UKC

When is a good time of year for rock climbing in the Lofoten Islands and how reliable is the weather?

In reply to GridNorth:

Midsummer and though I had an almost (one afternoon of rain) rain free trip I would say it is not hugely reliable as it has a maritime climate. Going in the peak of summer does mean some very long days though so if you do get a shower in the afternoon you may be able to sleep and then get out at night. We climbed until 2300 on a couple of days on roadside multipitch routes.

In reply to HenryC:

June to September.
I am hopefully writing an article for one of the magazines soon, so will keep you posted

In reply to GridNorth:

I did very well in late August/early September a few years back, with about 15 good days out of a 3 week trip. It's western norway though, so whatever time of year you need to be lucky

In reply to GridNorth:

I'm going out mid july for 2-3 weeks. Fingers crossed! Are there any back up plans/venues/crags, or if the weather craps out do you just have to suck it up?

In reply to GridNorth: There's pretty much zero reliability to the weather, other than general trends. Last year it was 0 degrees; on June 1st, this year, 27 degrees;. And that was after a late arriving spring.

If there is one trend I've noticed over the years, it's that the weather often cycles from year to year. That is to say, last year was a pretty cool and stormy summer for the most part (20 degrees; was the highest temp last year), which means this year has a good chance to be fairly decent, especially if the trends from June continue.

You don't really have to worry about darkness until the end of August, so you can pretty much climb round the clock if need be.

In reply to GridNorth:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=1819


Chris