Sometimes it isn\u2019t easy to say, how one came his way. Especially when this way is a 9000km long, a caravan is steadily bouncing on the back of one\u2019s car and when the roads are steep und winded. In our case we made the whole way from Switzerland to Norway and back, because of some bouldering videos, promising us beautiful lines. And because of a trekking trip 10 years ago to Sweden, still reminding me of the beauty and the wilderness of Scandinavia\u2019s bright summer nights and windy wastelands.
\nAnd even if in the beginning of the trip in mid Norway sometimes some questions marks may have reappeared, the more we came to the north, the more we just were there. Because the lines had surpassed their promises \u2013 Norway is by far Europe\u2019s best place for bouldering. And because the bright nights and the windy wastelands had just surpassed every kind of bouldering \u2013 Norway is by far Europe\u2019s most spectacular country.
\nBut let\u2019s start with the first of the six spots we visited in between June and August \u2013 Matre. Just some kilometers north of the city of Bergen the granite and the landscape reminds a lot of the Ticino. The Swiss lakes are replaced by Norwegian fjords and the edgy mountains have been rounded down by 10.000 years of heavy glaciers. Not to forget about the thousands of Ticino bouldering visitors. They are replaced by \u2013 no one. To release it already by now: Bouldering in Norway often means being all alone in the midst of a thousand boulders.
\n700km to the north, nearby Trondheim, lay Harbak and Vingsand. The two spots were ought to be the most hyped ones, especially for hard bouldering. We found this prejudice confirmed. The rock in both spots doesn\u2019t remind in any way of anything in the Alps. It\u2019s just better, being shaped by the water coming from the cost and the sky. The climbing is on boulders but as well in a lot of caves. The problems in Harbak are dense and easy to find. Not as in Vingsand, where still no topo exists and the several spots are wide spread, parts of them being situated on islands. Inform yourself properly before going there or you won\u2019t see the full beauty of this spot! As well as in Matre in Vingsand the landscape is nice but not yet outstanding. Only Harbak shows off what Norway is able to be like.
\nWe spent nearly three weeks in these two spots. And after having received the impression in a fast 8A ascent in Matre that my shape after the worst springtime for climbing ever wasn\u2019t that bad, I know learned how Nalle is grading. I failed both on two sessions in Focus (8A+) and on three in Diamaten(8B). The two boulders are the hardest I have ever tried for the grade, but one the best, too. Anyways summer was coming and high ball bouldering with a baby isn\u2019t the first thing you think of. So, for nearly the first time in my climbing life I didn\u2019t stick to the hard projects, but traveled on.
\nDuring the only real bad weather sequence we were confronted to, we headed north to Straumen. It was hardly possible to boulder with all the rain, but we got a good impression about the again brilliant rock and the great lines. The boulders lay in a shady wood full of blueberries besides a lake full of fish and the potential for new lines seems unlimited. But we were still searching for the open wasteland, the so called fjell.
\nThanks to the information of Adam Ondra we finally found it in Gjerdalen, which is also called the Magic Valley. And it is truly magic. No trees. Rivers and lakes everywhere. Steep and spectacular mountains and a million boulders. The only problem was that the only existing sector was covered by a new layer of freshly fallen rock.
\nMost climbers would now turn around. We stayed with perfect weather arriving and had the best time of our lives \ud83d\ude09 or at least up in Norway. We brushed more than 30 new lines, went hiking and bathing, as the days were so hot, you only could stand it near the rivers. Gjerdalen was the perfect reunion of every desirable feature of a boulder spot we had seen on our way up: Brilliant rocks on glacial polish, stunning landscape and finally \u2013 the wide open.
\nWe left with a tear in our eyes but were soon consoled by the again impressive shoreline of Steigen, before we set over to the Lofoten. For three weeks we hadn\u2019t seen a single climber and hardly a brushed boulder. Now it all came back to us. In Stem Bastensen I could flash several 7C and 7C+ in a session, leaving out an 8A+ just because the landing without spotter was too rocky. I sent it day after and everything felt again like on an all normal boulder trip: Easy access, topo on the internet, smooth grading.
\nBut we instantly missed the wilderness we had met in the Magic Valley.
\nAnd it will be this, the reason to come back as soon as possible.
\nTo the first place full of rock I have seen that makes you forget about bouldering. Nearly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sometimes it isn\u2019t easy to say, how one came his way. Especially when this way is a 9000km long, a caravan is steadily bouncing on the back of one\u2019s car…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8066],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-boulder"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n