Stauning Alps

This article is about the mountain system. For the highest point, see Dansketinden.
Stauning Alps
Stauning Alper

One of the massive ranges at the southern end of the Stauning Alps viewed from the Nordvestfjord
Highest point
Peak Dansketinden
Elevation 2,842 m (9,324 ft)
Dimensions
Length 120 km (75 mi) N/S
Width 50 km (31 mi) E/W
Area 6,000 km²
Geography
Country Greenland
Range coordinates 72°N 25°W / 72°N 25°W / 72; -25Coordinates: 72°N 25°W / 72°N 25°W / 72; -25

The Stauning Alps (Danish: Stauning Alper)[1] are a mountain range system in Scoresby Land, King Christian X Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively the Stauning Alps are part of the Northeast Greenland National Park zone.

Although it had been partly mapped earlier, the range was first thoroughly surveyed and mapped in 1932 by Lauge Koch during aerial surveys made during the 1931–34 Three-year Expedition to East Greenland. The Stauning Alps were named after Danish politician Thorvald Stauning (1873–1942) who had helped to finance expeditions to east Greenland by Danes.[2]

Geography

The Stauning Alps are bound to the north by the King Oscar Fjord and its Segelsällskapets branch, to the east by the Skel Valley, Schuchert Flod River and the Holger Danske Briller lakes, to the west by the Alpefjord —a branch of the Segelsällskapets— and the Borgbjerg Glacier, and to the south by a part of the Nordvestfjord, the NW branch of the Scoresby Sound.

The range is very rugged with numerous high rocky peaks. The mountains are made up of granite, harder in the northern than in the southern subranges. Therefore, The mountains in the north of the Stauning Alps are generally more craggy, while those in the south are more eroded and have a smoother appearance.[3]

The Murchison Range (Murchinson Bjerge) is a subrange located in the northwestern area of the Stauning Alps. The Alliance Col is a 2,250 m high mountain pass named by the 1992 Scottish Stauning Alps Expedition.[2]

The whole area of the range is an uninhabited, desolate mountainous expanse. The nearest settlement is Ittoqqortoormiit and the nearest airfields are Nerlerit Inaat Airport at Constable Point to the east and Mestersvig to the north.[4] Access to the range requires a special permit.[5]

Mountains

The Stauning Alps have a big concentration of mountains higher than 2,700 metres (8,860 ft). The highest point is Dansketinden (2,842 m). Other noteworthy peaks[2] are:

  • Norsketinden (2,797 m)
  • Snetoppen (2,763 m)
  • Korsspids (2,751 m)
  • Sefström Tinde (2,714 m)
  • Bosigran (2,700 m)
  • Berggeistspids (2,615 m)
  • An Caisteal (2,614 m)
  • Frihedstinde (2,610 m)
  • Doseths Fjell (2,590 m)
  • Duart Borg (2,583 m)
  • Dresdner Spids (2,580 m)
  • Aliertinde (2,580 m)
  • Bolværket (2,571 m)
  • Daehlis Fjell (2,570 m)
  • Berchtesgadener Tinde (2,560 m)
  • Drillinge (2,560 m), mountain with three conspicuous granite pinnacles
  • Archangel Peak (2,558 m)
  • Borgbjergtinde (2,546 m)
  • Diannsketinden (2,532 m)
  • Dunottar Bjerg (2,524 m)
  • Ebensbjerge (2,510 m)
  • D. Eglin Spire (2,500 m)
  • Berchtesgadener Kopf (2,499 m)
  • Cicero (2,496 m)
  • Czoks Topp (2,490 m)
  • Annsketinde (2,460 m)
  • Cold Shoulder (2,450 m)
  • Crescent Tind (2,449 m)
  • Froggies Beaut (2,446 m)
  • Cordulaspids (2,430 m)
  • Eugen-Heinz Tinde (2,415)
  • Eckturm (2,413)
  • Emmanuel Fjeld (2,400 m)
  • Borgbjergkamm, an up to 2,400 m high ridge
  • Bacchustinde (2,397 m)
  • Downing Fjeld (2,395 m)
  • Alfred Wegener Bjerg (2,394 m)
  • Augsburger Spids (2,385 m)
  • Christinabjerg (2,350 m)
  • Drumglas (2,330 m)
  • Albert Peak (2,300 m)
  • Caius Fjeld (2,280 m), sharp rock summits
  • Beaufort Tinde (2,277 m), rock spire
  • Elisabethsminde (2,260 m)
  • Bonar Bjerg (2,241 m)
  • Eckhorn (2,230 m)
  • Clare Fjeld (2,220 m)
  • Dreverspids (2,210 m)
  • Baerenzahn (2,209 m)
  • Blair Peak (2,200 m)
  • Bøygen (2,199 m)
  • Glamis Borg (2,187 m)
  • Bavariaspitze (2,180 m)
  • Boulderbjerg (2,177 m)
  • Diamond Peak (2,150 m)
  • Achnacarry Spids (2,130 m)
  • Edinburgh (2,100 m)
  • Dollar (2,085 m)
  • Culross (2,067 m)
  • Drumglas Beag (2,060 m)
  • Daedalus (2,040 m)
  • Caerleon (2,028 m)
  • Eros (2,018 m)
  • Eilan Donan (1,992 m), rock summit[4]
  • First Point of Aries (1,944 m)
  • Beaumaris Fjeld (1,900 m)
  • Dunvegan Toppene (1,894 m)
  • Bastille Peak (1,870 m)
  • Blackwall (1,850 m)
  • Elephant (1,830 m)
  • Castle (1,830 m)
  • Elsinore Fjeld (1,829 m)
  • Dinosaur (1,794 m), highest summit of an impressive row of rocky peaks in the southern zone
  • Arundel Gate (1,770 m)
  • Bow (1,700 m)
  • Frique Peak (1,690 m)
  • Akselborg (1,685 m)
  • Bear Peak (1,598 m)
  • Blåhorn (1,589 m)
  • Aztekerborgen (1,286 m)

Glaciers

Practically all the valleys in the Stauning Alps are filled by active glaciers that mostly flow towards the North, East or South. Generally those glaciers flowing towards the west are steep and have dangerous icefalls with deep crevasses.[3]

Some of the glaciers in the range system are very large, such as the Spaerre Glacier (Spærregletscher) and Sefstrøm Glacier to the west, the Skjoldungebrae to the north and the Bersaerkerbrae (Bersærkerbræ) to the east.[1] Other important glaciers in the Stauning Alps are:

  • Aries Glacier
  • Bacchus Glacier
  • Beaumaris Glacier
  • Bjørnbo Glacier
  • Borgbjerg Glacier
  • Canta Brae
  • Cavendish Glacier
  • Colosseum Glacier
  • Duart Glacier
  • Dunottar Glacier
  • Edinbrae
  • Essemmceebrae
  • Fangsthyttegletscher
  • Fimbulbreen
  • Fleskesvoren (Icefall)
  • Flødegletscher
  • Frihedsgletscher
  • Gannochy Glacier
  • Gully Glacier
  • Hecate Glacier
  • Jupiter Glacier
  • Kishmul Glacier
  • Krabbe Glacier
  • Linné Glacier
  • Mars Glacier
  • Mercurius Glacier
  • Neptunus Glacier (Løberen)
  • Orion Glacier
  • Oxford Glacier
  • Princess Glacier
  • Roslin Glacier
  • Sedgwick Glacier
  • Schuchert Glacier
  • Skel Glacier
  • Stor Glacier
  • Triton Glacier
  • Viking Glacier

Climate

The Stauning Alps lie in the high Arctic zone. Polar climate prevails in the area of the range, the average annual temperature in the area being -16 °C . The warmest month is July when the average temperature rises to -2 °C and the coldest is January with -21 °C.[6]

Climbing history

There is almost full documentation of climbing in the Stauning Alps by the successive expeditions having visited the mountain system. Most of the available climbing reports have either been published or deposited in the archives of the Danish Polar Center (DPC), the Royal Geographical Society of London (RGS) or the British Mountaineering Council (BMC).[2]

Dansketinden, the highest point of the Stauning Alps was first climbed by Swiss mountaineers John Haller (1927–1984), Wolfgang Diehl (1908–1990) and Fritz Schwarzenbach on 5 August 1954.[7] The second ascent was made by a 1964 Italian expedition led by Guido Monzino (1928 – 1988).[2]

Bibliography

  • Haller, J. 1958: Der ‘Zentrale Metamorphe Komplex’ von NE-Grönland. Part 2. Die geologische Karte der Staunings Alper und des Forsblads Fjordes. Meddelelser om Grønland 154(3), 153 pp.
  • Halliday, G. 1962: Northern Stauning Alps. American Alpine Journal 1962, 251–252.
  • Herligkoffer, K.M. 1967: Bergsteigen in der Arktis. Deutsche Grönland-Expedition 1966 in die Staunings-Alpen. Berge der Welt l6, 129–145.
  • Hunt, J. & Sugden, J. 1962: An expedition to the Staunings Alper, Scoresby Land. Geographical Journal 128, 39–48.
  • Key, M.[H.] 1964: Stauning Alps, 1963. Exploration Review (Imperial College, London) 5, 28–31.
  • Meinherz, P. 1965: Grönland Expedition des Akademischen Alpenclubs Zürich in die Stauningsalpen. Die Alpen 41, 225–232.
  • Miller, K.J. 1976: Traverse of the Staunings Alps. Alpine Journal 81, 143–153.
  • Peden, J. 1993: Scottish Staunings Alper. American Alpine Journal 1993, 168 only.
  • Pinkerton, H. 1972: Staunings Alper. American Alpine Journal 1972, 152–153.
  • Read, C. 2002: Staunings Alps, Great Cumbrae Glacier, first ascents. American Alpine Journal 2002, 281 only.
  • Reid, S. 1997: Staunings Alper, various ascents. American Alpine Journal 1997, 219–221.
  • Rotovnik, D. 1988: Stauning Alper. American Alpine Journal 1988, 154 only.
  • Rotovnik, D. 1991: Staunings Alper. American Alpine Journal 1991, 189 only.
  • Slesser, M. 1964a: Die Staunings-Alpen. Britische Ostgrönland Expeditionen 1958 und 1960. Berge der Welt 14, 1962/63, 197–235.
  • Slesser, M. 1964b: The Stauning Alps of eastern Greenland. The Mountain World 1962–63, 161–196.
  • Weinzierl, W. 1971: Trekant Basin, Staunings Alps, Northeast Greenland. American Alpine Journal. 1971, 395 only.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Stauning Alper". Mapcarta. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Catalogue of place names in northern East Greenland" (PDF). Geological Survey of Denmark. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 Colwyn Jones: Greenland Expedition 1996 (PDF; 2,7 MB), Expedition Report, Scottish Mountaineering Club, p. 8
  4. 1 2 Google Earth
  5. ↑ "Climbing and Mountaineering in Greenland". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "NASA Earth Observations Data Set Index". NASA. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Dansketinden". Anthony K. Higgins, Exploration history and place names of northern East Greenland. (Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 21, 2010). Copenhagen 2010, ISBN 978-87-7871-292-9. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
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