On July 13, brothers Niall and Finn McCann summited Mount Asgard on Canada’s Baffin Island, fulfilling a dream two decades in the making.
The British pair climbed the iconic mountain via the original 1953 Swiss route in a grueling 15-hour push. They were retracing the path explored during an expedition led by their grandfather, Patrick Douglas Baird. Baird, who led the 1953 Arctic Institute of North America expedition, named Asgard after the Norse mythological realm but never summited it himself.
Summit bivouac on Mount Asgard. Photo: Finn and Niall McCann
“It was wonderfully emotional,” Niall McCann shared on Instagram. “Standing on top of the mountain our grandfather named was surreal and deeply happy.”
The brothers spent a magical 10 hours bivouacked on the summit, soaking in 360˚ views of jagged peaks and glaciers before their 11-hour descent back to camp.
Their adventure continued beyond Asgard. After the summit, the McCanns embarked on a five-day mini-expedition around the Turner Glacier, climbing an unnamed 1,744m peak near Mount Loki.
Mount Asgard shrouded in mist. Photo: Finn and Niall McCann
The McCann brothers spent over three weeks in the remote Weasel Valley, which Niall described as “Yosemite in an Arctic alpine setting,” with rugged peaks, hanging glaciers, and vibrant wildlife like lemmings and weasels.
“It’s been a privilege,” Niall McCann wrote.
The McCann Brothers on the summit of the unnamed peak, and Mount Asgard in the background. Photo: Finn and Niall McCann
