TOUCH THE MONOLITH, MONKEY BOY

GIBBS/ CLARK FJORD, BAFFIN ISLAND, NUNAVUT, CANADA

May-June 2000

Celebrating the Millennium a Year Early Along With Every One Else

We're back.

Stay tuned here for trip reports and photos from the Monkey Boys. The short version is that we had a good time, are still speaking to each other, didn't get into any serious gunplay, but didn't summit for various reasons. Among them, the line we picked was big, long, north-facing, cold, had a serious approach, and we didn't bring enough drill bits. The other stuff we could deal with, but down to brass tacks, the route we chose required more drilling than we brought equipment for.

But hey, we didn't get eaten by polar bears either.

It was an educational experience, and planning and carrying out an expedition of this scale was worth it in itself. And the Arctic is a wonderful, spectacular, bleak, and challenging place to be, so well worth it to just go there. We climbed a bit also.

Check back here for trip reports and photos. I'll post a notice to rec.climbing when things start showing up here. Of course, we still have t-shirts for sale...

Thanks to the people at the companies below who helped us out! And thanks to all the individuals who helped us out, got us stuff, made things easier, put up with us, offered encouragement, a place to stay (Thanks Al, Diana, Dennis, Alana, Simon, Tim Horton and all the other super-nice Ottawans!), bought T-shirts, and those who simply wished us well.
Cheers,
The Monkey Boys

The bozos go to Baffin! Guns, booze, bears, and maybe even a little scary climbing. Who could ask for a better way to start the new millennium?

Late Breaking News! Check out Eric George's updated climbing CV. He's been tearing it up in the Valley, putting up new routes, setting speed records.

The goal:	Two unclimbed granite monoliths in the Gibbs/Clark Fjord region of Baffin Island.	Want to help us out? Click on the logo.
The team:	Eric Coomer | Eric George | Brent Ware
Just exactly where is Baffin Island? I get asked that quite a bit. Well, it's due north of Montreal, and due south of the magnetic North Pole. Above the Arctic Circle, and just left of Greenland. It was discovered (in the usual sense of "discover" meaning "first sighted by a European") by Sir Martin Frobisher and Lord Alfred Potrezbie (I'm making this last up, but Frobisher, really?) whilst looking for the non-existent Northwest Passage in 1576-78 (!?! Yep, those dudes were freezing their butts of less than 100 years after Columbus broke the big secret).
Maps	Big Map O' Canada | Northwest Territories | Baffin Island | National Atlas of Canada | Baffin Island
Weather	Nunavut | Iqaluit | Clyde River | Pond Inlet
Information	Nunavut Handbook | Nunavut News | Qullikkut Guides | First Air
Timetable
October 1	Polartec grant app due
December 1	Mugs Stump Grant app due
January 2000	Royal Canadien Police to get letter for bringing guns into the country (867) 924-6200
	call Alcohol education committee for a permit so that us alcoholics can bring mega booze into artic places to sooth the mental fuck we are sure to encounter. (867)924-6339
Jan/Feb	start buying gear, plane tickets, etc., catch some freshies, start whacking sic ice and mixed routes, and get stoked for the wild ride to come.
March 1	Shipton/Tillman Grant app due. AAC grant due.
April	we're gettin' close....the dreams are becoming way too intense, final touches and logistics.
April 28	We're off. Leave the real jobs, girlfriends, wives, and dogs behind, head up to Clyde River, scattering cash and hangovers along the way.
May 1	We're on the ice, popping wheelies on the komatiks, headed for points unknown (to us, anyway).
May/June	We're there, we're climbing, fighting off bears, fighting off each other, doing the total epic thing.
June 22-24	We get picked up by Qullikkut, or we start eyeing each other for calories, as the sea ice starts to break up underneath our feet. I start sleeping with a loaded gun.
June 28	Back to warmer climes, telling lies and tall tales.

Baffin Island trip reports	North Face of Walker Citadel | Mitrovich, Davis, Kannier
Monkey Boy trip reports	Second ascent of Disorderly Conduct, El Cap

What's it like there right now?

References
Climbing No 147 pg 98
Climbing No 158 pg 94
Climbing No 169 pg 84
Climbing No 174 pg 56
American Alpine Journal No 67 pg 58
American Alpine Journal No 70 pg 113
American Alpine Journal No 71 pg 66
American Alpine Journal No 72 pg 146
American Alpine Journal No 73 pg 30
Personal communications Warren Hollinger
Personal communications Russ Mitrovitch
Personal communications Lou Bartell
Personal communications Rick Sylvester
Personal communications Aimee Aucoin
Personal communications Mark Synott
Personal communications Wally Barker