One of 11 teams to receive a BMC Expedition Award in 2008, the Queens University Belfast Mountaineering Club Expedition to Ren Land in East Greenland, comprised Anthony Garvey, Dave Leonard, Fred Maddelana, Jonathan McCloy, James McKevitt and Les Ross.

Ren Land forms part of the northern shores of Scoresby Sund, the largest fjord system in the World. Although there have been several well-documented scientific projects in the region, little is known of the relatively small climbing history until 2007, when Ren Land was invaded by a 50-strong West Lancashire County Scouts expedition that had a whale of a time making first ascents of 32 individual peaks in largely glorious weather.

The Irish were helicoptered from Constable Pynt to a base camp on the Edward Bailey Glacier. Quickly discovering that the snow was abysmal and there was no ice except on the glacier, the team climbed primarily rock routes, though they did make ski ascents of two previously unclimbed mountains: Queens Centenary Peak and the nearby Donal Deery, both a 32km journey from base camp.

Team members were relatively inexperienced and admit they didn't do enough reconnaissance at first: climbs turned out to be longer and more complex than they looked, and attempts at single-push ascents using the 24-hour daylight failed. Once they got into the swing of things and opted for multi-day alpine-style ascents, pushing as far as they could to a high bivouac on day one, going for the summit and back to the bivouac the following (long) day, and returning to base the next morning, they began to have more success. New routes included the Thumb III, an 800m rock route at Hard Severe 4b, an 800m couloir to an unnamed summit at PD, a 700m VS line up an unnamed ridge, and a long primarily rock route to the summit of President's Peak on Ten Finger Mountain. Descents were usually back down the route of ascent and a lot of rappel tat was needed.

The granitic rock here is generally solid and quite clean, the team finding bands of less desirable stuff on their routes to be short lived and, fortunately, quite easy. However, there are some amazing challenges in Ren Land, as proved by the West Lancashire Scouts, who brought back photos of huge rock walls and 'Trango-like' towers, some of which were estimated to be over 1,000m in height. There is huge scope for big wall climbing both here and on neighbouring Milne Land to the south. To date only one big wall route has been completed: on Milne Land by Japanese in 2007.

This Northern Irish expedition is a good example of the personal development that the BMC supports, with a young team climbing new routes in a largely unexplored area, coping with a wilderness experience, remaining friends and coming back safely.

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