Old school New England 92 - Scanorama

The trigger for this ice climbing trip was an invitation from the
Norwegian alpine club “Norsk Tindeklub” to climb in the Lofoten
islands. The offer to look for new lines together with some of the
current best alpinists, like Marko Prezelj, Colin Haley, Aljaz Andere and
many more, while at the same time being served fresh fish daily was
just too attractive and I couldn’t resist.
FROSTY START IN LAVANGEN
Before heading to the important meeting at Lofoten, we wanted to search for
some ice lines on the mainland, eastward of Narvik. On our arrival polar Norway
sent us a cold welcome with -20 °C temperatures. Very close to Lavangenfjord
the existing ice climbing area of Spansdalen is located. With uncountable
possibilities at all grades, if you’re lucky you might even meet some other
climbers here: normally an absolute rarity in Northern Norway.
On the first day we looked for a line not too far from the road, because our
bodies still felt the exhaustion of the journey. As usual in Northern Norway, the
seemingly short approach turned out to be farther than it looked, and due to
exhausting trailbreaking it took much longer than we estimated. At 5 p.m. it
was dark, so already on our first day we had to use our headtorches.
FROZEN BØNES – ONE DAY IN THE STORM
After the cold start the next day we looked for a route in the sun. The famous
and beautiful shaped “Flågbekken” WI5/6 in Salangen was the best choice at a
still freezing -16 °C. The day after, we wanted to take a step in the direction of
Sweden. We arrived in Bønes at -20 °C and with 80 km/h winds – ice climbing
seemed to be impossible. But the cold air flow was only at the bottom of the
valley. Higher up at the start of the route it was calm at a mere -8 °C. We
managed to climb the great route, 250 metres on demanding ice around WI6
X/R. When looking for a name for the route, “Frozen Bønes” was the only thing
that came to my mind. Poor Hannes had to wait at the bottom of the valley with
his telephoto lens in the storm and suffered frostbite on his nose.
HAPPY END - SUMMIT OF HOVEN
BIG DAYS IN SORDALEN
The weather changed dramatically. The Gulf Stream had predominance now
and the baltic -37 °C changed into +9 °C in the fjord on the next day. Now
was the right time to start our activities in Sordalen. One perfect line after the
other sprawl up to 700 metres over the steep granite face on the west slopes
of the valley. On sight and totally clean we were able climb the routes “Stalker”
700m WI6/M7 which is completely vertical over 300 metres of its length,
and “Remember Mi” WI7-/M8, the ultimate fragile formation. These were two
absolute highlights in our ice climbing career.
LOFOTEN
Driving to Kabelvåg took us eight hours longer than usual because of a strong
storm. With 200 km/h wind speeds the Lofoten Islands were separated from
the outside world. Heavy rain over three days and temperatures far above
0 °C had a disastrous effect on the ice conditions on the islands that are well
exposed to open sea. Nevertheless the climbers from all over the world were
highly motivated. The strategy was quickly changed from ice climbing to winter
climbing and we experienced some interesting days on the island in impressive
surroundings.
www.marmot.eu
HANNES MAIR