Mount Thor
Mount Thor | |
---|---|
Thor Peak, Qaisualuk, Kigutinnguaq | |
Inuktitut) | |
Geography | |
Parent range | Baffin Mountains |
Topo map | NTS 26I11 Mount Asgard[2] |
Climbing | |
First ascent | Morton and Spitzer, 1965 |
Mount Thor, officially
The English naming of the mountain originates from Thor, the Norse thunder god.[7]
Geography
Mount Thor is part of the Baffin Mountains which in turn form part of the Arctic Cordillera mountain range.[1]
Geology
This mountain consists of solid granite. The rock making up this formation have been metamorphosed multiple times through earth's history, causing this granitic layer to be pushed through other layers. The age of the rock ranges from 570 million years to 3.5 billion years (Precambrian), making it some of the oldest rock on earth. [8]
The peak and vertical drop itself are a product of glacial erosion, carved over millennia by seasonal glacial activity through the Akshayuk Pass, on the rim of which this mountain sits. Like other glacial channels, this pass has the characteristic U-shape which gives the mountain its vertical drop[9]
Ascents
Donald Morton and Lyman Spitzer made the first recorded ascent of Mount Thor in 1965 during the Alpine Club of Canada expedition led by Pat Baird.[10]: 347 [11] Pat Baird also led the 1953 geophysical expedition during which Hans Weber, J. Rothlisberger and F. Schwarzenbach climbed the North Tower of Mount Asgard for the first time.
The first ascent of the west face was achieved by Earl Redfern, John Bagley, Eric Brand and Tom Bepler in 1985.
See also
- Trango Towers – the tallest near-vertical drop on Earth
- Cerro Torre
- Half Dome
References
- ^ a b c "Thor Peak". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
- ^ a b "Thor Peak". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
- ^ a b "Qairsualuk". ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑕ. inuktitutilinniaqta.com. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ISBN 978-3-030-35137-3. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ Wykes, Tim. "ᐸᓐᓂᖅᑑᖅ Pangnirtung" (PDF). ihti.ca/. Inuit Heritage Trust. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
ᒥ4.2 ᑭᒍᑎᙳᐊᖅ Kigutinnguaq Mountain Looks like a tooth, Mount Thor
- ^ "Mount Thor -The Greatest Vertical Drop on Earth!". The Daily Galaxy. March 9, 2010. Archived from the original on March 12, 2010. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
- ^ Jennings, Ken (10 June 2013). "Meet Canada's Mount Thor: The World's Steepest, Tallest Cliff". Conde Nast Traveler. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "The Earth Story - geologic blog".
- ^ "Mount Thor, Baffin Island post by Brian John".
- .
- ^ Morton, Donald C. (1966). "Mt. Asgard And Mt. Thor". Canadian Alpine Journal. 49: 42–48.
- ISSN 0045-7159
- ^ "Climber Bill Borger". Radio Canada. July 24, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
- ^ Hummel, Will (August 3, 2012), "New route on Baffin Island's Mount Thor", Rock and Ice, archived from the original on 2012-08-08, retrieved 2012-08-28
External links
- Above the Arctic Circle: Trekking across Canada's Baffin Island at the Wayback Machine (archived 2009-01-30) about Mt. Thor and other Akshayuk Pass features by writer Dave Levinthal