Ingmikortilaq

Ingmikortilaq is a roughly 3,750 to 4,000 foot sea cliff of gneiss and granite rising directly from the water in Nordvestfjord, part of the Scoresby Sound region of eastern Greenland, within Northeast Greenland National Park. It sits above the Renland Ice Cap and had no climbing history before 2022: reaching it required ferrying gear across the ice cap, and the lower third of the wall is loose, scree-covered rock rather than clean stone, which shaped how the route up it was climbed.

History

Alex Honnold and Hazel Findlay made the first ascent on August 16, 2022, as part of a National Geographic expedition that combined the climb with glaciology fieldwork on the surrounding ice cap. National Geographic describes the climbing as reaching 5.11 with long, poorly protected runout sections, consistent with the broken, jumbled rock quality reported on the lower wall. It remains the only known ascent of Ingmikortilaq, and no free grade in the usual redpoint sense has been established since no one has returned to repeat or attempt the line since.

On film

Alex Honnold Climbs a 4,000 Foot Sea Wall, from National Geographic's Arctic Ascent series, documents the expedition in full: the approach across the Renland Ice Cap, Heidi Sevestre's glaciology work alongside the climbing team, and Honnold and Findlay's push up the wall itself, including the loose rock and weather that threatened the attempt.