Hi all!
Off to visit a friend in Henningsvaer, Lofoten for two weeks in July. I plan on getting out climbing for the most of the trip.
is there any particular climbs/gear/attractions anyone recommends I do/bring/visit while I am there?
Many thanks,
Luke
Just work your way through the top 50 in rockfax!
The climbing is mostly outstanding if the weather cooperates. It might be a bit easy for you but Bare Blabaer is probably the best slabby multi pitch VS I have climbed anywhere.
If you have a car then it is easy to get to the Stetind/Narvik area with a ferry trip and an hour or so on the road - wild mountains and just far enough to get different weather.
If the weather is horrible then you can do worse than visit the viking museum and longhouse at Borg.
He might have a job, at least two are incorrectly marked in the new guidebook!
Great fishing and the fishing village "museum" at Å good for a rainy day. Must do route Vestpillaren Direct on Presten.
> He might have a job, at least two are incorrectly marked in the new guidebook!
Hi there,
can you expand on this please - 'incorrectly marked' in what way?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Chris, currently in Spain so not got the guidebook to hand to give absolute specifics. We ordered the new guidebook just prior to our Scandinavian trip last year, as we've come to expect, a very nice looking (if rather expensive) Rockfax publication. Poring though the guidebook prior to departure we soon came across a number of typos, but the odd one or two can be forgiven in a guidebook of this size. Later, in Lofoten it didn't take long before more typos and errors became apparent...... It became a bit of a joke as we seemed to find something on just about every crag we climbed, we debated if this was a draft version that had somehow made its way to the printers rather than the final but in the end decided it was probably just insufficient proof reading and trying to meet a deadline for the printers so as not to miss that seasons climbing trips. Either way not really acceptable....
Anyway the two specifics, one on Gandalf crag, where the route has from memory been identified on the topo as being the route to its left. This caused two separate parties confusion in the short time we were there, one who thought they had previously done the route but not according to the new guidebook and another who started up the incorrect route, which has a much bolder start.
The other notable was on Svolvaer where something has obviously gone wrong in the topo lines/number markings.
On various popular routes information and descriptions were wrong in places. Given this is a second edition and was supposed to be a collaboration with a local based climber this was disappointing and surprising. Talking to a couple of local climbers they also said many of the errors in the original guidebook have been carried over despite being well known about. One example suggests large cams required for the top pitch of a route, nothing bigger than a 2 required, glad we spoke with a local and didn't drag a 4 or 5 up. On another route a pitch description states something like climb the groove and pull through the bulge above, except there isn't one! Viewed from the road a shadow on the rock could be interpreted as a bulge. On Ant Pillar we did the "worthwhile" 2 or 3? pitch extension, to use a Rockfax expression Bag of Shite, loose rock and scrambling with only a few metres of decent climbing in total, how this could be recommend is beyond comprehension when there's so much good climbing about.
All in all we had a great trip and the guidebook errors gave us something to discuss and joke about on the wet days. Rockfax holds itself as being at the forefront of guidebook development and has definitely raised the bar in terms of presentation, however, attention to detail and substance are equally important especially when we the climbing community are after all paying good money for these guidebooks.
Hi Phil
It would be really great if you could add some detail to your comments here and send it to us. A lot of the time problems are caused by our text being misinterpreted and it is only through feedback that we can find out where we need to tidy it up.
Both editions have been in collaboration with the local climbers and their feedback makes up a lot of the information we include - Thorbjorn's name is on the cover for good reason. I can assure you that no error or change that was passed on to us made it into the second edition.
Thanks Alan
> many of the errors in the original guidebook have been carried over despite being well known about
They may have been well known about, but did anyone pass the information on to Rockfax? I know from my career as a programmer that there are often long-standing bugs that the developers never find out about because nobody bothers reporting them.
I'll be in the area with a party of 20, so if you can't find someone to climb with on day, say Hi.
> On various popular routes information and descriptions were wrong in places. Given this is a second edition and was supposed to be a collaboration with a local based climber this was disappointing and surprising. Talking to a couple of local climbers they also said many of the errors in the original guidebook have been carried over despite being well known about. One example suggests large cams required for the top pitch of a route, nothing bigger than a 2 required, glad we spoke with a local and didn't drag a 4 or 5 up.
I guess this was Fire Forsok? On the rockfax database both me and Urs Odermatt report that no big cams are needed. https://www.rockfax.com/databases/r.php?i=27759
In the first edition of the Lofoten guidebook it was better to trust your own judgement than reading the guidebook descriptions on anything above median difficulty (but that goes for many guidebooks... The Indian Creek guidebook e.g. has badly eye-balled racks for anything that is not a hand crack or a fingercrack.)
For Norweigan Sheep Range on Helvetestinden I have reported that 60m ropes do not suffice to reach the indicated belay on the firs pitch and that some (quite dangerous) simulclimbing is necessary. Would be interesting to see if I reported this in vain as well
Hi Alan, happy to chat sometime when we're back from Spain. Can't remember all the detail without the guidebook at hand but the issues with the two top 50 routes should be obvious and I see that Jonas above has previously identified one of the other issues I noted.
Thanks for any further feedback you can offer. The book has been out almost a year now and oddly this is the 1st suggestion of errors - we can produce an updated PDF with corrections but only if we have the info in the first place.
Chris
Nice man, are you there during 12th July till 24th July?? I will bunking it or camping it in Henningsvaer, as Im visiting a friend as well who lives and works there. So, for the days their working and the weathers nice, I'll happily come find you pal
Arrive 20th July, leave 3rd August. Does your mate know the area well - we have yet to settle on a camp site.
I also found a lot of mistakes. It rained a fair bit while we were there so I had time to note them. I think I kept the file. If I can find it would you like a copy? I didn't send it before as it seemed a bit carping but if you look at it as a constructive attempt to improve future editions it may be worth sending it?
Please send it to chris(at)rockfax(dot)com too - all feedback is extremely useful for all future editions,
Chris
> It might be a bit easy for you but Bare Blabaer is probably the best slabby multi pitch VS I have climbed anywhere.
It is indeed an absolutely superb route and not to be missed but for this reason expect queues.
When we got there (quite early) there were already at least 8 parties on it or waiting at the bottom so we went off and did some other nearby routes (also very good) and came back mid afternoon. By then there were only a couple of parties waiting so we eventually got on it by about 6pm and got back down the base of the crag at about 1am but of course it never goes dark so it doesn't matter, there were still 3 or 4 parties on the route!
The belay ledges are spacious and the locals friendly so there's no rush if the weather's ok.
Finally, most people seemed to ab off after pitch 5 as the natural line ends there and the climbing above quite different in character but pitch 6 is well worth doing so do press on to the top.
Chris, I was wondering if you got the email from me yesterday? Not hassling, just wasn't sure if you monitored that address.
Thanks.
All the best,
D
When I did it we got up early and didn't see anyone on the walk in. Felt quite smug about it until we realised that the reason we didn't see anyone is that they had left even earlier
Fortunately only had to wait for 2 parties and they were both moving quite fast.
Hi David,
no nothing yesterday, can you send it to chris(at)rockfaxdotcom.
Cheers
Chris
ah nice, I might bump into you and climb a few days with you. Yeah she's Norwegian herself and has worked for the Red Cross there and also has a summer shop job in Henningsvaer. You can either camp on a campsite on henningsvaer or any other island area. Henningsvaer being the best situated or just free camp at the base of 'Gandalf'. Below 'Gandalf' there running water, tapped into the mains, but if you need the loo you go in the see etc.