The Asgard Project :: Our objective is to produce a groundbreaking film about the first free ascent of Asgard’s NWface, regarded as one of the most difficult big walls in the world.

On the climb!
We've received the latest update from Leo and the team - unfortunately there have been some communication problems and only the second part of the update was received but it really brings home the difficulties the team are facing taking on the mighty Mount Asgard.

• Day 6
  

The steep and blank nature of the rock forced Leo and Stanley to full on aid climb today
Progress was extremely slow. It looks free climbable, but too hard to do onsight with a few questionable sections.
We only fixed two pitches.
Meanwhile, Chris and Jason started to move the camp upto the ledge on belay 4, they brought the portaledges and enough food and gear for 1 night.
Unfortunately the stove was damaged during the haul, so we had no hot food today.

• Day 7

Having not eaten or drunk anything all day or all night yesterday, we woke up wanting to go
home.
Stanley gallantly descended to get the other stove. After coffee and breakfast, motivation started to return.
Leo and Stanley climbed up and fixed another 3 pitched.
Chris, Jason and Al brought the rest of the camp to the ledge.
Leo and Stanley returned to camp after midnight, they where both exhausted.
The route still looks free climbable but we are running out of time.
The weather is still and clear but very cold as we are in the shade all day.

• Day 8

The jumar up to the high point is becoming very long, our hands are a bloody mess!
It is very difficult to get going in the morning.
Two very slow pitches of difficult aid climbing, Leo took the first fall of the trip, a 15 ft time bomb.
Aid climbing is very hard work, wish we could focus on free climbing but we need to get to the top of this thing.

• Day 9

Oh dear, the weather is deteriorating. we now have the first real wind of the trip, its brutally cold and extremely intimidating when it blows.
It feels more like mid winter and not mid summer.
Everyone is wearing all their clothes.
If this wind persists, I'm not sure if we are going to make it.
It's Stanley's birthday, 34 years old today - that will be a portaledge party and flapjacks to celebrate!
If the wind calms down we will try to free climb and film some pitches today.
If the wind persists, we will be in the portaledges all day.
It's only 6 more pitches to the top but we need to film and free some stuff.
Its going to be a big challenge to get everyone up and off Asgard in the next 6 days.

After months of preparation and training the team are now ready to start their ascent of Mount Asgard.  Read Leo’s own words on the preparation for the occasion…

• 9 August

Seems like the awesome weather has finished. Raining, freezing, miserable. Kind of what we expected.
After much deliberation we have decided to go for the aid route Inukshuk on the NW face of the N tower. Much less sunny than W face S tower but safer approach though still looks harrowing with so little snow. Much loose rock. Hope the weather improves. So much to do difficult to motivate in such cold wet conditions. Stanley and I go down to Summit lake stash for final bits and pieces. Took 6 hours up down and up.

• 10 August

More grim weather but must push on. Organise all food, climbing gear and wall stuff. Takes all day. Oh god there’s a lot. Think we're gonna go as a 6 and fix a lot. Share the work and split into teams, aid, free and film. Climbing this thing is difficult, free climbing it may prove to be impossible, trying to capture the whole thing on film is a nightmare. Just massively increases the amount gear, work, time and logistical complication. Sure it's gonna be cool though - hope people appreciate the quality and amount of work. 

• 11 August

Finally commit to the project. Stanley and I fix 380m of rope up the approach. After a man eating bergshrund a straight forward 60m of 50 degree ice led to a horrifically loose 60m of chosseneering. Nearly trundeled a door size flake on myself when 30m run out. Stanley got bombed with lots of small stuff. Dangerous. Another 200m of ice and some slightly less deadly choss and we made the start of the climb! At first felt like a hazardous and unpleasant place but after some investigation and terracing we made a reasonably safe and comfortable hang. Fixed straight down. Gonna be a hazardous and hard haul but then we'll actually be able to go climbing! Unless the weather gets savage!

• 12 August

More organising this morning but this afternoon we blast! 6 people for 10 days. Gonna be fun, but hard work and no doubt some deal of suffering. Hope it goes 100% free. If not never mind this place is amazing and we are about to climb one of the great walls of the world.

Leo and the team have taken the Asgard Project to new levels by skydiving in to the Arctic to reach Mount Asgard - special permission was given for the team to make the jump during the airdrop of their kit.  Read on in Leo’s own words how the project is progressing and what the jump meant to the team…

• 31 July

Team assemble in Ottawa. All appreciate value of 12 oz hamburger and cold beer. Going to be on expedition rations for next 5 weeks. Fly to Iqaluit. Meet pilot who will be doing to the air drop. Total dude. Cowboy boots and laid back grin. 14 seat twin otter aircraft not available. Instead we got a 26 seat DC3! Iconic and very cool plane.
Asked if we could drop in too, pilot was well up for it! He needs to check with boss.
Oh god come on give us permission! Fly to Pangnirtung. Got to round up all the gear we shipped out then organise and pack every single thing 7 people need to climb and film a big wall in the arctic over next 4 weeks into 16 parachute loads.  Has to be ready by 11am tomorrow.

Stressful.

• 1 August

Heavy low cloud! Drop maybe off! Called and postponed plane arrival until 3pm. Stanley did amazing job of rigging webbing harnesses and parachutes to the 10 barrels, 4 double rucksack, and 2 big haul bag loads! We haven't tested this system! I hope it works! Weather clears, Plane arrives - we got permission to jump! Oh my goodness - we are about to drop on to a glacier 50 miles into the Arctic wilderness with a months worth of supplies and toys. EPIC! Insane flight up in one of most spectacular terrain imaginable. Drop seemed to work perfectly right in front of W face Asgard.
Climbed to 5200 feet and Carlos, Stanley and I jumped out into the most incredible skydive of our lives. After landing safely it suddenly dawns on us where we are and how alone!

• 2 August

Perfect weather. 15 C in Sun and no wind - however cold in shade. Wasn't expecting to have to hike but one of haul bags didn't stick the drop. Need more climbing gear - have in Pang. Must get to Summit Lake shelter to radio others to bring more gear. Epic glacial run and death morraine dash. Scenery on unimaginable scale, beautiful. Radio broken! Bivi.

• 3 August

Continue down valley. Met guys at rope across river. Informed them of the news. Al and Ian up with us - Chris and Jas give your loads and back to Pang for more, sorry boys. They burn down light. We hike up heavy for 10 hours. Al and Ian did really well.

• 4 August

Cross half hour creek. Was waist deep and terrifying on way down other day but thank god today early it's half a deep and pretty easy. Long hike. Push hard and make it to Base Camp 2 am. Done a 4 day hike in last 2. Tired.

• 5 August

Rest and organise camp. Almost everything made it. Put some work into Morrain on glacier and now have awesome camp with tent platforms, huge stone kitchen and Thrown - Caribuo antlers and all. Water right there and epic view Of NW face of N tower and W face of South Tower Asgard. Looks way different to photos. Almost no snow. Lots of rock fall. Not great.

• 6 August

Good weather. Inspect wall with telescope. Huge rock fall last night right down possible approach to NW face. Shocking amount of debris everywhere. Been very warm. Hopefully cool down a bit and stablize? Running the guantlet once is scary but ferrying loads multiple times in a rockfall zone is starting to ask for it. Very cold in shade. Perhaps 20 degrees difference from sun. NW face in shade all day. Beautiful wall but gonna be freezing - hard to free climb. W face get lots of Sun and will be sweet but approach looks even worse. Nasty serac filled coulior. Cause for concern. Need to assess options.

• 7 August

Decide to blast Scott route with Carlos and Stanley. Get our bearings and check out access to summit, approach, descent options etc. Brilliant climb. Easy for 2500 feet then about a 1000 feet of HVS with a couple of tricky wide cracks right at top. 6 casual hours. Super fast descent. Another epic day. Great warm up and motivation boost. That’s the fun out of the way, now time to focus on some suffering?

• 8 August

Turner Glacier, Mount Asgard. Didn't hydrate properly yesterday. Feeling it today. Good weather. All need to rest. Chris and Jas still not here yet. They should arrive today, if not we'll go down tomorrow and meet them. Less rock fall activity but still a tough decision that needs to be made soon. Is it safe enough to attempt one of these amazing walls? Which one? Must give it some serious thought. We are online! An amazing adventure so far. Lots of success and lots of problems!
Resting today

Leo Houlding is rapidly building a reputation as the world’s premier adventure climber.  Still in his 20s, he has already set the climbing scene alight with bold ascents, outrageous stunts and ambitious firsts around the globe.  Leo recently completed a major film shoot that saw him reach the top of Everest for the soon to be released drama documentary, The Wildest Dream.  He is now focusing on his next big adventure - the Asgard Project.

A 1400 metres high tower of granite, Mount Asgard is located in a remote glacial region of Baffin Island in Arctic Canada.  Leo’s objective – over two weeks, to plan and complete the first free ascent and flying descent of the north west face.  Achieving this feat will be right at the cutting edge of climbing and adventure.

Every aspect of the Asgard Project will be captured in high definition by award winning film maker Alastair Lee.  Collaborating as a climbing and filming team, Leo and Alastair are determined to both produce a groundbreaking film and achieve an outstanding climbing first.  To make all of this possible, they are being given substantial support by Leo’s main sponsor, Berghaus, and leading mobile communications company Nokia.  A third key member of the project team is another Berghaus sponsored climber, Carlos Suarez, from Spain.  Carlos has known Leo for several years and shares his passion for bold climbing and airborne adventures.

Preparations for Asgard are well underway and Leo has already completed three crucial training expeditions, to Riglos in Spain, Brento in Italy and the world famous Yosemite National Park in the USA.  On each trip, Leo and climbing partners have tackled major big walls and tested and refined the techniques that will make the difference between failure and success on Asgard.

As well as adapting climbing methods and improving his fitness, Leo has been testing an advanced lightweight wing-suit that he plans to use for the descent from the summit of Asgard.  He has also been supplied with some prototypes of new Berghaus products and will be putting them to the test throughout the year.  Every element of the project has to work at an optimum level if there is going to be any chance of Leo achieving his goal.  He’s pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the world of big wall climbing and, in doing so, he’s increasing the risk of failure, or worse.

Leo Houlding comments:
"For me, this is the greatest challenge I have set myself to date.  I’ve been to the top of the world, suffered career threatening injury and completed some amazing adventures, but the Asgard Project is going to test me more than anything that has gone before.  To succeed, everyone in the team will have to be at the very top of their game from start to finish and I’m under no illusions that this is going to be extra dangerous.

The style of climbing, the equipment we are using, the nature of the descent and the speed at which we will be doing everything – all of those factors add to the risk.  Not only that, but the region is polar bear territory, so we’ll have to make sure we stay off their menu, which is an added worry.  But the training has gone really well so far and I can’t wait to get started on the main objective.”

Leo, Alastair, Carlos and the team will head to Asgard during August and regular progress updates will be appearing on www.theasgardproject.com throughout the expedition.

Berghaus athletes Leo Houlding, Sir Chris Bonington, and Mick Fowler are among the greatest living adventurers, according to national newspaper the Telegraph.

The three athletes were acknowledged in the Telegraph’s ‘top 20 great British adventurers’, in recognition of the new boundaries they have set, and genuine firsts they have achieved in their respective careers. 

Climbing protégé Leo Houlding takes eighth place within the top ten.  Leo is cited as ‘a pioneer of para-alpinism – climbing huge rock faces then BASE jumping back down again’. Leo goes on to describe the sport as ‘…bloody dangerous and highly addictive.’

Sir Chris takes second place on the list of leading adventurers.  Described as ‘arguably the most prolific climber of the world’, his first ascents and exploration of unknown mountains has secured his place among the elite.

We’re sure that Leo’s expedition to climb Mount Asgard will help confirm his as a truly great British adventurer.

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