Tranquillity Base

We headed for the Kristiansand area as i was the one place in the Søreland guide that I hadn't climbed. The drive from Egersund passed the requisite amounts of superb looking rock, the Jossingfjord area being especially impressive. We tried a couple of the 'ferie-centrer' campsites on the coast first, and to put it mildly - they were overpriced, overcrowded shit-holes - sorry but there is no other way to describe them.
We headed inland for just 10 miles to different world, and found a tiny (and deserted) camp-site by a delightful lake, free boats and free fishing and only a few minutes from several of the crags - purrfect!

After almost drowning in a tiny canoe (in a swimming pool!) many years ago I have always been terrified of canoeing, but a gentle intro in a 'Canadian' and I was set - it was amazing drift along in silence, slipping over the water and seeing the the world from a very different perspective. The trout we fished out were the icing on the cake!

Headed South

From Loftus to Sauda to Egersund and on to Kristiansand, lots a great places and generally very quite despite it being peak season. Egersund is an odd spot, a local climbing club and superb rock sticking up everywhere, but as far as I can find, no climbing anywhere near - weird!
We have a ferry booked for home in just under two weeks so have decided to head south to make use of the Sørlands guidebook and get a bit more craging done. It has been a bit showery, but the forecast is great - that should work nicely then.
And the reason for the sudden rush? Torbjørn has invited us up to Lofoten for late August so we need to head home for a couple of weeks to get organised, and try to finish the Cote d'Azur guide which is due out in the autumn - I never get a minute to myself (said in true Jim Royle style!).

Summat Fishy

The week spent camping in the cherry orchard at Loftus was great, we explored the Hardanger Fjord area (plenty of unclimbed rock around there) and ate our fill of ripe cherries! We also fished a bit, but there wasn't much doing - the weather, the climate, the fish - who knows?
Then it was over the hills (again - so much brilliant looking unclimbed rock) to Sauda, a bit of the beaten track, just how we like it.
Sherri tried fishing off the jetty in town but I had spotted the old road heading out round a rocky headland which dropped into deep water . We headed out and half-an-hour later we had tea in the shape of two BIG pollack (the bigger was 60cm) and a mackerel. Looks like fish for tea tomorrow too!

Welcome to (proper) Norway

After a few days at the ski resort of Geilo, exploring (the edges!) of the Hardangervidda we decided to head for the fjords and a bit of 'real' Norway and we weren't to be disappointed. Once off the plateau the road dropped steadily towards the 'edge' where the Vøringfossen waterfall plunges 600' into the valley below - spectacular with a capital S. The roads takes only a slightly less direct route corkscrewing through tunnels as it struggles to loose the 4000' from its high point. We set up camp in a cherry orchard (free fruit - no really) in Loftus overlooking the blue waters Sørfjord and the glittering ice-cap of the Folgefojn.
Of course it rained a bit in the evening - but what can you expect!

Home Alone

We dropped Dave Gregory off at Torp airport this morning, and Ryanair zipped him back home - the return leg of his sub-£50 ticket, a lot faster and cheaper than the old ferry route. His intro to Norway was great, deserted cliffs, fantastic rock, gorgeous weather, no mozzies, quiet campsites - exactly how I have been telling him it is when ever we are here - maybe now he will believe us.
We spent the last few days at Drammen, just to the south of Oslo, just for a change the climbing was great, and one of the cliffs in particular Vardåsen was superb, a 300' sheet of prefect granite. The routes there were some of the best either of us had done for a long time.

As Good as it Gets?

According to the locals the route Via Lara on Haegefjell is supposed to be one of the best multi-pitch 'moderates' in Europe - too good an accolade to go unchecked. It is a 7 pitch route, about 1200 feet long following an amazing continuous crack-line up the side of a huge granite dome. There is no fixed gear at all in the route which is a nice change, though the line Gone with the Weed about 20m to the left has fixed belays, offering a (tricky) escape if needed. Via Lara is Norwegian Grade 4 - so about HS/VS, and it gave me and Dave Gregory a pleasant afternoon - we were happy with the four hours we took for the seven pitches and six abseils down a neighbouring line. A Swedish guy we met at the bottom said he had soloed it the previous evening in just under 17 minutes - bugger!

A 'Big Up' for Noway

I like Norway for a heap of reason; the folks are friendly, the place is generally quiet, the scenery is magnificent, the roads are good the camp-sites are quiet AND cheap - all in all its a pretty cool place.
The weather is often surprisingly pleasant (24 hr day-light is a great novelty) and the expected insect life is always much less worse than anticipated.
On top of that there is some great climbing, the crags are not the most user friendly in the world (Kalymnos gets top vote for that) but they are generally of superb quality and usually deserted.
The south doesn't have the grandeur of Lofoten - but its beauty is still very evident, like a giant deserted version of the Lake District.
The £ has taken a bit of a dive against the Kroner so things are more expensive here compared to our last visit - but it still feels like good value!