Mount Waddington SW Buttress first ascent by Papert, McSorley and Mayan Smith-Gobat

The trio set off on 18 August and negotiated difficulties up to 5.11+ WI3 M5 ED1 past 20 pitches to reach the 4000m high NW summit, which stands 18m lower than the main summit.

"We summited on the 18th at around 7 pm, had a bivi on the descent via the Angel Glacier and arrived our BC in the morning of the 19th. That same evening we got the ride back by helicopter to Bluff Lake." explained Papert, who added "This route had nearly been completed in September of 2011 by our friends Tony Richardson and Jason Kruk who approached by powerboat, raft and foot from Twist Lake over the course of a week. They came within two pitches of the summit ridge before bailing in the face of dangerously deteriorating rime ice."

It is worth noting that while McSorley and Papert have a strong track record in alpine climbing, Smith-Gobat is known above all for her hard sports climbing and multi-pitch rock climbs, in Yosemite but also in the Dolomites. On FB the Kiwi climber commented that this experience had been "an amazing reintroduction to the Alpine environment…"

ROUTE DETAILS
Height: 800m, 20+ Pitches
Difficulty: 5.11+ WI 3 M5 ED1
First Ascent: August 18th-19th 2015
Descent: Via Angel Glacier/Dais Couloir/Dais Glacier