My recent trip with three friends to Northern Norway was one of the best I've ever had. We've only been back 48 hours and are already planning next years visit. I'll probably write an article for Climb in the Autumn so I won't witter too much here. Instead here's a few pics of the climbing (see Part 1 post for some scenics).
There is a huge amount of ice, most of my pics are of steepish stuff but there is plenty at every grade. This was a fine 180m IV+ - V
A closer shot of Kenton on the V, called by some Cathedral, others Goldrush but with no doubt other names.
This crag was called tongue in cheek called Roadside but was worth the hike. The red line was a great WI6, M6 the yellow a WI6+-7 and the Green a WI6
Here's Neil on the WI6, M6
There were a really obvious pair of ice lines up high which we had no info about. I ended up climbing the right hand column in this photo as a 55m WI6 pitch the central of 3 pitches. It's the best ice pitch I've climbed.
Neil and Garth climbed this beast to our right at a surprisingly amenable WI5+, M5
Here's Garth topping out on that line.
As well as fjordside climbing there were an interesting series of gorges. This 3 pitcher had been climbed by Kurt Astner but the central pillar had collapsed leaving a big roof. Garth sussed it out and then I shook myself across and Kenton cruised it.
This was our final route in the Lyngen Alps, and one of the routes that had attracted me to go - Gullyvers Reisen WI5 - a total classic.
We only managed one route in the Southern part of our trip - but what a route Flagbekkan WI5-6.
Zooming out gives the true scale.
7 comments:
Looks like you guys had an amazing trip!
A comment: based on your comment ‘I'll probably write an article for Climb’
The spirit of Norwegian climbing is the unknown adventure? A white line on a mountain that may or may not have been climbed. Who cares what it’s called or who climbed it first…it’s not what it’s about. It’s about those feelings associated with the unknown.
For the most part the Norwegian climbing community has chosen not to record or publicise every individual ascent to keep this spirit of adventure alive. Call it the Norwegian climbing ethic, just the same as you so passionately write about above.
Please don’t write another article in some mag listing all your ascents and their grades, in that very British ‘we came, we saw, we conquered ’ way. I’m British myself (living in Norway), I had the similar view when I arrived…but I was wrong.
Why not write an article that explains the Norwegian climbing ethic to the English speaking world, seek out the opinions of Norwegian climbers, and allow others to enjoy the feeling of discovering (once more?) some unknown valley (to you/us) full of ice. Contribute to keeping this feeling of adventure alive…
Kind regards
Dan Richardson
Looks like you guys had an amazing trip!
A comment: based on your comment ‘I'll probably write an article for Climb’
The spirit of Norwegian climbing is the unknown adventure? A white line on a mountain that may or may not have been climbed. Who cares what it’s called or who climbed it first…it’s not what it’s about. It’s about those feelings associated with the unknown.
For the most part the Norwegian climbing community has chosen not to record or publicise every individual ascent to keep this spirit of adventure alive. Call it the Norwegian climbing ethic, just the same as you so passionately write about above.
Please don’t write another article in some mag listing all your ascents and their grades, in that very British ‘we came, we saw, we conquered ’ way. I’m British myself (living in Norway), I had the similar view when I arrived…but I was wrong.
Why not write an article that explains the Norwegian climbing ethic to the English speaking world, seek out the opinions of Norwegian climbers, and allow others to enjoy the feeling of discovering (once more?) some unknown valley (to you/us) full of ice. Contribute to keeping this feeling of adventure alive…
Kind regards
Dan Richardson
Hi Dan, interesting thoughts - I like the idea of getting opinions from Norwegian climbers - have you any contacts? Cheers Ian
Dan, I'm serious about contacting Norwegian climbers my email is ianparnellphotography@yahoo.co.uk
Thanks for having the decency to assume that not everything up here is unclimbed - although I would not at all be surprised if some of your obviously great climbs are indeed FAs. Several new lines have undoubtedly been put up during recent years, but we have also seen some quite embarrassing examples of second or third or even fourth "first ascents". "Goldrush", to take one example, was re-named by a couple of Austrians two years ago, while locally it bears the well-established name of "Oksen" and has been climbed regularly since the early 1980s. Admittedly information about the ice lines can be very hard to find, but (sadly?) the local attitude has been to just go out there, find a good line, climb it and go home again. Things weren't so easy to advertise in the Stone Age before Facebook and Blogspot, and no one seemed to be bothered to do it anyway.
So to sum it up in a general message adressed to no one in particular: welcome to enjoy the adventure, welcome to seek out the new lines, welcome to publish the climbs - but please do not assume that everything is unclimbed just because you "found no traces of previous ascents", to cite visitors from a couple of years ago. And to the authors of this post: thanks for a good story and stunning pictures!
Stein Tronstad, Tromsø
Thanks for having the decency to assume that not everything up here is unclimbed - although I would not at all be surprised if some of your obviously great climbs are indeed FAs. Several new lines have undoubtedly been put up during recent years, but we have also seen some quite embarrassing examples of second or third or even fourth "first ascents". "Goldrush", to take one example, was re-named by a couple of Austrians two years ago, while locally it bears the well-established name of "Oksen" and has been climbed regularly since the early 1980s. Admittedly information about the ice lines can be very hard to find, but (sadly?) the local attitude has been to just go out there, find a good line, climb it and go home again. Things weren't so easy to advertise in the Stone Age before Facebook and Blogspot, and no one seemed to be bothered to do it anyway.
So to sum it up in a general message adressed to no one in particular: welcome to enjoy the adventure, welcome to seek out the new lines, welcome to publish the climbs - but please do not assume that everything is unclimbed just because you "found no traces of previous ascents", to cite visitors from a couple of years ago. And to the authors of this post: thanks for a good story and stunning pictures!
Stein Tronstad, Tromsø
Hi Stein good to hear from you. Dan Richardson who posted on this thread is helping me out with various local contacts. I'm keen to write something for the magazine I edit - Climb, but I'd like to write a bit about the Norwegian 'low profile' ethic. I liked the fact that because our information wasn't 'complete' we had the excitement of a first ascent experience even though it was quite likely that all the lines we climbed had been climbed before. One of the things I've enjoyed most in climbing is visiting different areas and trying to play by the local rules and the different experiences this brings - we have areas in the UK for example such as a 4 mile section of sea cliffs in Pembroke where all the routes have been put up ground up and with no pegs or bolts, whilst next door there is another section of cliff where it is OK to top rope practise and clip pegs - both are fun but very different experiences. I'd welcome the chance to understand more fully the local ethic if you are willing to send me your email address to ianparnellphotography@yahoo.co.uk
One thing is for sure the ice climbing in the Tromso area is exceptional - world class
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