In reply to UKC Articles:
Awesome article!
I spent 10 months in the Setesdal valley living and working about an half an hour south of Bygland, I arrived in late January and it was a particularly cold year with -20 being not uncommon on blue sky days but the ice climbing was unbelievable, we just drove around looking at seemingly endless perfect ice falls and no one climbing them.
Without wanting to do any kind of disservice to Geoff's guidebook the 150 climbs covered probably isn't half of whats lurking in the Setesdal and surrounding area.. When you're there it really does seem like it could be endless.
Another option for days off is ski touring and cross country, down further south near Evje there is something like 200+ km of groomed trails that are free to use.
And the great thing about the Setesdal is that during the summer it has amazing multi pitch trad, sport and bouldering.. if you had the time and energy you could go out and do 100's of low and mid grade trad first accents without much cleaning needed at all.
Gi
With cheap flights, easy access and reliable ice conditions, Norway's Setesdal valley is an ideal alternative to Rjukan for climbers looking for something a little bit different this winter.
