Living in southwestern BC (Vancouver), I'm about as far from Baffin as one can be, and still technically within the same borders. I've always had a massive fascination with our arctic, and videos like this only serve to heighten my intrigue.
I'm from the southeastern US and I feel the same way. When I was a kid in school I used to stare at those places on the world map and wonder what they were like. RU-vid started when I was a college student and I'm so glad it's grown to the point that we can see these places.
Steve, what an amazing film - for what was a one man production. Your thoughts and story are endearing, honest and what a feat that was! Thanks for sharing. ~~ Katie
Unreal. Scary, that is what I would call it. I can't even imagine what it takes to climb something like that...freezing cold, one slip and you're falling...no help anywhere... The whole thing seems unreal to me. I am in great shape, and I don't think I could carry that pack a mile. 70 lbs? That is like carry your young son up the side of a rock cliff on your back. I just stumbled on your video, and glad I did. Some people don't realize, going DOWN is not a piece of cake either. How do you go back to doing what you do at home after that? Can't really describe all the things I am thinking after watching the video. Much respect man. From Paul in Texas, USA
OMG! That was amazing! We we hiking the Akshayuk Pass thru Auyuittuq Park and met Steve and 'Izzy' in Pangnirtung after our 12 day hike, and after their epic climbing adventure. Our group has been waiting (impatiently) for this video to be posted! Definitely brings back great memories of the hike. You and the climbing group ROCK!! (and the rocks were absolutely awe inspiring as well!)
I don't know if I commented before but I absolutely adore most artic videos here on YT. The furthest north I have been is Yellowknife. The arctic is like the final frontier. The last place that is still discover-able.
Amazing video. i lived in pangnirtung for 2 years and loved seeing the park and mountains again through our video. i am not a climber but appreciate those that do. thanks
Very well done. One of the fascinations of remote landscapes like this is that the majority of the summits that surround you, probably never have been climbed.
I love this. So did my son. He loves Deadly 60, but now that he's nearly nine he loves stuff like this too.. (as well as the falcon chronicles). Awe inspiring.
Thanks for the upload. <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="581">9:41</a> - I've felt that feeling... Congrats to all the climbers, what a privilege to have experienced that approach, and that route.
Fantastic achievement and excellent film. Well done! Walk-in alone is a challenge, but that climb... As an aside, I came here after seeing "The spy who loved me".
Nice video Steve. Looks like a great trip! I was watching this and my wife was in the room, and when you started talking about how stressful it all was, she figured you were talking about parenting young kids. lol
Only in Canada!! Remote Mount Asgard on Baffin Island was base-jumped in the opening scene of James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me. Canada, what a country, my country.
Just read Mountain a life on the rocks and this trip was mentioned which led me to look this up. Absolutely superb wonderful book I thought. One of my favourite ever reads.
I'm Canadian and *Almost* all Canadians have never been anywhere near these parts of Canada. *Almost* all Canadians live within a 30 to 60 minutes drive from the border with the US.
I never was able to walk the Pang Pass but was lucky enough to fly through it on many occasions...quite an awe inspiring place...otherworldly! My photo called Inbound to Pang gives a glimpse to the entrance to the fiord leading in to Pangnirtung...googoo it to see!
Been there done that. A tad over hyped TV narrative. They will send a helicopter - although it could take 3 days to get you. When we were there one of two guides who are always somewhere in the park twisted or broke an ankle. There was a chopper there same day. The intimidation and scale is for real. We never climbed any rock route but went just high enough to look down on Fork Beard Glacier. I was keen to climb Thor, which has a rumoured scrambling-only route up the back, but we never even made an attempt - something about the place drains confidence. I heard that bridge we crossed in 2007 was down but seeing it just swept aside was scary. Thought they'd have replaced it by now. I have a Pangnirtung print of the approach to Auyuittuk National Park by a local artist adorning my living room.
That was really great to watch. Thanks a lot for sharing. ( I just watched here on yt what it´s like skiing there in winter "Baffin Island - A Skier's Journey, Season 2, Episode 2")
I did the trip from Pang to Mount Asgard in 2009. I did part of the trip with Jason (Singer) Smith. It was an amazing trip. It seems the people exaggerate the difficulties. The distances are deceptive, since there are no trees for perspective. I did not climb Asgard, however. The great danger in Baffin is rock fall.
On the rope traverse you could have used a daizy chain or tether and the ascender you had on your harness ahead of the pulley to give you a second chance and grab on to the rope in case it snapped. With only the pulley like you did the traverse you would have just slid off the end of the snapped rope into the river.
How did you deal with polar bears and other predatory wildlife ? Did you carry bear spray, rifles or even electrified fences ? And above all: how did you get down from the climb ?
I'd love to find something about this level of difficulty and size to climb with my daughter when she's a little older. Well within ability and long enough to make an adventure out of.
@@gregcushing1716 I find it unlikely that the Inuit of Baffin Island would name that particular peak after a Norse realm of the gods....more likely a Scandinavian explorer who stumbled across it while being guided by the local Inuit. The Inuit name for the peak is Sivanitirutinguak.
The Arctic Institute of North America (AINA) expedition in 1961 gave the mountains their current names, not any Inuk. They chose names from Norse mythology because the Vikings led by Erik The Red likely sailed past Baffin Island ~1,000 years ago. [The Vinland Sagas - Penguin Books] In late August 1989 me, my wife and my best friend spent two weeks backpacking in AUYUITTUQ NATIONAL PARK (then Reserve). We carried ~100 kg between the three of us. We saw Mt. Asgard and Mt. Thor but we weren't doing any climbing, just scrambling over a few glaciers. I rate the scenery second only to the Rocky Mountains, though I've yet to visit Yukon and the St. Elias range with Canada's highest peak, Mt. Logan at 5,959 meters. AUYUITTUQ translates from Inuktitut as "The Land That Never Melts". Sadly the Arctic is now warming faster than any other region on Earth and the ice caps and sheets are melting like never before in human history. During the heat waves of 2019 Greenland lost ~15 billion litres of water in one day! As Steve says in the video, crossing the many meltwater streams flowing off the glaciers and crossing the glaciers themselves are very challenging aspects of any hike up there. However I have a serious question about his climb: Why didn't you bring more water with you? You know you're going to be physically stressed and you're in a desert. Dehydration can often cause muscle cramps and even hallucinations. You really don't want your leg muscles cramping on a 5.10 route. It's a wild and harsh environment, with the possibility of rapid weather changes in a matter of hours, and no nearby search and rescue should something go wrong. Mountain Search and Rescue in Canada fly out of Edmonton, Alberta. They'll come as quickly and safely as they can, but you might have to wait a few days for help to arrive 😎.
Asgard has two summits, the North Tower and the slightly lower South Tower. This is on the East Face of the North Tower, and is normally known as the Scott Route. It was first climbed in 1972 by Doug Scott [UK], Paul 'Tut' Braithwaite [UK], Paul Nunn [UK] and Dennis Hennek [US]; the name order here is as it appears in the guidebook. Although the other three all played their full part in the ascent - and Hennek, a seasoned Yosemite climber thence well-versed in such terrain, led the crux offwidth/squeeze - Doug Scott was the principal driving force behind this trip and a larger expedition the previous year; he effectively put Baffin on the map as a contemporary climbing destination, and it's entirely appropriate that this iconic route - a modern classic - should bear his name. As far as I'm aware the only climbing guidebook yet produced for the area is Mark Synnott's 2008 edition 'Baffin Island'. It's been out of print for some years and I've been unable to gather from the Calgary publishers, Rocky Mountain Books, whether there are any plans for a reprint or new edition. You may, of course, be able to pick up a secondhand copy from one of the internet suppliers. The given grade therein is VI 5.9 A1. It seems, though, that the A1 bit referred to the odd pull on a nut or a piton - as one might well have done in 1972 on an alpine rock route out of expediency rather than absolute need - rather than any mandatory section of A1 nailing; in good conditions, at least, the latter simply doesn't exist on the route. I suspect that Hennek actually free-climbed the crux pitch, and that 5.9 was the grade that he gave it; there are plenty of desperate 5.9 wide cracks in Yosemite and elsewhere! The guidebook suggests 5.11 for this pitch - but that, even as a modern grade, seems a bit OTT; my assessment would probably be 5.10b. The pitch would have originally deserved the 'R' suffix due to its runout nature, but some bolts installed later in the right wall would since have negated that. Overall, of course, the route is a Long Alpine Rock Climb requiring one or two days, rather than a Big Wall - so more like a V than a VI.
Makes me laugh how this guy keeps mentioning there being no people and unspoiled wilderness as far as the eye can see. Baffin Island is Canada, up here in Canada we have tons of unspoiled wilderness and not very many people. Actually we have one of the lowest population densities in the world and a huge country so things are pretty wild here everywhere you go.
Canada as a whole has a population of 37million, with a population density of 4/sq mile. Baffin Island on its own has approximately 11,000, with a population density of 0.05/sq mile. And Auyuittuq National Park during our ascent had THREE people in it. In over 8000 square miles. That's about the size of Israel. Suggesting I shouldn't mention the unspoilt wilderness in one of the world's most perfect wilderness areas...
@@SteveBackshallOfficial Just found it funny how you mention it, being a Canadian. It's pretty standard to experience unspoiled wilderness up here, you don't have to go to Baffin island, you just head out into the bush, we're surrounded by it.
Fer Das Führer I mean, no, we’re bigger than the US and even the US isn’t at all filled up, and it holds 350m, btw, we kinda need migrant workers as our population is slowing down from childbirth and in order to keep up our economy we’re forced to hire migrants
@@goldeviolets4314 No we don't need workers. That's just a capitalist lie perpetrated by banks so that they can import more consumers that can be chained as debt slaves for life, as well as lowering wages for native workers. Quality of life is more important than GDP.
@@alligatorsnappingturtle9907 finally some sense! Some truth. The global population must disentangle itself from the superbanking system. It’s fueling corporatocracy and ruining quality of life for billions for the excess of the hundreds. The masses will have their way and their day soon.
Looks like it was all free, how many pitches and whats the rating? Name of the route? Great job! I admire you for getting so far out of your comfort zone. Well done.
The route climbs the left side of the east face of Asgard's North Tower, finishing up the narrow headwall at the top, and is generally known as The Scott Route. Originally climbed [in 1972] in about 40 pitches, modern longer ropes - and probably a bit of simul-climbing - seem to get it down to perhaps about 25. A realistic YDS/NCCS rating nowadays would be V 5.10; originally it arguably deserved the 'R' suffix in view of the once runout nature of the crux offwidth/chimney pitch, but sadly - as can just be seen in the video - it has since been tamed somewhat by the addition of bolts.
I’m a BASE jumper who really respects climbers. In climbing, it’s a battle of inches all the way to the summit. With me, all I have to do is step off and rely on my equipment. If it was feasible to bring a rig along, a jump would’ve made for the perfect ending after such an arduous ascent, especially as the climb down is said to be the more hazardous aspect.
Presumably you've seen the 1976 James Bond movie, "The Spy Who Loved Me", in which Rick Sylvester did exactly that - BASE jumped from Asgard. Of course, he got to the top by helicopter....
