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. 

27th of August - France - Via ferrata des Evettes

Our final full day in France we had planned to do Aguille du Midi, the needle near to the peak of Mt Blanc. We had a fantastic weather, not a single cloud as far as the eye could see.

We got up early to warm clothing (planning on the cold wind at the station) and headed off to Les Gaillards (the climbing wall) where we left our car and walked the rest of the way to the cable car station. (Parking in this area is free for 24 hours!!)

24th of August - France - Les Gaillands

Yeah so today was not about via ferrata at all, but rock climbing.
Ben had found some nice crags around the Chamonix area and we decided to try some of that out today, starting with some nice and easy climbing.

The day started a bit slow though, as both of us overslept. The clock was actually close to 10 AM before we woke and I thought OMG! and bounced up in a flurry.

Before long we were having breakfast and even tried out the garden, sitting in the sun for the "morning" coffee as the next door neighbours were painting a house. They looked to have fun and all guys were talking constantly. At one point a chubby guy on the really long ladder, instead of getting down to move it, actually jumped and bounced it to the side. It looked really funny.

It was sunny, but not too hot as we headed off toward Chamonix. At first we checked out the station for the cable car to Aguille du midi. On the way we stopped at a really interesting alpine-climbers store. There were so many things we would've bought - for really fair prices, really, but again, we have no space for added weight in our luggage.

After checking out the cable car, which we'll explore further another day, we went for lunch. Steak and fries, yummie (no vegetarians here...)
We sat watching people and mused about their gear and injuries. It's funny how people in a place like this are so much alike. There are four sorts, the regular tourists with regular city clothing, walking around, looking at stuff, shopping, having coffee, taking pictures and wearing sun hats... and then there are the locals of course, the ones who don't take pictures or look around.. and the third group, the adventurers, who wear backpacks, alpine boots or other hiking boots, walking staffs, move with MTBs, dusty and limping after hours upon hours in the mountains or fresh and just about to head out. Oh, and then there is the fourth group, the wanna-be's with newly bought outdoors sets, fresh over the counter. This group may go either way, some becoming the latter (dusty mountaineers), some turning into regular tourists again. Fascinating to be in these kind of places where mountain clothing is the regular style and normal city wear is unusual. :D :D :D

After lunch we headed to Les Gaillands, a quite big and very popular crag with loads of climbing routes. It's easily accessible, just next to the road. There's a big grass plane in front of it and a nice, blue pond right next to it. Also there are cafés close by for a break snack if you haven't brought your own. 
There were people everywhere on the wall, every age. I think the youngest must've been 3 years old or something. I did the first lead climb along a fairly easy route. There were a lot of nice handholds in the rock and my shoes got a good grip on the granite. I'm not very experienced with lead climbing so I had to think on the direction the quick-draw should face each time and also to double check the direction of the rope through the quick-draw. Would not be fun to fall if the directions get messed up.

Going up I reached a ledge where there was a guide teaching two small children and bringing them with him upwards. It was really fun listening to them, the kids speaking British English and the guide's French accent. "Allez, allez!", guiding them up the rock wall. I would've loved this kind of activity as a kid. Or rather, we climbed as kids too, but I think it would be relatively safe to say, the security could've been optimized... (Mum, dad... we're still alive so no worries.)

I went as high as I could, but my route was blocked by the kids so I tried going to the side instead, crossing over to another route. This though, gave me a moderately clear experience of what rope drag consists of. Wooh, seriously, I had no idea the rope friction could be so obvious. That added to the weight of the rope itself. I was more or less fighting the rope every cm of the way. I realized I had to give up and went down again... or tried to, but the friction almost wouldn't let me. It took a while to get down as the rope simply dragged too much.

Ben went up next. He removed all my quick-draws and continued even higher, this time in a straight path, instead of my friction zigzag. He found this route to be quite easy and didn't even break a sweat, but I was having fun and a little bit of a challenge and needed to think on some moves.
When he came down I went up again and continued one step higher. At that point the wall was vertical and had some hand holds that required a bit more strength than I could muster so I came down again. Ben ended the climbing session by going all the way up, this time bringing another rope, in order to be able to rappel back down. I was standing on the ground and wondering about why it took him so long to get back down. When he finally came back it turned out he had forgotten to bring his ATC and instead went with an old fashioned panic solution using a prusik and a carabiner break method.

Afterwards we decided to go check another wall out, but it was getting late and the evening clouds were descending down the mountain side. Instead we headed into town for a coffee, more people watching and then back to the hostel for dinner and a movie.