Deconstructing Jenga: Hard New Route on Baffin’s Great Cross Pillar

Americans, David Allfrey and Cheyne Lempe, have climbed a new route on Baffin Island at the start of what promises to be a busy summer on Baffin Island.

Allfrey and Lempe are two of America’s strongest big wall climbers. During May, the pair climbed a new route on Great Cross Pillar in the Sam Ford Fjord on Baffin Island, and called it Deconstructing Jenga VI 5.9+ A3+, and took over 10 days to climb it.

“It had everything from loose rock and frozen walls of kitty litter to off-widths and chimneys,” wrote Allfrey on his Facebook page. “But, it also had immaculate and amazing golden granite to dream of for days.”

They climbed 18 pitches over 1,000 metres of vertical ground. After their new route, they began to climb another. After climbing about 400 metres, Allfrey was injured from a falling rock.

While on the large talus ledge 1,200 feet (400 metres) up the route at Camp One,” wrote Allfrey on his Facebook page, “we dislodged a block during high wind. The rock fell about 40 feet (12 metres) and hit me in the lower back.

“Cheyne, who had been above at the belay, rappelled down to me in moments, we did a quick assessment and discussed our options. I didn’t appear to be broken or seriously hurt so we gathered our things and fixed our ropes to the ground.”

They left Baffin Island and two days later were home in Las Vegas. “It was a lucky situation but we handled it well and had the best trip ever,” Allfrey finished his Facebook post with. “I really just wanted to let everyone know we are home safe and had a great trip. Never take anything for granted out there and always enjoy the sweetness of life”

There are a number of other big wall routes on Great Cross Pillar including Crossfire VI 5.10 A4 by Warren Hollinger and Mark Synott; Tunuk VI 5.11 A4 by Russel Mitrovich and Lou Bartell; and Non-Conceptual Time VI 5.11 A3+ by Sean Leary and Aimee Aucoin.

– Follow David Allfrey on his Instagram @daveallfrey or his website here. And, Cheyne Lempe’s Instagram is @cheynelempe and his website is here.