Martin Hoff Ekroll (16 February 1865–15 May 1916) was a Norwegian merchant, mountaineer and Arctic explorer.
He was born in the village of
Skroven in the islands of
Lofoten
Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...
in
Nordland
Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...
, Norway. He operated a fishing station at
Kabelvåg
Kabelvåg is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. Kabelvåg lies about to the southwest of the town of Svolvær, the administ ...
on the island of
Austvågøya. In 1891 he published a plan for an expedition to the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...
(in german: Plan für eine Schlittenboot-Expedition nach dem Nordpol). He funded and organized an expedition to the island of
Edgeøya
Edgeøya (), occasionally anglicised as Edge Island, is a Norwegian island located in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago; with an area of , it is the third-largest island in this archipelago. An Arctic island, it forms part of the Søraust-Sva ...
, located in the
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
1894–1895.
At Edgeøya, the bay of
Ekrollhamna
Ekrollhamna is a small bay at Edgeøya, Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norwa ...
and the headland of
Martinodden are both named after him. He made a first ascent of the mountain of
Vågakallen
Vågakallen is a mountain in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It has a height of 942 or 943 m.a.s.l., and is located in the island of Austvågøy in the Lofoten archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island ...
on the island of
Austvågøy
Austvågøya is the northeasternmost and largest of the larger islands in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located between the Vestfjorden and the Norwegian Sea. The island of Vestvågøya lies to the southwest and the ...
about 1885. In 1888 he made a failed attempt of climbing the mountain of
Stetind
or is a mountain in the municipality of Narvik in Nordland county, Norway. It is located about northeast of the village of Kjøpsvik. The mountain has very smooth sides reaching all the way to the fjord. Stetind has an obelisk-shape which g ...
.
References
1865 births
1916 deaths
People from Vågan
Norwegian merchants
Norwegian polar explorers
Norwegian mountain climbers
19th-century Norwegian businesspeople
{{Norway-bio-stub