Free Climbing and Base Jumping: The Asgard Project

Leo Houlding has set himself a considerable challenge for 2009. The amazing NW wall of Mount Asgard onBaffin Island in Canada is yet to receive a free ascent. This August Leo plans to not only free this wall but then base jump from the summit.

Climbing the wall will take approximately two weeks and the summit is by no means a guaranteed outcome. The vagaries of the weather in this region have destroyed the best laid plans of many climbers. Not only the weather but also the difficulty of accessing Mount Asgard and the very challenging climbing to be found on the NW wall make this an ambitious adventure.

As if this all wasn’t enough however, after climbing the wall over two weeks and base jumping from it, Leo then plans to try the same feat in a day! This will be done with speed climbing techniques honed in Yosemite and the two week ‘rehearsal’ on the first free ascent of the NW wall of Asgard. This second speed ascent will be a considerable achievement in its own right.

Leo will be climbing with US climber Sean Leery and the team from Posing Productions who will be making a film of his efforts. The filming of two weeks on a big wall and the subsequent base jump is as ambitious as the climbing itself. It should make for amazing viewing.

In the run up to his attempt on Mount Asgard in August Leo will be visiting several destinations to train. Training phase one has just been completed with two fast ascents and base jumps at Riglos in the North of Spain. Next on the list is Monte Brento in Italy and after that Yosemite, the home of big wall climbing.

To read more about the recent ascents and jumps in Riglos visit

UK Climbing: Leo Houlding - Spanish Free Climbing

To find out more about the whole challenge including training, filming and preparation visit

UK Climbing: The Asgard Project

Posing Productions

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