Epic New A4+ After 35 Days Alone on Baffin Island Wall
Marek Raganowicz is one of the world's most accomplished big wall aid climbers with several new routes to his name
Photo by: Marek Raganowicz
Polish big wall climber Marek Raganowicz just pulled off an audacious first ascent of 15 new pitches up to A4+ M5 on the north face of Polar Sun Arm in Kangiqtualuk Uqquqti (formerly Sam Ford Fiord) on Baffin Island.
He topped out after 35 days of climbing alone and called his new line MikroKozmik Variations, which climbs a total of 26 pitches to the summit. The upper 11 pitches finish up Superbalance, which Raganowicz made the first ascent of with Marcin Tomaszewski back in 2012.
After returning to civilization on a skidoo, Raganowicz said, “I spent 35 lonely days, during which I got to know the limits of my abilities in many aspects. I mean climbing, survival and the adaptation to the madness of nature.”
In 2013, he and partner Marcin Tomaszewski climbed a 46-pitch new route up Great Trango Tower in the Karakorum called Bushido. The high-altitude grade-VII route came in at 5.11a A4. In 2016, Raganowicz made the second ascent, solo, of a bold A5 on El Capitan called Plastic Surgery Disaster. In 2017, he became the first climber to solo Norway’s Troll Wall in winter over 16 days. Also that year, he made the first ascent, solo, of MantraMandal, a grade-VI 450-metre A3+ up the east face of Ship’s Prow on Scott Island over 17 days.
Superbalance FA
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