UKC

I wanted to reply to this topic (http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=613653) rather than start a new one, but no dice...

Just back from the trip, and had an excellent time. Weather towards the end of the week wasn't as favourable as we hoped, and a bike lost in Oslo meant a lost first day. Trying to cycle and climb (and fish) meant that every activity was diluted somewhat, and we didn't have the time required for big wall days, but still had a blast!

The notable route of the trip was Puffrisset (n6). Very sustained HVS for the second pitch, but I agree with the comments in the previous thread (which I had forgotten about!) about the top being harder. I'm not particularly well consolidated at the low E grades, but reached the top of pitch 3 convinced it was heaps harder than HVS; the updated Rockfax and comments suggest E2 which feels a bit more appropriate. The final crux was very thin and very high above awful gear, and the fall would be shocking. There was indeed tat (two nuts) at the top of pitch 2, which if I'm being honest was the end of the natural line. Pitch 4 was probably my favourite of the whole route, but pitch 3 wandered a lot. All that said, it was an excellent climb, though I agree with the updated status of 2 star, n6 rather than Top 50, n5+.

We also spent some time at Paradiset (in the Dashboard Light area) which was a beautiful setting and good for soloing. Then the weather bottomed out, and we started cycling instead.

I can't wait to go back; I have never seen a piece of rock quite as imposing as Presten...

In reply to Ben Snook:
Thanks for the interesting report. Looking to climb there later in the year and this has been helpful. Will you go back?

In reply to Ben Snook:

Presten is amazing and vestpillaren is worth the hype.

However, I think I need to write a destination report about why no one should ever go to lofoten. The weather is just too unreliable for a holiday. The only people who should climb in Lofoten are masocistic millionaire retirees. Anyone with a budget and a time window will be dissapointed. For the cost of a trip you can probably climb any other climbing area in the northern hemisphere. Why sit in the rain in norway way you can go to Yosemite instead...I wish I had been told!

Potemkin: No worries, I hope it's of use! The first thread was pretty good too. From what I could see the vast majority of the (developed) climbing was between Svolvær and Henningsvær. Sea Breeze and its ilk were much further west towards Reine, and there wasn't shed loads until you hit the Goat at Svolvær (we 'started' at Lødingen from the ferry). I'm pretty gutted that I didn't get up the Goat, but the weather just wouldn't play. I would absolutely go back as there is heaps I want to go at, but that might be because I live in Norway on a Norwegian salary. It wasn't too expensive though: we free camped every night it didn't chuck down with rain, and I could catch enough fish everyday for 4 big lads. Take a break from boozing and it's not too bad...

Kemics: I would say you are probably right, the weather is very changeable (climbing topless to shivering in a tent in about 4 hours...). But we didn't go to tick as many routes as we could; we went for an adventure, and it certainly delivered. Not knowing where we were sleeping each night, catching the majority of our food (for the first time for some of us), carrying road bikes through metre deep snow after taking wrong turns on previously beautiful roads... It was a blast. And I must reiterate the above, not brutally expensive. The UK guys got their flights to Bodø for about £300, and living off the land (...sea?) was cheap and very doable. That said, I will however try to go to Spain instead for my next trip... I've a hankering for settled weather

In reply to Ben Snook:


Take the ferry across to the mainland and go and stand under the north face of Stetind then!

In reply to Kemics:


We've discussed this before haven't we, but have you been back since and got rained on again? If not, I think one trip is a bit unfair a sample to draw such a conclusion from. Of course it can rain in Arctic Norway, but my experiences of Northern Norway have been mainly the opposite. I've been for three weeks (seperate weeks on separate years) to Lofoten and I think had to miss one day of climbing due to rain. I've also done I think now, three other week long trips to the mainland SE or E of Lofoten and again only had a couple of days missed due to rain.

In reply to Ben Snook:

I suppose we didn't have the option of fishing so maybe that's worth considering. I think the best way to do lofoten from the UK would be to fly to Stockholm or somewhere in Sweden. Stock up on food and beer (like a boot load!) and then drive up. It adds a bit of driving but flights are cheap and there's a few worth while crags worth stopping at in Sweden. But nooo what am I saying! Just go to yosemite! Dont risk the rain!

In reply to Kemics:

Didn't rain on me when I went there, therefore Lofoten is always dry.

Logic!

In reply to Ben Snook: It wa pretty dry when I went to Lofoten having been snowed off Stetind (in June).

If it is raining look at the rain map on yr.no. Conditions can vary a lot with a quite short drive

In reply to davidbeynon:


The same - we spent several summers up there working on the book and my memory is of mostly good to very good weather and only short unsettled spells.


Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

In fairness your guide does say something along the lines of "if the weather is kind, Lofoten is one of the best places in the world"

Most guide books dont have to add the prefix but the climbing really is one of the best places in the world

In reply to Kemics:

I went to Lofoten a few years ago and it didn't rain very much (was warm and sunny) and not too expensive.

We flew to Stockholm and then got a cheap flight up to Kiruna (with a cheap internal airline that has now been bought by Norwegian- so might be a bit more expensive)

Then hired a car in Kiruna, stocked up on beer and food and drove over, it wasn't a long drive from there and meant we could visit Stetind on the way.

Great trip!

In reply to Elsier:

That sounds like a great way of doing IT

The beer in Sweden is so much cheaper and so much better

In reply to Kemics:



Although it could reasonably be added to all British guide books and many others. The weather in Lofoten is generally no worse than in many major climbing areas. On my first 3 week trip we had to climb at night to avoid the heat and cool off in the sea by day. On the second it mostly rained for 3 weeks and was glorious for the other two. Five good weeks in eight is not too bad.

Svolvaer gets about the same rainfall in June/July/August as Manchester and a bit less than NW Scotland. If you want guaranteed good weather, go to a desert (actually not a bad idea!).

I visited the Lyngen Alps and Lofoten for two weeks a couple of years back and we had one day of rain. All the rest were lovely, sunny days. We went in early June - 24hrs sun! Love Lofoten and the climbing is excellent... highly recommended. We flew in to Tonso (nice and cheap) due to visiting the Lyngen Alps first and then it was a day's drive down to Lofoten, which happened to be the day of rain so it worked out nicely.

In reply to Robert Durran:

The deserts are the way forward. Morocco is amazing, though it still rained for 2 days on me in the Sahara...so maybe I'm just cursed!

In reply to Kemics:


.........come to think of it, I had a minor epic getting snowbound in Wadi Rum!