Jøkulkyrkja Mountain


Jøkulkyrkja Mountain, also known as Massiv Yakova Gakkelya, is a broad, ice-topped mountain with several radial rock spurs, standing east of Lunde Glacier in the Mühlig-Hofmann Mountains of Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica.
At elevation, it is the highest elevation in Queen Maud Land, and also the highest elevation within the claims of Norway. The mountain is located on the Princess Astrid Coast of the Norwegian Antarctic Territory. Håhellerskarvet,, is located to the southwest; the two peaks are separated by the 25-mile-long Lunde Glacier, which flows to the northwest.

Discovery and naming

Jøkulkyrkja Mountain was plotted from surveys and air photos by the Sixth Norwegian Antarctic Expedition and named Jøkulkyrkja. The first element is jøkul m 'small glacier', the last element is the finite form of kyrkje f 'church'..

Mountaineering significance

The first ascent of Jøkulkyrkja Mountain was in January 1994, by a team of 13 mountain climbers led by Ivar Tollefsen. The first woman to reach the top was Merete Asak, November 2010.