Page 17 - 2019 AMA Winter

The awe inspiring sense of space themselves at the southern end of Summit steeper until switching to full mountaineer-
ing mode to bag the summit.
A long day tour around the foot of Mt Asgard was a particular highlight; conditions were perfect, and the views out across the frozen lakes and mountains stunning. It was slightly concerning to stumble across fresh polar bear tracks but soon forgotten as ascending further up the glacier, Mt Asgard came into view. Reaching up 2000m into the sky, Asgard is famous for featuring in the opening sequence of The Spy Who Loved me and was an impressive sight; unsurprisingly it is the most famous of the Baffin Mountains. Surrounded by such fantastic views it was impossible not to be completely inspired; a privilege to be part of something so unique.
As one of the team members said on return “Ignite a passion early on in your career, find something which you like doing and work at it. You never know where it may take you”. Adventurous Training can really take you to the ends of the Earth.
and remoteness struck the team
as they made their way into the National Park; granite mountains towered over the river valley, sheer rock faces giving way to the occasional glimpse of a glacier. Wow. Ski mountaineering blends the disciplines of skiing with mountaineer- ing to enable access to more remote and challenging terrain – something some of the team had never had the opportunity to do before. It wasn’t long before they were strapping skis to backs and pre- cariously balancing across ice and rocks, a good way to get rusty skills back to the fore in preparation of what was to come. The expedition brought together a range of skills the team had learnt on different courses, such as use of an ice axe and crampons, awareness of risk in mountainous environments, using an ice axe or a skis as a belay, and some of the more technical elements of ski touring.
The environment was merciless and unforgiving, with temperatures dropping to –35 at their lowest; you know it’s cold when your eye lashes start to freeze together! But the opportunities to explore were endless. The team based
lake, protected from some of the winds whipping through the Akshayuk Pass. The expedition was based on an exploratory model, with daily activity being planned in accordance with the terrain in which the team found themselves but also dictated by the weather and avalanche conditions.
The team wasted no time exploring, separating into small teams to recce routes on both sides of the valley. Lean snow conditions meant lots of boot packing over terminal moraine but worth the effort for the snow covered glacial fields beyond. With plenty of gullies, snowy peaks and ice falls around, the team was spoilt for choice. Some summits were limited without full scale climbing but a number of the team summited Mt Tyr, skiing up though a layer of cloud to be rewarded with perfect views across the Auyuittuq National Park. A large part of the team also summitted a potential unclimbed peak, having seen the subsidiary peak on a previous day the route started as a gentle ski, getting
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