Martin Hoff Ekroll


Martin Hoff Ekroll was a Norwegian merchant, mountaineer and Arctic explorer.
He was born in the village of Skroven in the islands of Lofoten in Nordland, Norway. He operated a fishing station at Kabelvåg on the island of Austvågøya. In 1891 he published a plan for an expedition to the North Pole. He funded and organized an expedition to the island of Edgeøya, located in the Svalbard archipelago 1894-1895. At Edgeøya, the bay of Ekrollhamna and the headland of Martinodden are both named after him. He made a first ascent of the mountain of Vågakallen on the island of Austvågøy about 1885. In 1888 he made a failed attempt of climbing the mountain of Stetind.