UKC

Hello, We are going to Rjukan in a couple of days and we are thinking of climbing the Gausta Marathon (WI3/4) or Half Marathon (WI3). Has anyone climbed either? Any comments on difficulty and approach/return would be much appreciated! Thanks.

I did the Marathon eons ago… the main problem was amount of snow… especially at the top to reach the platou. Climb rise, a lot of it was easy, as in solo easy. Most efficient way is to solo all easy parts, and with a short rope pitch up the steep steps and continue again soloing. I recall perhaps 2 or 4 harder parts where climbing was considerably harder than the mellow twin dagger or just walk sections. Naturally have a partner operating at the same level of competance and risk level helps… and for the top snow plod, perhaps one that is into ultra marathons to drag a Sorry boulderer up the never-ending snow gully might be a smart move…

I'd imagine with the amount of snow there currently it will be mostly buried and very time consuming. Have recently returned from a trip and there's probably better options.