The 2009 expedition to East Greenland was a month‑long, self‑supported Arctic mountaineering and exploration project undertaken by four students. After ten months of planning, the team departed the UK in August with the aim of making first ascents in the unexplored north‑west region of Renland, a remote peninsula in Scoresby Sund.
The expedition faced immediate logistical setbacks: all freighted equipment and food failed to arrive in Greenland, forcing the team to camp in an airport hangar for several days while resolving the issue. With temporary tents loaned by locals, they spent a week trekking in Liverpool Land before their freight finally arrived and they could charter boats 250km up the fjord to Renland.
After establishing base camp near two major glaciers, the team explored the surrounding valleys and glacier systems, navigating complex melt‑water channels, broken ice, and loose moraine. Over three weeks they completed three first ascents—Muzzle Peak (1636m), Dojo (1950m), and Breech Point (1810m)—as well as a reconnaissance ascent of the ice cap to 2110m. Additional attempted climbs were curtailed by avalanche risk and late‑season unconsolidated snow. The terrain involved mixed scree, steep snowfields, dry glaciers, and occasional abseils to escape broken ice.
Scientific work formed a secondary objective. The team conducted botanical surveys, identifying 22 species of flowering plants, including rare Draba aurea and high‑altitude Papaver radicatum. Geological observations documented gneisses, migmatites, and Caledonian‑age intrusions characteristic of the region’s complex tectonic history. Wildlife encountered included musk ox, Arctic hare, geese, and—on the final day—a polar bear near Constable Point.