H\u00e9r <\/a>er fer\u00f0asaga \u00feeirra fr\u00e1 heimas\u00ed\u00f0u Amer\u00edska Alpakl\u00fabbsins:<\/p>\nIn late March, Eythan Sontag and I (both from the U.S.) climbed a new route on the south face of the east summit of Hr\u00fatsfjallstindar (\u201cRam Mountain,\u201d 1,875m) in Vatnaj\u00f6kull National Park. The Hr\u00fatsfjalls peaks are situated on a volcanic crater rim at the edge of one of Europe\u2019s largest glaciers, squeezed between outlet glaciers leading toward the coast.
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After towing sleds over the five-mile approach up the Sv\u00ednafell Glacier, with a heavily crevassed lower half, we dug out a camp under the face and away from an active icefall. The three-pound chocolate Easter chick we had recruited as our base camp sentry didn\u2019t survive the crossing. We glumly ate her, brooding that we\u2019d just killed an albatross.<\/em><\/p>\nThe south face has four steep snowfields separated by three overhanging basalt cliff bands. (The total vertical gain from the glacier to the summit is approximately 1,400m, of which the steep, technical headwall comprises about half.) Ice flows connect the snowfields and allow passage through the cliffs. There are now at least four technical routes up this aspect of Hr\u00fatsfjallstindar and several others on the western summit. In good conditions, there are at least a dozen long ice lines in the immediate vicinity with no reported ascents.<\/em><\/p>\nWe began our new route on March 29, taking the leftmost ice line (three short pitches: WI5+, WI5, WI3) through the first cliff band. The lower 20 feet of ice had broken away, leaving the technical crux right off the deck: a mixed start up to an ice roof. (From past pictures, this seems to be a common condition. Also, given the relatively easy access to the first cliff band, it wouldn\u2019t be surprising if this first pitch had been climbed before.) We hauled packs through this initial section and bivied comfortably before dark at the second cliff band. Eight inches of new snow over the course of the day caused steady but shallow sloughing into the night. The rock took occasional solid knifeblades and angles, and we were glad to have pickets. The ice protection deteriorated steadily as we moved up the mountain, ending in degraded Styrofoam and janky rime that made the technically easier pitches the spicy ones.<\/em><\/p>\nOn day two we continued up a variation (two pitches: WI4, WI3) to the right of the 1985 Doug Scott line (the first technical route up the face\u2014see editor\u2019s note below) through the second cliff band, followed by more steep snow and then a delicate winding traverse (two pitches: WI5, WI3) up the center of the final cliff band. This finish is between the final cockscomb buttress of the Scott line and a 2000 route (\u201cPorcelain\u201d). We yanked over the final rampart with a premonition of arrival, as if we had slipped through an embrasure separating us from something we hadn\u2019t known we were after. Perhaps Asgard was floating just ahead.<\/em><\/p>\nThe summit glacier was easy walking, with crevasses mostly plugged. Into the evening, the sun tracked just behind a thin cloud, an eye of Sauron beaming yellow and then pink down the western slopes. We downclimbed for several hours to climber\u2019s left of the seracs southwest of the west summit, keeping a wary eye out for glacial sinkholes and flowing waterfalls in the lower drainage.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![](\"http:\/\/aac-publications.s3.amazonaws.com\/aaj-13201213869-1472649611.jpg\") <\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| The western (left) and eastern summits of Hr\u00fatsfjallstindar (1,875m) from the south. (1) (Geirsson-Gu\u00f0mundsson, 1986). (2) Smj\u00f6rfingur (Meucci-\u00d3lafsson, 2015). (3) 10 Norskar Stelpur (Meucci-\u00d3lafsson, 2015). (4) Fri\u00f0riksd\u00f3ttir-Hjaltason-Steingr\u00edmsson, 1981. (5) Lucky Leif (Gray-Sontag, 2016). (6) Scott\u2019s Route (Benediktsson-Geirsson-Gu\u00f0mundsson-Gu\u00f0j\u00f3n-Scott, 1985). (7) \u00cdshr\u00f6ngl (Bj\u00f6rnsson-Steingr\u00edmsson, 2012. The climbers traversed left to join the Scott Route above the second rock band). (8) Postul\u00ednslei\u00f0 (Finnbogason- \u00deorgeirsson-Sigur\u00f0sson, 2000). (9) St\u00f3ragil (Benidiktsson-Gu\u00f0bjartsson, 1983). Route information courtesy of \u00cdsalp. Photo by Spencer Gray<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n We called our new route Lucky Leif (TD WI5+ M4). Leif \u201cthe Lucky\u201d Erikson was an Icelandic Viking who established what was probably the first European settlement in the Americas, in the year 1000, in Newfoundland. Making the reverse trip, we felt lucky that conditions had allowed our ascent.<\/em><\/p>\nAfter 10 days trying to tap into our inner Old Norse, we still felt like rubes\u2014but we certainly had held Iceland in our hands. Vatnaj\u00f6kull National Park was expanded and renamed in 2008, partially offsetting political fallout from the staunch government support for the new hydroelectric dams and reservoirs nearby that power a large smelter for aluminum exports. Clutching the aluminum that lets us do what we do\u2014tool shafts, belay devices, carabiners\u2014our adventure occurred squarely in the compromises we make on the land.<\/em><\/p>\nOur deep appreciation to Sn\u00e6varr Gu\u00f0mundsson and the Icelandic Alpine Club for their assistance.<\/em><\/p>\nSpencer Gray, USA<\/em><\/p>\nEditor\u2019s note: The south face of Hr\u00fatsfjallstindar\u2019s eastern summit was first climbed by Icelandic parties in the early 1980s, taking snow gullies up the left side (PD) and right side of the face. In May 1985, Doug Scott (U.K.) and Icelandic climbers Helgi Benediktsson, J\u00f3n Geirsson, Sn\u00e6varr Gu\u00f0mundsson, and \u00deorsteinn Gu\u00f0j\u00f3n climbed the first technical route through the steep rock bands, with ice pitches of WI5 and WI6 and a final rime \u201ccockscomb\u201d with very poor protection and belays. Three more lines were completed before the 2016 ascent: Postul\u00ednslei\u00f0 (\u201cPorcelain,\u201d TD WI5, 2000) and \u00cdshr\u00f6ngl (TD WI4\/5, 2012, combining variations to Porcelain and the Scott route), both by Icelandic climbers, and a line climbed by a large\u00a0French party in 2007<\/a>, also combining portions of the Scott and Icelandic routes. Given the nature of the face, it\u2019s likely that any ascent will include some previously climbed ground.<\/em><\/p>\nThe direct south face of the western summit of Hr\u00fatsfjallstindar was first climbed in 1986. In 2007, French climbers did a possible new route on the face, but the exact line is not known. In April 2015, Bjartur \u00d3lafsson (Iceland) and Matteo Meucci, an Italian guide working in Iceland, climbed Smj\u00f6rfingur (\u201cButter Fingers,\u201d TD AI5) up the west peak in 19 pitches, beginning with a very steep 110m icefall. The day before, the same pair climbed a steep route on the far left side of the eastern peak, 10 Norskar Stelpur (\u201cTen Norwegian Girls,\u201d TD AI4) without going to the summit.<\/em><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/publications.americanalpineclub.org\/articles\/13201213869\/Hrtsfjallstindar-South-Face-of-East-Peak-Lucky-Leif<\/span><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sorry, this entry is only available in Icelandic. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.Leifur Heppni Bl\u00e1 l\u00edna \u00cd mars 2016 f\u00f3ru Spencer Gray og Eythan Sontag fr\u00e1 Bandar\u00edkjunum n\u00fdja lei\u00f0 \u00e1 su\u00f0urhli\u00f0 Hr\u00fatsfjallstinda. Lei\u00f0ina klifru\u00f0u \u00feeir […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61986"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61986"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62561,"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61986\/revisions\/62561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isalp.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} | |