Passport

1. Technical class

2. Greenland Island, Tasermiut Fjord

3. Naluumasortoq Peak (2051 m), via the western wall to the central tower

4. Route name "One way ticket"

5. Complexity category approximately 6B (A4, 6B)

6. Route length 975 m

   Wall section length 780 m

7. Length of sections with 6th category complexity 780 m

8. Heights: route start 500 m above sea level, central tower summit - 1400 m above sea level. Height difference 900 m

9. Average steepness of the wall section (R3–R19) 90°

10. Equipment used:

11. Total hours including route processing 136

    Overhanging nights in platforms at point R10, 5 nights

    Descent from the summit to the platforms and further down via the ascent route, 10 hours

12. Route processing start date July 10, 2003

    Summit date July 23, 2003

    Descent via the ascent route date July 24, 2003

13. Team leader

    Rozov Valery, Master of Sports

14. Team members:

    • Akhmedkhanov Timur, Master of Sports
    • Lastochkin Alexander, Master of Sports
    • Seregin Arkady, Master of Sports

15. Russian Extreme Project

Profile of the western wall of Naluumasortoq Peak (central tower). Photo taken from the right tower.

Description of the area, logistics

Tasermiut Fjord, located in the southern tip of Greenland, is of great interest for big wall climbing. The area has a compact cluster of peaks: Ulamertorssuaq (1830 m), Nalumasortoq (2051 m), and Tekil (2010 m). The vertical walls of these peaks range from 900 to 1400 m. The most explored peak is Ulamertorssuaq, with over a dozen routes on its western wall, the most popular being Moby Dick. The western wall of Tekil has 5 routes.

Nalumasortoq Peak consists of three towers. The right tower has two routes, the left tower has about a dozen. In 1996, Swiss climbers established a single route, "Cheese at 7 am", on the central tower. The left tower is more explored due to its chimneys that lead from the base to the top.

Greenland's mountains are ancient, representing a pre-Archean shield aged 1.8–2 billion years. The rock is coarse-grained granosyenite. Due to its age, the rock is brittle, making it challenging to use micro-relief and miniaturized big wall equipment like BICs, RURPs, and copperheads for clean climbing.

The Russian Extreme Project team targeted the western wall of Nalumasortoq Peak's central tower. Available data suggested a vertical wall, making it suitable for Valery Rozov's BASE jump after the ascent. The team aimed to establish a new route.

Team members: Valery Rozov, Timur Akhmedkhanov, Alexander Lastochkin, Arkady Seregin, and high-altitude camera operators Lev Dorfman and Dmitry Lifanov.

Logistical challenges were resolved with the help of Niels Jepsen from the Nanortalik tourist bureau. He provided an invitation for the team, which was used to obtain visas from the Danish embassy. Niels also arranged for a generator rental, ferry and boat tickets, and transportation from Nanortalik to the base camp.

Some cargo was shipped from Moscow via Cargo to Narssarsuaq, addressed to Blue Ice.

The team traveled from Moscow to Copenhagen, then flew with GreenAir to Narssarsuaq International Airport in southern Greenland. There were issues with excess cargo: above 20 kg, each kilogram cost $19 from Moscow to Narssarsuaq. However, in Copenhagen, they were allowed to carry 80 kg of extra cargo for free.

Narssarsuaq is an airfield formerly used by the US Air Force, with several buildings. From there, they took a ferry to Qaqortoq (6 hours), stayed overnight, and then took another boat to Nanortalik (8 hours). Supplies and gas were purchased in Nanortalik. The team then took a boat from Nanortalik to the base camp on the Tasermiut Fjord shore, a 2-hour journey costing $700 one way.

The main base camp was set up near a river mouth on the fjord shore. An ABC camp was established 10 km inland under Naluumasortoq Peak. The approach to the route from the ABC camp took 2 hours 30 minutes.

Initially, the team planned to start the route 50 m left of the Swiss route via a series of micro-cracks. However, the brittleness of the rock made the first rope (A4 complexity) take 2 days to complete. Time constraints led the team to change plans and start the route along the Swiss route's initial section.

Route description

R0–R1. Sloping slabs, 45 m, 50–60°, IV–V category difficulty. Slabs are wet and moss-covered.

R1–R2. Sloping slabs leading to a ledge under the wall. 60 m, 50°, IV–V category difficulty. Slabs are moss-covered with water flow, upper 15 m - snow.

R2–R3. 80 m traverse along the ledge to the right. Last 15 m - broken rocks, IV category difficulty.

R3–R4. Start of the wall section. Vertical ascent 8 m via a crack under an overhanging cornice 3 m wide, then 40 m vertical ascent via a crack. Difficulty: A2. Angle: 90°.

R4–R5. Ascent via a crack under a cornice. Difficulty: A2. Angle: 90°. Length: 45 m.

R5–R6. Passing the cornice with a 2.5 m outreach, then ascending via a crack. Difficulty: A2. Length: 40 m. Angle: 90°.

R6–R7. Wall with a "blind" crack. Difficulty A2, 90°, 40 m (sections R3–R7 coincide with the Swiss route. At R7, the Swiss route turns right).

R7–R8. Ascending via the wall towards an internal corner. Broken rocks. Difficulty: A2/6B, 90°, 60 m.

R8–R9. Internal corner turns into a chimney. Requires camalots sizes 4, 4.5, 5. Difficulty: A3, 90°, 55 m.

R9–R10. Narrow slit. Difficulty A2, 90°, 45 m. Platforms were set up at R10. Sections R1–R10 were initially equipped with fixed ropes during the processing phase. Valery Rozov performed a BASE jump from the platform.

R10–R11. Wall with scarce relief. Used copperheads, BICs, skyhooks, and numerous aliens and micro-stoppers. Difficulty: A4, 90°, 60 m.

R11–R12. Internal corner. Difficulty: A2, 90°, 45 m. Point R12 is on a narrow ledge, the only one on the route.

R12–R13. 5 m ascent via the internal corner, then moving left via a micro-crack towards another internal corner. Difficulty: A2, 90°, 60 m.

R13–R14. Ascending via a vertical slit towards a large wet chimney. Difficulty: A2. Length: 30 m. Angle: 90°.

R14–R15. Bypassing the chimney on the left. Difficulty: A3. Length: 35 m. Angle: 95–90°.

R15–R16. Ascending vertically via a slit. Length: 35 m. Difficulty: A2. Angle: 85°.

R16–R17. Ascending vertically via a slit, 55 m, difficulty A2, 85°.

R17–R18. Ascending vertically via a slit, 50 m, difficulty A2, 85°.

R18–R19. Ascending via an internal corner, 50 m, difficulty A2/6A.

R19–R20. Exiting via a chimney onto the summit ridge, then along the ridge to the summit. 60 m, V category difficulty.

Tactical actions of the team during the ascent of "One Way Ticket" on Naluumasortoq Peak, Greenland

The team arrived at Tasermiut Fjord on July 6. They set up a camp by a river on the eastern shore. On July 7-9, they transported most of the cargo to a clearing under Naluumasortoq Peak, establishing an ABC camp. The approach to the wall from the ABC camp took 2 hours 30 minutes.

On July 10, the team of Akhmedkhanov, Lastochkin, and Seregin processed sections R0–R2 and began working on the wall section. They worked from 7:00 to 22:00, covering 30 m.

On July 11, the same trio continued processing the wall, covering another 25 m. They worked from 7:00 to 20:00. The section's difficulty was A4. Due to the rock's brittleness, they decided to move 60 m to the right and follow the Swiss route.

On July 12, Rozov and Seregin processed sections R3–R5. On July 13, Akhmedkhanov and Lastochkin worked on R6–R7. On July 14, they processed R8 and part of R9.

On July 15, Rozov and Seregin completed R9 and processed R10. Akhmedkhanov raised cargo and a platform to R10.

On July 17, Akhmedkhanov and Seregin processed part of R11. The entire team, including camera operators, gathered at R10. Rozov performed a BASE jump.

On July 19, Akhmedkhanov and Rozov processed R11 and R12. Lastochkin and Seregin raised cargo, removed fixed ropes, and pulled up the ropes.

On July 21, Lastochkin and Rozov processed R13. Akhmedkhanov and Seregin worked on R14.

On July 22, Akhmedkhanov and Lastochkin processed R15–R18.

On July 23, the team climbed to the summit via fixed ropes. Rozov and Seregin reached the summit at 14:00. Rozov performed a BASE jump at 19:30.

On July 24, the team descended from the summit to R10, dismantled the platforms, and descended to the glacier.

Route "One Way Ticket" scheme and characteristics on Naluumasortoq Peak, Greenland

Movement graph on the route

Legend:

• "processing"
• "rest"
• "processing from platforms"
• "ascent without processing"
• "Rozov's BASE jump"
• "descent from R10 down"
• "descent from the summit to platforms at R10"
• "sunny weather"
• "storm with rain and wind"
• "overcast weather with wind"

Tactics and equipment used during the ascent of "One Way Ticket" on Naluumasortoq Peak, Tasermiut Fjord, Greenland

Total:

• Rock pitons: 150
• Friends: 308
• Aliens: 272
• Stoppers: 287
• Skyhooks: 17
• Cam hooks: 23
• Bolts: 30
• BICs: 8

Photo 1 taken from Tasermiut Fjord towards the east. #1 - base camp location. #2 - Ulamertorssuaq Peak (1830 m). #3 - left, #4 - central, and #5 - right towers of Naluumasortoq Peak

Photo 2. Naluumasortoq Peak: 1 - left, 2 - central, and 3 - right towers. Dashed line - "One Way Ticket" route, solid line - Swiss route.

Photo 3. Western wall of the central tower. Dashed line - "One Way Ticket" route. Solid line - Swiss route.

Photo 4. Lower part of the route. R2–R6. Akhmedkhanov is at R6, Lastochkin is working above.

Photo 5. Lastochkin-Akhmedkhanov duo working on R6–R7 above the "bird" cornice.

Photo 6. Team on the summit.

Photo 7. Team in front of the three towers of Naluumasortoq Peak.

Photo 8. T. Akhmedkhanov during R16.

Photo 9. Platforms at R10.

Photo 10. T. Akhmedkhanov during R11 (A4).

Photo 11. V. Rozov during R5 (A2).

Photo 12. T. Akhmedkhanov during R17 (A2).

Photo 13. A. Seregin exiting onto the summit ridge (R20).

Photo 14. BASE jump by V. Rozov from the summit.

Photo 15. BASE jump by V. Rozov from the platform at R10.