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Bonfire of the Vanities, new route on Baffin Island

The Arctic Dreams expedition comprised of Steve Bradshaw, Dave Glass, Clinton Marteningo, Andrew Porter and Captain Bob Shepton has made the first ascent of Bonfire of the Vanities on Polar Molar, Baffin Island.

Planetmountain

August 2012

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Steve Bradshaw, Dave Glass, Clinton Marteningo, Andrew Porter climbing Bonfire of the Vanities (6c, 280m) on Polar Molar, Baffin Island.

The Arctic Project

After having established some new climbs on Greenland's Red Wall and the Impossible Wall a fortnight ago, the South African climbers Steve Bradshaw, Dave Glass, Clinton Marteningo and Andrew Porter have now made the first ascent of a beautiful virgin peak on Baffin Island.

The mountain has been dubbed Polar Molar by Captain Bob Shepton due to its tooth-like appearance and pearly-white enamel surface and in a 14-hour boat-to-boat trip the climbers succeeded in climbing a circa 280m high series of cracks and flakes up the righthand side. They encountered difficulties up to 6c and as with the previous routes, this recent outing was climbed without bolts or pegs. This choice of style is also the reason why they opted against attempting a direct line up the centre of the featureless 500m face which "may end up as one of the last unclimbed walls in North America."

Bradshaw stated "Reaching the summit bathed in the golden rays of the midnight sun was one of the truly special moments of our trip and we all felt incredibly privileged to be on this adventure." The sailing and climbing trip now continues, ice conditions permitting, through the Northwest Passage.

For more details and images check out www.arcticproject.wordpress.com