Earlier this summer, a small expedition consisting of Julia Kassou, Sean Warren, Pete Whittaker and Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll made a challenging and daring new ascent of the central section of the 1000m Mirror Wall during a 43-day sailing and climbing expedition on the east coast of Greenland. The Mirror Wall was first climbed in the summer of 2012 by a Swiss team consisting of Basile Jacques, Christian Ledergerber, Sylvain Schupbach and Vera Leist.
Located deep in the fjord of Scoresby Sand, this new line of this “huge shield of shining granite” was attempted by Villanueva together with Franco Cookson, Ben Ditto and Nicolas Favresse in 2023. Last summer, after much effort, the climbers reached the gap on pitch 13 and, not wanting to dig a bolt ladder, retreated, disappointed but satisfied that they had not compromised their ethics.
Curious to see if the section was truly impassable, Villanueva decided to try again this year, and, drawing on their previous efforts, the team quickly reached the summit. On the descent, the group free climbed several sections, including the pitch that had thwarted Villanueva a year ago, now free climbed at 7c+ R, with the route now rated at an astounding 8b/R/A2+. The climb was named Ryujin, in memory of his friend and original expedition member Keita Kurakami, who passed away in June. Whittaker details:
Pete Whittaker's “Dragon's Heart on a Mirrored Wall”
“I'll be back on the Mirror Wall in the summer. There'll definitely be a king line, so let me know if you're interested in joining,” was the message from Sean that arrived in my inbox. I asked Sean many times about attempting this route on the 2023 expedition, and his response was often along the lines of “I don't think it'll be 100% successful, but I'd at least like to go back and see it again,” so I jumped at the chance. His enthusiasm for a second expedition to “see it again,” and the fact that he'd been with a good climbing team in Patagonia a few seasons ago, were enough reasons for me to “see it.” I've wanted to see this wall for years.
Two weeks before we left for Greenland, our friend and expedition member Keita Kurakami passed away, and as the departure date loomed, the big questions arose: “Can we still go?” and “Should we still go?” Team member Takemi Suzuki (Keita's best friend) naturally decided to stay behind in Japan with his family and friends. It was a big blow for the team, but we regrouped and the four of us reached the base of the wall a month later (two weeks for final preparations, five days for sailing, and seven days for carrying 30kg of luggage).
The team consisted of myself, Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll, Sean Warren, an experienced El Capitan aid climber from the UK, and Julia Cassou, a talented French climber and photographer. We were going to attempt the same lines that Sean did on his 2023 expedition, in the same style: digging into the ground with as few bolts as possible, no bolt/rivet ladders, and essentially being forced to either hard free or aid climbing between the bolts that needed to be installed for protection in the blank sections. A style I support. We wanted to take on the challenge.
After six days on the wall, more rain than rain, we reached the peak. During this time, I continued to be impressed and challenged, repeating Sean's leads from last year: big run-outs, hard free climbing on mid-lead and thin hook switches, traversing sections of rock that looked pretty sparse from below. Sean was shaking his head in disbelief at some of the 2023 leads.
Last year's high point passed without any drama, and the point that would haunt Sean for two days in 2023 was cleared by him in one shot this time. But the next pitch into unknown, crack-free ground was slower. Sean Warren provided a great aid lead through the creaking flakes and seams to reach the crack we all hoped to find from below, and one of the best free pitches of the climb. The crack system we had just entered (and ran to the summit) was still not an easy one, and a variety of techniques, from hints to chimney squeezing, were required to successfully free climb it.
Our attempt so far has been marked by rain, cold and cloudy days, but after 11 days on the wall, we finally got to soak up some sun on the summit. Sharing the summit with Sean, Shawn, Julia and Keita was, quite frankly, awesome. I was inspired by all three of my teammates every day of the adventure. They were the perfect machine for every aspect of the expedition, from pushing hard in less than optimal conditions to eating bigos. I was impressed throughout.
On our way to the summit, we climbed the route to a 7b+/R/A2+ standard (a required grade just to climb). 16 of the 25 pitches were completely free. On the descent, we spent another week on the wall and free climbed another 6 pitches to 8b. There were also many R-rated climbing sections. 3 pitches were not free.
Of course I'm happy to have reached the summit, but even more so to have been able to walk safely and with laughter in such an environment. The expedition took a total of 43 days, of which 38 were climbing, hiking and sailing, and 5 were days when everyone was just resting.
Keita was a shakuhachi player and had the name “Ryushin,” which translates to “Heart of the Dragon” in English, and this climb was made in his honor.
Finally, the efforts of the 2023 team (comprised of Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll, Nico Favresse, Ben Ditto and Franco Cookson) certainly had a positive impact on the success of the trip and they were constantly thanked for their efforts throughout the first half of the trip as they repeated what they achieved last year.
Special thanks to Mike Brooks and Vicente Castro for making the crossing safe, to Lolo Garibotti for the weather forecast, and to our sponsors who helped make it all possible: Patagonia, Scarpa, Unparallel, Petzl, Sterling Rope, Wild Country, Totem, Samaya, Ryofood, Cook & Run, Supernatural Fuel, Crooksly, and Cop de Gas.
Pete Whittaker
Mirror Wall Exploration 2024
Dates: July 29th (departure from Iceland) to September 9th (return to Ísafjörður)
Climbing: August 11th to 29th, summited August 22nd
Expedition days: 10 days sailing, 11 days hiking, 3 days hike rest, 17 days wall climbing (or wall hauling), 2 days wall rest. Total 43 days
