ridge ("eggi") that cuts ("skjær") the glacier into two logical parts, even if it's the same glacier. The glacier begins at Ebeth and makes a sharp bend around Skjærseggi, before merging with the Kronborg glacier further south.

In camp, we could only hope that the weather would stay good, so we could leave as planned the following day. I guess I wasn't the only one who opened the tentdoor with a certain "nerve" the next morning.


1. Staale in camp (94KB)

Istind

2. On the way to Istind (137KB) 3. Climbing Istind (117KB) 4. Jan-Frode ascending Istind (196KB) 5. Ebeth seen from Istind (213KB) 6. Lille Snefjeld seen from Istind (275KB) 7. Snefjeld seen from Istind (249KB) 8. Christinefjeld seen from Istind (237KB) 9. Rabben and Skorsteinseggi seen from Istind (241KB) 10. Istind cairn (241KB) 11. Jan-Frode on Istind (213KB) 12. Istind summit ridge (168KB) 13. Rock near Istind summit (152KB) 14. Istind high ridge (254KB) 15. Per Ove descending Istind (146KB)

Last camp/Skjærseggi

16. Per Ove digging out campsite (181KB) 17. The last dinner (256KB) 18. The last dinner (153KB) 19. Arnt on Skjaerseggi (219KB) 20. Arnt returning from Skjaerseggi (116KB) 21. Skjaerseggi seen from camp (258KB)

Additional pictures by Petter, added Nov 2004

22. Rabben (188KB) 23. Arnt and Skorsteinseggi (124KB) 24. Arnt on Skorsteinseggi (135KB) 25. View from Skorsteinseggi (135KB)

No Javascript:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

May 29 May 31


G4 main page westcoastpeaks.com