Baffin Island

Baffin Island is an Arctic wilderness located in extreme northeast Canada. The island's northeast coast faces Greenland across the Davis Strait. Its deeply indented coast fronts a tangle of spectacular glacial and ice-capped mountains. There are towers, spires and pyramids of rock and ice, with sheer and overhanging great rock walls. The rock is primarily granite, which provides excellent climbing.

Most of the finest peaks are located on the Cumberland Peninsula, at the head of the South Pangnirtung Fjord. Much of the area is included within Auyuittuq National Park, and is accessible from Pangnirtung, a small coastal Eskimo settlement that is increasingly catering to tourists. From here, access to the mountains is by boat, dog sleds, float-planes or ski-planes, depending on ice and weather conditions.

The best climbing is June through August, during which the rock is relatively snow-free, and a few weeks of fair weather are possible. Early in the season, daylight is limited, and snow and glacier conditions may require skis or snowshoes.

The highest peak of Baffin Island is Tete Blanche (7,074 ft./2156 m). However, perhaps the most famous is Mount Asgard (6598 ft./2011 m).