Silvan Schüpbach, Matteo Della Bordella, Symon Welfringer and Alex Gammeter spent 35 days in the wilderness of East Greenland. Completely autonomous and on their own. The plan was simple: 300km by kayak in the Skoldungen Fjord, first ascent of a huge big wall and 300km back by kayak. But it wasn't quite that easy.
Experience report from Silvan Schüpbach
It's no secret that a first ascent is not about the what, but the how. New territory is a finite resource and that's why I want to climb new routes in the cleanest style possible. In a real adventure, success is uncertain, the mountain has a chance of not being climbed. I like that.
Waiting for the starting signal
With the Italian Matteo Della Bordella, the Frenchman Symon Welfringer and the Swiss Alex Gammeter, I reached Tasiilaq in East Greenland in mid-July 2024. Unfortunately, the conditions were very unfavorable. A record amount of pack ice blocked many settlements and made shipping impossible.
We had to wait for days without doing anything. Ironically, I had always said that kayak expeditions in Greenland were much nicer than classic expeditions in the Himalayas because you don't have to wait much and there is always something to do.
Storm brings salvation – and challenges
A Piteraq, a katabatic storm from the interior, finally rescued us and pushed the pack ice away from the coast. Knowing full well that the ice would close again, we took a motorboat to the starting point of our journey.
We had finally arrived in the wilderness! Long days at sea followed. Slowly but steadily we paddled south through a wild landscape. Huge glaciers and barren mountains line the coast. Huge icebergs lined up close together.
Nothing was given to us for free. Every day at sea brought a surprise. Once we got stuck in the ice and only narrowly escaped. Another time we were almost crushed by ice floes as the tides changed. We will never forget the storm that forced us to stay in the tent for 60 hours and hope that it wouldn't tear.
The storm even sent stones flying through the air, so it was a good thing we had found a safe bivouac spot.
Silvan Schüpbach
We always started the morning with the open question of what surprise the day would bring us. No one thought about climbing or mountaineering anymore; the sea and the Greenland wilderness had us firmly in their grip.
Grassroots democracy to success
Our team has no leadership; we function like a small democracy with the corresponding advantages and disadvantages. Even the decision about where the next pee break should be can lead to long discussions.
In fact, we are a demanding group, with strong opinions and slow decision-making processes. Although this does not always contribute to a good atmosphere, it is the key to our success and our security. I look back with pride at the decisions we have made. These were discussed with great effort, but were always good and productive.
Droneren – Wall of Desire
After 10 days and 300km we finally reached Skoldungen Fjord. We left the sea with relief, set up base camp and looked forward to climbing. Skoldungen Fjord can be compared to an oasis. A mild climate ensures plenty of vegetation, clear streams and rivers as well as lovely valleys and beautiful mountains - a postcard idyll. Skoldungen Fjord is surrounded by hundreds of kilometers of barren glacier and rock landscapes. Until the 1970s there was even a settlement in the fjord.
The American adventurer Mike Libecki has visited this place several times and made some impressive climbs for the first time.
The massive northwest face of Droneren (1980m) had been attempted by Mike, but had not been climbed until now. Of course, we had come to change that.
Silvan Schüpbach
The wall is not visible from the base camp, so we were impatient and set off straight away to carry equipment up and see the wall. The approach through the flat valley floor had a special charm. While you struggle naked through rivers and swamps, you are stung by thousands of sand flies.
Further up we climbed over moraines and snowfields to the glacier under the wall. As if to welcome us, shortly after our arrival a huge boulder fell from the left part of the wall and crashed spectacularly into the base of the wall. After this event we quickly agreed to stick to the central pillar in the middle of the wall when climbing.
A runout traverse that will be remembered
To save space and weight, we only had two inflatable portaledges and a few fixed ropes. With the last half day of good weather, Matteo and Symon climbed the wall again and fixed some ropes in the first part of the wall. As a result, the weather was very unstable. We usually had one day of good weather, followed by two days of rain.
We climbed up another day to fix the last ropes. This time Alex and I were allowed to climb. We reached a point on the pillar where there were no more cracks. I had the honor of treating myself to a runout traverse. I was able to secure this crux with 4 shallowly placed peckers.
Even though it was only a few meters, this length of rope will forever have a place of honor in the photo book of life.
Silvan Schüpbach
Up until now, we have had our hands full since we left Tasiilaq. This is exactly what I appreciate about expeditions of this kind. Unfortunately, there was no longer a weather window in sight to climb the wall. At least one rainy day a cruise ship came by.
Armed to the teeth, the well-off guests arrived at our base camp. The tour guide explained to us that they would soon have to return to the ship to dine at one of the three on-board restaurants, while we trudged around dirty and wet. Unfortunately, we were not invited, but at least we were given a case of beer.
Time is running out
We knew the base camp boulder very well by now and Matteo had perfected the technique of catching fish with the ice tool. Nevertheless, our motivation decreased with each day in the base camp. In the meantime, it had snowed a lot in the mountains. As a result, we had to give up an attempt to climb the wall.
During another attempt, a storm came up. We had already climbed high up the fixed ropes when rockfall started. In addition, one of the fixed ropes had been severed by rockfall. We retreated again. We had to decide: either we should start the return journey by kayak now or we would get picked up closer to the base camp.
We decided to give it one last chance to climb and forego the entire return trip with the kayaks.
Silvan Schüpbach
A third attempt was aborted due to rain. So it was our fourth attempt, at the last minute, when we finally reached the end of the fixed ropes again. Symon and Matteo climbed quickly and motivated ahead into the new territory. Alex and I hauled all the equipment.
It was great to finally be on the wall and give it our best! Late in the evening we reached a good bivouac spot high up on the wall. The mood was finally good again, the motivation high. The next day Alex and I climbed ahead. It was cold and the higher we got, the more snow there was on the wall. Alex climbed a few combined pitches - without crampons or ice axe.
After the magnificent final corner, we left the rocks beneath us and stood in front of the impressive ice cap. A hundred meters later, we were finally at the summit. The Droneren is a high, free-standing mountain and the view is unique. Our gaze wandered from the enormous Greenland ice sheet to the many impressive mountains and all the way to the Arctic Ocean.
Northern Lights, Disillusionment and Polar Bears
In the last light of day we abseiled down and reached the bivouac site again. That night we had the best summit celebration you can imagine: Northern lights danced over us and made the moment magical. When we reached the base camp, tired and satisfied, we received bad news. A return trip from Skoldungen Fjord was not possible after all.
So we packed our things and loaded the kayaks. We still had food for 4 days and wanted to cover at least half of the distance north.
Just as we were getting into our kayaks, a polar bear appeared right behind us. He was very curious and we were alarmed.
Silvan Schüpbach
I took out the rifle and fired a warning shot. The bear continued to come towards us. I fired a second time. Finally the polar bear backed away and we hurried to get into the kayaks and say goodbye to base camp.
The following days at sea we had mostly good weather, but we decided to keep watch at night because the polar bear would probably follow us. After four days and 150km we set up our last camp and waited for the boat that was supposed to pick us up. But no one came.
It wasn't until the evening that we were informed that no one was ready to pick us up! Panic spread.
Silvan Schüpbach
Many satellite phone calls later, we finally found a boat that would pick us up. The next morning at dusk, a polar bear tried to empty my kayak. Luckily, it was shy and ran away because of my roaring. In the afternoon, a boat finally arrived and the tension of 35 days in the wilderness was relieved from one moment to the next. Our odyssey was over.
Odyssea Borealis
- 35 days
- 450km kayak
- 4 Encounters with Polar Bears
- First ascent of the northwest face of the Droneren (1980 m)
- Wall height 1200m, 35 rope lengths
- Difficulties up to 7b, pure trad style
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Credits: Cover picture Symon Welringer