Deep in the Flower Valley: Climbing the Pyramid mountain

I woke up with joy this late Saturday in October. It was supposed to be the only cloudy day out of two weeks of sunny weather, so I hadn’t planned to do a long hike but when I got up and looked out of the window, I was pleasantly surprised. The sun was shining beautifully and thus, it was time for a long hike! There was still one mountain in close proximity to Tasiilaq that I hadn’t climbed yet, Mt. Pyramid (‘Pyramiden’) at 630 meters, located deep in the Flower Valley. It was the perfect day to conquer this mountain!

I got to the entrance of the Flower Valley at 11.10 AM, ready to start the hike to the foot of the mountain. There was more snow than the last time I was in the valley, so it was great to see how the landscapes had changed. The wind was completely still, so there were no sounds apart from a few ravens and the calming sound of two small waterfalls.

I followed the marked trail to the two waterfalls, and went off-trail at the second waterfall to make my way to the mountain. I worked my way around a big lake to the northeast side of the mountain which looked like the easiest side to climb up, although all sides looked rather steep.

I got to the foot of the mountain at 12.30 PM. It was a steep upwards climb and the fresh snow and ice underneath made it very slippery. But apart from that, it was surprisingly easy. There was no trail to follow (at least not one I could locate), but I could see the summit at all times, so I just took what seemed like the easiest route.

Once I got to the top of the last ridge before the summit, it was only 13.30 PM, so it had only taken me an hour from when I began climbing up. I took a small break there, but the sun was behind the mountain so it soon got too cold, and I was on my way up again!

Another steep and slippery climb and I was on the summit ridge at 2 PM! It was so lovely to finally have the sun shining on me again!

I stayed for a while to enjoy the incredibly beautiful view of a tiny Tasiilaq surrounded by mountains, valleys, lakes and ocean, before attempting the final climb to the actual summit.

The easy-ish climb up did not prepare me for what came next, not at all. The summit climb was treacherous. I had to climb very carefully and mind not to slip as I had steep edges on both sides and only a narrow slice of ridge to walk on. I was glad I’d taken some climbing lessons in Nuuk last year as those skills helped me tremendously! I finally reached the summit at 2.25 PM, just under two hours after I started climbing up.

The Pyramid is not a mountain I plan on climbing again while I’m here as more snow will make it even more dangerous, but a summer climb would probably be easier. However, I don’t recommend climbing this mountain alone, unless you’re a seasoned climber. It’s the most difficult of the three mountains in close proximity to Tasiilaq, that’s for sure.

The view was definitely worth every effort though as I could see as far as to the Sermilik Icefjord and the Greenlandic ice sheet! It had gotten more cloudy by the time I got up to the summit, but the soft pastel colours of the sky were beautiful, and the wind was still amazingly calm.

I should’ve started going down after that, but I just couldn’t help my curiosity… I had to climb the other summit ridges just to get a different perspective of the views! Thankfully, they weren’t as tough to climb as feared although I couldn’t get onto the last one as it was separated by two steep gorges. That would’ve been too risky!

I took a little break to eat something before heading back down. I put the camera in my bag and not around my neck where it usually hangs as it was going to be a treacherous descend!

It took me half an hour just to get down from the  summit as it was so steep and slippery. I had to crawl on my back most of the way. The rest of the way down was fine, I just followed my own footsteps in the snow. Before I got down, it had gotten very cloudy and dark so I was afraid it would begin to rain or snow before I was safely down, but thankfully it didn’t.

When I got back to the Flower Valley, I turned and walked the other direction as I wanted to visit my favourite little puppies, Ayla and Qimo, on the way home. I spent as many precious moments with these two as possible, as I truly loved them. Unfortunately, they both passed away on November 5th, both unexpectedly. But they made my time here so much better, and I will never forget that.

At 5.15 PM, I was back in town, exhausted after a long day in the mountains. It had taken me six hours to climb this mountain including the hike to and from – not bad at all, especially considering the conditions!