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Four average climbers make their Baffin Island climbing expedition dreams come true

vimff fall series the gnar wahls odyssey baffin island

In the summer of 2023, four climbing friends set out to complete a human-powered expedition in a seldom visited corner of the Canadian Arctic. Going off little more than satellite imagery, establishing new routes in Coronation Fjord was an objective fraught with unknowns. Not only was the location shrouded in mystery, but the team was made up of everyday climbers with little experience on expeditions of this scale.

“We're just average climbers, but we're going to go have a big adventure.”

They flew to the remote village of Qikiqtarjuaq with a plan to paddle the roughly 70km to the toe of the Coronation glacier. From there, gaining the glacier and finding a basecamp would mark the true start of their expedition, entering the unknown and hoping the glacier was accessible and the walls could be climbed.

VIMFF writer Kaylan Worsnop sat down with team members Amanda Bischke and James Klemmensen to learn more about this adventure. What follows are the highlights of their conversation, edited for length.

Kaylan: Why did you choose the Coronation Glacier?

vimff fall series the gnar wahls odyssey baffin island

James: It was definitely a big unknown… We felt like if you’re a 5.14 or 5.13 alpine climber, you can kind of go to those classic areas and do new routes and get funding for that. But we’re pretty like everyday climbers. But we felt like between the four of us, we have the skill set to take care of ourselves in these adventurous situations… We don’t have the credibility to be like, we’re going to climb some super hard free route in this popular area, but we definitely have the skill set to go do some adventurous 5.10 somewhere a bit different.

Amanda: We connected with some researchers who’d been there. And the only thing we had was photos from the shore. So, it was a bit of a risk. But from the shore it looked good. So, we went for it.

vimff fall series the gnar wahls odyssey baffin island

Kaylan: How much time went into preparing for the trip?

Amanda: We started in December and went on the expedition in July and if doing it again, I don’t think that’s quite enough time. I would tell future teams to give themselves a year.

Kaylan: Your bags featured prominently in the film. How much did all your gear weigh?

Amanda: Roughly 1,000 pounds of checked luggage, plus all our carry ons. So more than 1,000 pounds.

Kaylan: Was there anything in those bags that did not get used?

Amanda: Yeah, we brought a hundred bolts and used two.

vimff fall series the gnar wahls odyssey baffin island

Kaylan: How many days into your trip was it before you actually got to do some climbing?

Amanda: Somewhere between 20 and 30. We climbed like three days in a six-week period.

James: It’s a climbing expedition. But on paper it’s like not a lot of climbing.

vimff fall series the gnar wahls odyssey baffin island

Kaylan: What did it feel like to be in the Arctic? I’ve spent some time there and it just has a kind of feeling, I'm not sure how to describe it. I’m curious if you guys had a similar experience and if you had any of words for that.

Amanda: Magical and foreign at the same time, because you can travel to different countries, but you’re in Canada and all of a sudden, it’s so different than anything else you’ve experienced before. And the magical part is like the 24-hour daylight where you just live and it doesn’t matter what time it is.

James: It is hard to really hard to put into words, but I think I felt a lot more immersed in the natural environment than I maybe have, like adventuring in Western Canada. And I think to me, that kind of added to the magic feeling, like I’m really in a place that’s so much more unspoiled. Feeling like I’m somewhere not a lot of people really get to see, that felt really special.

Kaylan: Did you have any noteworthy moments with the community in Qikiqtarjuaq?

Amanda: On the way home, this one family came and they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re back. We were so worried about you. Did you have enough food?’ I didn’t think they’d be thinking about us at all. To see them be concerned like that was kind of special. And then we got to hang out with their children and we gave them a bunch of our leftover food. That was an opportunity to just talk with the locals a bit more.

James: We were only going to be back in the town for, like a couple of days. And in the end, our flight kept getting delayed just due to high winds. And looking back, I’m so glad that happened. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had as much of a rich experience meeting the community members and chatting with them.

vimff fall series the gnar wahls odyssey baffin island

Kaylan: What kind of wisdom did you gain from your experience that could be valuable to others?

Amanda: Find someone to talk to. Just having someone who’s done it before, who can help guide you a little bit along the way.

James: Yeah, dream big, but also be realistic about your skill set and your past experience. Definitely going into the trip, I had a lot of anxiety and self-doubt. I was like, man, like, this is like so much more out there than anything I’ve done before. But you kind of like figure out the building blocks and gain the skill set and put it all together in a bigger adventure.

Amanda: I would tell people to just, dream big and go for it.

vimff fall series the gnar wahls odyssey poster

To get inspired for your own adventure, catch their film The Gnar-Whal’s Odyssey at this year’s Fall Series, screening in-person on November 18th and online from November 12 – December 20 / 2024.

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