I'm from the southeastern US and I feel the same way. When I was a kid in school I used to stare at those places on the world map and wonder what they were like. KZfaq started when I was a college student and I'm so glad it's grown to the point that we can see these places.

Thankyou both so much - it certainly took a lot of work filming it!

I've been there. It's very strange.

Strange yet amazing

He he! You ARE SO SILLY.

When i go climbing i hope for this. Its not the same with other people running around. Only my team and nature

Try it without a guide.

Asgard has two summits, the North Tower and the slightly lower South Tower. This is on the East Face of the North Tower, and is normally known as the Scott Route. It was first climbed in 1972 by Doug Scott [UK], Paul 'Tut' Braithwaite [UK], Paul Nunn [UK] and Dennis Hennek [US]; the name order here is as it appears in the guidebook. Although the other three all played their full part in the ascent - and Hennek, a seasoned Yosemite climber thence well-versed in such terrain, led the crux offwidth/squeeze - Doug Scott was the principal driving force behind this trip and a larger expedition the previous year; he effectively put Baffin on the map as a contemporary climbing destination, and it's entirely appropriate that this iconic route - a modern classic - should bear his name. As far as I'm aware the only climbing guidebook yet produced for the area is Mark Synnott's 2008 edition 'Baffin Island'. It's been out of print for some years and I've been unable to gather from the Calgary publishers, Rocky Mountain Books, whether there are any plans for a reprint or new edition. You may, of course, be able to pick up a secondhand copy from one of the internet suppliers. The given grade therein is VI 5.9 A1. It seems, though, that the A1 bit referred to the odd pull on a nut or a piton - as one might well have done in 1972 on an alpine rock route out of expediency rather than absolute need - rather than any mandatory section of A1 nailing; in good conditions, at least, the latter simply doesn't exist on the route. I suspect that Hennek actually free-climbed the crux pitch, and that 5.9 was the grade that he gave it; there are plenty of desperate 5.9 wide cracks in Yosemite and elsewhere! The guidebook suggests 5.11 for this pitch - but that, even as a modern grade, seems a bit OTT; my assessment would probably be 5.10b. The pitch would have originally deserved the 'R' suffix due to its runout nature, but some bolts installed later in the right wall would since have negated that. Overall, of course, the route is a Long Alpine Rock Climb requiring one or two days, rather than a Big Wall - so more like a V than a VI.

Aslak Utheim Flem the native people who live there.

@@gregcushing1716 I find it unlikely that the Inuit of Baffin Island would name that particular peak after a Norse realm of the gods....more likely a Scandinavian explorer who stumbled across it while being guided by the local Inuit. The Inuit name for the peak is Sivanitirutinguak.

The Arctic Institute of North America (AINA) expedition in 1961 gave the mountains their current names, not any Inuk. They chose names from Norse mythology because the Vikings led by Erik The Red likely sailed past Baffin Island ~1,000 years ago. [The Vinland Sagas - Penguin Books] In late August 1989 me, my wife and my best friend spent two weeks backpacking in AUYUITTUQ NATIONAL PARK (then Reserve). We carried ~100 kg between the three of us. We saw Mt. Asgard and Mt. Thor but we weren't doing any climbing, just scrambling over a few glaciers. I rate the scenery second only to the Rocky Mountains, though I've yet to visit Yukon and the St. Elias range with Canada's highest peak, Mt. Logan at 5,959 meters. AUYUITTUQ translates from Inuktitut as "The Land That Never Melts". Sadly the Arctic is now warming faster than any other region on Earth and the ice caps and sheets are melting like never before in human history. During the heat waves of 2019 Greenland lost ~15 billion litres of water in one day! As Steve says in the video, crossing the many meltwater streams flowing off the glaciers and crossing the glaciers themselves are very challenging aspects of any hike up there. However I have a serious question about his climb: Why didn't you bring more water with you? You know you're going to be physically stressed and you're in a desert. Dehydration can often cause muscle cramps and even hallucinations. You really don't want your leg muscles cramping on a 5.10 route. It's a wild and harsh environment, with the possibility of rapid weather changes in a matter of hours, and no nearby search and rescue should something go wrong. Mountain Search and Rescue in Canada fly out of Edmonton, Alberta. They'll come as quickly and safely as they can, but you might have to wait a few days for help to arrive 😎.

Canada as a whole has a population of 37million, with a population density of 4/sq mile. Baffin Island on its own has approximately 11,000, with a population density of 0.05/sq mile. And Auyuittuq National Park during our ascent had THREE people in it. In over 8000 square miles. That's about the size of Israel. Suggesting I shouldn't mention the unspoilt wilderness in one of the world's most perfect wilderness areas...

@@SteveBackshallOfficial Just found it funny how you mention it, being a Canadian. It's pretty standard to experience unspoiled wilderness up here, you don't have to go to Baffin island, you just head out into the bush, we're surrounded by it.

Fer Das Führer I mean, no, we’re bigger than the US and even the US isn’t at all filled up, and it holds 350m, btw, we kinda need migrant workers as our population is slowing down from childbirth and in order to keep up our economy we’re forced to hire migrants

@@goldeviolets4314 No we don't need workers. That's just a capitalist lie perpetrated by banks so that they can import more consumers that can be chained as debt slaves for life, as well as lowering wages for native workers. Quality of life is more important than GDP.

@@alligatorsnappingturtle9907 finally some sense! Some truth. The global population must disentangle itself from the superbanking system. It’s fueling corporatocracy and ruining quality of life for billions for the excess of the hundreds. The masses will have their way and their day soon.

The route climbs the left side of the east face of Asgard's North Tower, finishing up the narrow headwall at the top, and is generally known as The Scott Route. Originally climbed [in 1972] in about 40 pitches, modern longer ropes - and probably a bit of simul-climbing - seem to get it down to perhaps about 25. A realistic YDS/NCCS rating nowadays would be V 5.10; originally it arguably deserved the 'R' suffix in view of the once runout nature of the crux offwidth/chimney pitch, but sadly - as can just be seen in the video - it has since been tamed somewhat by the addition of bolts.