Oslo area

One Saturday I was out bouldering with my family, when I decided to explore the surrounding forest in a random direction. I walked down a riverbed, with walls on either side, growing in size as I went along. Eventually I came across a beatiful arete, and on the spot I decided that I would have to buy a drill, so I could bolt and climb it.

I wanted to keep the line as pretty as possible so I opted for glue-in bolts. Glue-ins, although more effort to place, are much more aesthetically pleasing than expansion bolts. Checking the rock quality, cleaning the moss, drilling, and bolting took a total of 7 short trips.

At the time of writing it remains a project, not because it is crazy hard, but because I need to dedicate some time to finish it. The tricky part is the boulder problem at the end. To begin with, you do pleasant moves on the arete and face up to a rest. After the rest the moves get bigger, the angle becomes more overhanging, and the slopers get worse before topping out. I can’t wait to get back there.

Nordmarka

Later in 2020 I was watching a random outdoor adventure reality TV program when I spotted what looked like good rock in the background. I was excited by this because it was within an hour’s drive from home, and there was no established climbing there. Hungry for more rock I scoured the web for more information: topographical maps, and pictures from the ski association’s archive gave me enough to decide it was worth checking out. I drove as close as I could, cycled as far as the path allowed, walked as far as the path existed, and reached what will be a brilliant new sport crag with space for about 20 routes in all grades.

Walking closer I saw that the quality was really good with compact rock and good friction.

And the setting was just perfect. I hope to get out there this year to put up some new routes.