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FRI NIGHT VID: A valley under the radar - Uskedalen, Norway

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 UKC News 01 Jun 2018
Uskedalen, Norway, 3 kbOur Friday Night Video this week gives us an overview of Uskedalen in Western Norway. The area has a guidebook although sees very little traffic, despite the abundance of sunning 800m routes on moderate terrain and superb gear. Uskedalen is often referred to as 'Norway's Yosemite.'

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 pneame 02 Jun 2018
In reply to UKC News:

My sort of climbing. Nice

But why does one cook cams in hot water? 

 McHeath 03 Jun 2018
In reply to pneame:

Maybe the word "Friend" is also Norwegian for "Tea bag"?

 SturlaS 03 Jun 2018
In reply to Andrew Hannan:

No it isn't.

But these guys aren't Norwegians so maybe in another language..?

 sanguine 04 Jun 2018
In reply to pneame:

Swishing the cams around in hot water is to easier loosen up and remove any old grease/oil and trapped dirt/dust. A standard practice:

http://blog.weighmyrack.com/how-and-when-to-clean-cams-slcds/

http://rockandice.com/gear/buying-tips/how-to-clean-cams/

It's also in the care and instructions of the BD camalots. 

 

 

 Red Rover 04 Jun 2018
In reply to UKC News:

I've been there and it's brilliant. Huge amounts of pristine granite and almost nobody there, even on a summer weekend. There are massive gaps between the routes, if you can climb solid E2-E3* ish then you can do new routes there. 

 

* This is very approximate as I only climb VS but there are big gaps in the guide book which aren't featureless slabs etc. 

 pneame 04 Jun 2018
In reply to sanguine:

Thanks. I did not know that. 

Obviously!  

 OwlBear 04 Jun 2018
In reply to UKC News:

I have watched this at least five times and keep coming back to it. What a beautiful place to climb! Brilliant video choice UKC, love it! Uskedalen is going to the top of the list for next summer’s big trip.

Post edited at 12:25
 seankenny 04 Jun 2018
In reply to Red Rover:

> I've been there and it's brilliant. Huge amounts of pristine granite and almost nobody there, even on a summer weekend. There are massive gaps between the routes, if you can climb solid E2-E3* ish then you can do new routes there. 

> * This is very approximate as I only climb VS but there are big gaps in the guide book which aren't featureless slabs etc. 

Is it super slabby or are there some steeper bits?

 Red Rover 04 Jun 2018
In reply to OwlBear:

It rains a lot, but there is usually somewhere in Norway that is dry so if you have a car and some flexibility you should be OK. The whole area around Uskedalen is absolutely beautiful so walking and relaxing are good options as well. And the sea fishing is first rate, you can catch some nice fish without any experience at all, and its a good thing to do on rainy or rest days to supplement the diet over there, which for me is usually pretty rubbish as I cant afford to buy proper food over there. 

 Chris Craggs Global Crag Moderator 04 Jun 2018
In reply to OwlBear:

If the weather is wet you can always head east to Nissedal and the surrounding area - generally much drier (rain shadow) and lots of great climbing,

Chris

 OwlBear 04 Jun 2018
In reply to Chris Craggs:

Thanks for the advice - I’ve heard Nissedal is a great spot but didn’t realise it was in the locale. Do you think a week would be enough time to play roulette with the weather, or is it a longer term proposition?

 

 

 Mr. Lee 04 Jun 2018
In reply to OwlBear:

> Thanks for the advice - I’ve heard Nissedal is a great spot but didn’t realise it was in the locale.

It's not. Uskedalen to Hægefjell in Nissedal is going to take around 5 hours. It's quicker to get to Nissedal from Oslo than it is from Uskedalen. Driving times along the west coast can be surprisingly long compared to distance once you start crossing fjords or taking less travelled roads between valleys.

> Do you think a week would be enough time to play roulette with the weather, or is it a longer term proposition?

Best option is probably to book a hire and go where the weather's best. I still haven't made it to Uskedalen, partly because it's further than other places from Oslo, plus also because of rain. Plus snow can linger during spring. 

 Red Rover 04 Jun 2018
In reply to seankenny:

It's mainly steep slabs (they don't feel slabby), some of which have really nice cracks running for several pitches. This one for example

https://goo.gl/images/NLfb8V

I think most of the good routes are VS to E5, with a lot around HVS to E2 but this is from memory. I think the grades are a bit tough if you aren't used to the place. There is also a very long alpine-style ridge at a lower grade which I would love to go back and do, this is a photo of it 

https://goo.gl/images/hQ3ppQ

Post edited at 15:11
 wbo 04 Jun 2018
In reply to Mr. Lee:

I'm not sure it's that far from Uskedal to Nissedal via Odda, but it would be an ok drive.  For information the closest airport is Bergen, only an hour or so's drive away, and I like the camping Dimmelsvik.

 

the weather has been astonishing the last 5 weeks, but I was there 2 weeks ago and there was still a lot of high snow seeping into routes.  Very good hiking locally too

 Red Rover 04 Jun 2018
In reply to Mr. Lee:

Five hours is close for Norway!

 Mr. Lee 04 Jun 2018
In reply to Red Rover:

> Five hours is close for Norway!

Don't think so! I rarely drive for that long.

Shame en midtsommernattsdrøm (n6+) isn't in the video. That's considered on of the big classics of Southern Norway.

 Red Rover 04 Jun 2018
In reply to Mr. Lee:

I went from Romsdal to Stetind to Lofoton in 3 days, including a day on stetind, so I got the impression things are miles apart :p but I suppose thats like going from Scotland to the Alps

 joeruckus 06 Jun 2018
In reply to UKC News:

If you're thinking of going but you're wanting to keep costs low (cos Norway's expensive, and as the value of GBP plummets going forward it's going to get more and more expensive for UK people), here's a plan to consider:

1) cheap regular flights London>Bergen, or Manchester>Bergen, or Aberdeen>Bergen.

2) there's a passenger ferry (operated by Skyss, the national bus/ferry service) from Bergen to Rosendal – the ferry calls at Flesland (where Bergen airport is) on the way from Bergen city centre, and there's a bus from the airport to the nearby quay. The ferry takes 1.5 hours from Flesland quay to Rosendal, or just under 2 hours from bergen to Rosendal. It goes twice a day Mon-Fri, morning and evening. You can take bikes on the ferry.

3) there are regular buses from Rosendal to Uskedalen where the campsite sits next to the fjord at the mouth of the valley – it's just 13km on a flat fjordside road, easily cyclable or walkable.

4) the main climbing areas is about 6km up the gently rising valley road SW from the campsite.

So there's no strong need to hire a car. Even if you don't take that Bergen-Rosendal ferry, perhaps because the times don't fit with your flights, it's easy to buy combined bus-and-ferry tickets (it's a single network), and get from Bergen to Uskedalen in about 3.5 hours on public transport, using the Skyss travel planner:

https://www.skyss.no/en/timetable-and-maps/travel-planner/

You can get the climbing guide to the area from UTE outdoor/climbing store in Bergen

http://bergen.ute.no/

It's a handy ring-binder format, so you can just unclip the page of the route that you're going up instead of taking the whole thing with you.

For weather reports, YR.no – they have a very good app:

https://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Hordaland/Kvinnherad/Uskedalen/

 

1
Dom Bush 06 Jun 2018
In reply to UKC News:

Uskedalen and Nisserdal are both incredible places. I would highly recommend both, though the weather can be problematic.

Me and a friend headed out there last year and had a great time. I wrote an article for Alpkit about the trip if you are interested in knowing a little bit more about both Uskedalen and Nisserdal. We were dirtbagging it and trying to do it as cheap as possible so I think there are some tips in there for keeping costs down - main one is to book an extra hold bag and fill it with food. We stopped one day for a hot dog and an ice cream and it cost £20!

We climbed up to about E3 on certain bolted pitches but were pretty outfaced by the size of the walls in Uskedalen. Expect to drop some grades and take your time!

Article here - https://www.alpkit.com/deeds/uskedalen-calling

 

 Mr. Lee 06 Jun 2018
In reply to Dom Bush:

> We stopped one day for a hot dog and an ice cream and it cost £20!

Your Alpkit pist states £15. Maybe the price goes up each time you tell the story? Seriously though, how much does two coffees and two sandwiches cost in the UK if you stop at a garage / services? Probably not much difference. Food isn't that much more expensive if you look at the prices.

 Red Rover 06 Jun 2018
In reply to Mr. Lee:

UK service station food is a ripoff but all norwegian food is similar. I go a job offer while out in norway and I celebrated with a packet of bacon and 4 beers which I think was between £50 and £60 (can't really remember)

 wbo 06 Jun 2018
In reply to UKC News:honest to gods if all you're going to do is whinge about the price of stuff just stay in Britain.  It is what it is

 

1
 Red Rover 06 Jun 2018
In reply to wbo:

I wasn't whinging as I had a car full of food from the UK

 Mr. Lee 07 Jun 2018
In reply to Red Rover:

> I celebrated with a packet of bacon and 4 beers which I think was between £50 and £60 (can't really remember)

Bacon's usually between 20 kr and 40 kr depending how fancy. Cheaper end is fine with me at any rate.

Can of 0.5l beer from the supermarket around 32 kr. You can pay more if you want fancy bottled craft beer.

That's around 160 kr total. Or about £15. Maybe you haven't told us that you went to sit in a bar with your bacon. Bars are obviously more expensive.

 Red Rover 07 Jun 2018
In reply to Mr. Lee:

It was in Lofoton in an island so maybe that made it more expensive and it was a packet of that thick kind of bacon that you don't get in the UK. After a googe it seems youre right about the beer prices although I remember it being a lot more than 32. Unless its been inflated in my memory as it was a few yers ago.

 Simon Caldwell 07 Jun 2018
In reply to Mr. Lee:

Last time we went to Norway, supermarket prices seemed broadly similar to those in a small village supermarket in the UK. A bit pricey compared with a big city Sainsburys, but not unreasonable.

 Doug 07 Jun 2018
In reply to Simon Caldwell:

until you get to the beer, wine & spirits section...


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