In retrospect - southern Norway- climb and drive, the ferry to Dk- Road trip westcoast and southern Norway_5

Our last day in Norway was fabulous. After a nice breakfast at our hotel we headed out toward Froland, a crag with 16 sports routes, ranging from 5 to 7a+.

Froland-crag

It is situated close to a town called Osedalen I think. We headed there first to get something for lunch and later on for some ice cream.



This is a pretty popular place and very easy to access. There is not super much space for cars, but I think we could squeeze in 4 or so. From there you cross a small stream and take a short, lovely forest path to the actual wall.

As we arrived there we met two guys, brothers, who had spent the night in the forest with tents and backpacks and were just about to head to the crag. Really fun way to travel.

At the crag there is a little postbox where you can find the topo and names of the routes.

The rock was fun to climb with good hand holds and spots for the feet and I tried one of the easier routes to the far right of the crag. Ben tried one of the more difficult ones to the left. Somewhere in the middle the more difficult and long ones are situated, the ones with overhang. I realized first hand why you should secure yourself to the ground if standing a bit off from the wall (there are spots for just that at this crag). At one point Ben fell a bit above the quick draw, his weight pulling me in. I wasn't secured so I more or less flew toward the rock face and he ended up falling 3-4 meters or so. Noob me. Noob!! I ended up laughing hysterically and the other climbers looked at us strangely...












We spent as much time here as we could before packing our gear together and heading further south toward Kristiansand.
We had a ferry to catch in the evening and a couple of hours of driving to do. On arrival in Kristiansand we found a nature reserve more or less inside town and made dinner there on a rock, before finally heading to the ferry and exiting Norway.

In retrospect - Road trip on the Swedish west westcoast and southern Norway - Part 4

On a lovely sunny day we found our way to Ravnåskollen in Drammen, Norway.

Ravnaskollen-crag














Driving there went through some remote area with very few houses and we had a little bit of trouble finding the site at first. The last part to the site is a gravel route, and we had to use GPS to get there. You'll pass some single houses on the last part of the way and if I remember correctly there is a lake a bit off behind some forest to your right and the rise is on your left. At one point you come to a small open gravel area that could resemble a parking lot. There was nobody at the site when we got there, so not very crowded ;)

Probably there is a path up to the rock, but we didn't look for it. Instead we took the straight route up and the walk was short, but really very steep. The steep was covered with leaves and just a tad slippery, but with some struggle we got up to the rock.
There we found several sports climbing routes and this is where I did my first outdoor lead climb.

Ravnåskollen has 9 sports routes, the easiest being 4+ and the most difficult one being a 7a+. The 4+, called "De første stegene" or "The first steps" was my maiden climb (pic). As I have not done lead climbing indoors (which wise people consider to be the way to begin) this was an easy alternative way to start.  The rock had some lichen to be cleared away at each step. Wearing gloves might be an idea too depending on your skin status.

We had brought our picnic stuff and had coffee and snacks with us. We had a great weather with sunshine overhead and shade from the trees that surrounded us.
There were lots of signs of this being a moderately frequented spot, even if not as much as the previously mentioned Vindön. Nonetheless I guess we were just lucky to have all the space for ourselves.

Ben tried a 6a+ route among other routes here. The last one he did was "Opp til utsikten" - "Up to the outlook/view point". That is a long route of over 30 meters (pic) that seems quite fun. Abseiling down is not so bad either. :-)

At some point we realized we had to travel on, we had a hotel room waiting for us some ways off. So pack the climbing gear, dust off all our stuff - there are ticks in the Nordic forests, and off we drove.

The hotel I had booked had a sauna and a pool - one night in the forest in a tent, one night in a hotel with all extras. Whats not to like?

The hotel we went to was Arendal Herregaard Spa & Resort, a beautiful building placed near to the water in Arendal.The main building is visually very pleasantly decorated. Our accommodation was not so impressive, however. The room was tiny, the building had signs of age and water damage in the door so it was difficult to lock. The place was pretty nice even so.

We got there a bit late in the evening and hurried to get to the pool to get as much time there as possible. It's funny how childishly much you can enjoy splashing around in pool of water, no matter your age, your university years or how much authority you express on a regular work day. ;-) We spent the evening in the pool and sauna until the spa area closed.

The next morning we had breakfast included and I really enjoyed the buffet. The coffee was good, they had alternatives for allergics and they made omelettes on the go if you wanted that.

Our next goal on our super short, mega effective road trip was  Froland, a spot that also can be found in Arendal. All about that in the next post.

In retrospect - Road trip on the Swedish west westcoast and southern Norway - Part 2

When snorkeling and hanging out in Gothenburg was over and done with  (https://adventuresoup.blogspot.com/2018/10/in-retrospect-swedish-west-coast.html) the trip continued northward.

I'm a (forever) noob climber and my brother is really a more proficient one. The west coast is known for its many crags (check out 27crags.com) and he had found one that looked fun. We go to places where there are low grade routes for me and higher grade for him.

We brought all climbing gear (harness, shoes, carabiners, rope, helmets, gloves,  quick-draws) and headed off toward Uddevalla, a town that through history has been part of Sweden, Norway and Denmark in turns.. over and over...
Nowadays it's a pretty pleasant town, with a water front, hilly topography and lies close to interesting nature and towns.

The crag we decided to try out can be found on Vindön (wind island, red arrow.

https://27crags.com/crags/vindon

The area has a lot of interesting rock to climb and has 50 routes at levels from 4 traditional or 4+ sport to 6c+ traditional and 8a+ sport.
There is also a single boulder leveled 6b.
I had been climbing for several days already in a row (not a good idea) and my fingers and forearms were bummed.

The rock looks fun and there are quite many routes here. The longest routes, I think, are actually multi pitch (you climb up, secure yourself up there, bring your rope up and continue upward from that point - several pitches).

I didn't do a lot of climbing at Vindön. Instead I mostly stood on the ground and secured Ben, who on the other hand tried several routes, but he too had been climbing a bit more than usual. At some point we realized we had to keep traveling toward Norway. We decided that this place is so much worth visiting again.

As dusk made its way towards us we set off northward in my blue Peugeot. Driving in  Sweden is easy and the roads are good. Max speed is 120 kmh (130 kmh in Denmark) and there are loads of possibilities for a break on the road.

Quite soon we reached the Norwegian border. The border control is quite relaxed and doesn't cost anything.

Driving in  Norway is pretty much the same as in Sweden, but there are loads of road tolls, so you either should  register your car (so as not to receive the highest payable rate) or if you go there often, get an autopass.

http://www.autopass.no/visitors-payment

There are loads of tunnels in Norway. We only passed the ones near the border this time, but depending on where in the country you are you might be in really long tunnels, in sometimes steep angles, with intersections in the deep. Makes for some interesting driving.

By the time we got to Norway it was getting dark and we still had some ways to go to reach the area, Drammen, where we had planned on staying the night in a tent. More about that in the next post...

In retrospect - Road trip on the Swedish west westcoast and southern Norway - Part 1

So this was a short, but intensive road trip, traveling along the northern west coast of Sweden up to southern Norway during a short vacation.

Sweden to the right, Norway to the left
and the top of Denmark below

As most locals know, the summer of 2018 has been quite amazing. We had sunshine, warm weather and more sunshine.

The week started in Gothenburg, Sweden, where I, as usual, spent a load of vacation time working on my laptop due to a deadline. That meant I, during breaks, got to see some of the local area instead.
My brother and sister have made a habit of snorkeling in the archipelago of Gothenburg. If you haven't been there, go! Summer on the west coast of Sweden is GOLD! GOLD I tell you!!

I don't have a wet suit, but I had brought my goggles with me, so one day we headed off to Hönö, one of the islands just west
of the city (red arrow). You can drive all way, the ferries out to the islands are part of the road network and under the jurisdiction of the road administration, so you can just drive right on to the ferry and over to the islands.
The roads on the islands are narrow and a bit worn by the harsh coastal weather, but ok to drive on. On Hönö there is a parking lot in a foresty area just north of town - you can't drive right up to the beach here, walking is required. Actually I have never seen cars right on the beach in Sweden. In Denmark it is another matter and people will park right at the water line, in order to not have to waste physical strength to get there.

The west coast is mostly rocky. The rocks are smooth and rounded in most places and here and there you can find traces of the ice age, such as completely rounded holes in the rock. Potholes they are called in Swedish.

In many places you can find a private nook, with clear and calm waters to swim or snorkel in. I would suggest bringing beach shoes or something of the like, even though I've not used such before now. The rocks can be a bit unpleasant to put your bare feet on since they are so covered with kelp and you can't really see whats hiding underneath.

If you are into fishing, trout is a popular goal for many fishers along the coast line. If you are more into mackerel you need to be on a boat.