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Kjørlifossen (WI5, 400m), Lærdal

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We were in Hemsedal because Murilo had been keen to have another go at Midtlinja on Hydnefossen after a couple of failed attempts. A few days ice climbing in the area and Murilo sensed his form wasn't where it needed to be for the route, and I was also a little ambivalent after climbing the line in 2020. With this plan scrapped, a large carrot was immediately dangled in front of my nose via social media. Kjørlifossen had just been climbed and this was apparently a massive classic, despite me never having heard of it before. Despite this icefall potentially being as hard as Midtlinja, the spirit of chasing the ephemeral got the better of us, and the following Sunday morning we were driving over Hemsedalfjellet en route for Lærdal - somewhere I had never climbed before. We were not the only people with this plan, and on the final stretch of the approach we passed a team of three descending French climbers. They were not happy with a horizontal crack at the base of the initial pillar ...
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Svaddefossen (WI4+), Rjukan

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Plan A had been Grøtenutbekken, however once it became clear that the temperatures would be anything between - 20 and - 27 degrees, we quickly reconsidered due to the tension that would be in the ice. The reserve plan was Setesdal, where temperatures were expected to be in single digit minus figures, however that went southwards shortly before our departure on the Friday, when learned that ice conditions weren't great from a couple of sources. Thin ice, with water flowing freely down some of the major routes, didn't sound appealing enough to take a chance.  Rjukan seemed the natural choice at so short notice, as the temperatures were also a little more moderate than the original plan, and conditions were a fairly known substance due to having visited two weeks earlier. The snow on the approaches sounded deep, but that would be the case everywhere. With plans set on Rjukan, we went back and fourth with possible objectives before we finally settled on Svaddefossen. I knew it was ...
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Location: Rjukan, Norway
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To Menn og et Foster (WI4), Rjukan

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With so much ice having formed this season, I was keen to vist Rjukan to climb some routes that had evaded me during milder, drier winters. There was plenty of ice, but there was also plenty of snow to contend with, particularly after the preceeding 48 hours, and the snowfall wasn't due to ease up today. Perfect skiing conditions in fact... To Menn og et Foster seemed a good choice of route due to the moderately short approach. I had climbed the neighbouring route Bølgen in 2008, during which there had also been a lot of snow, and I remembered no epics in reaching its base. I had seen To Menn og et Foster from the road while visiting Rjuken in mid-December, and it had looked already in condition, and so a relatively safe bet for this second visit three weeks later. Some obvious curtains high on the route form the crux, but I was fairly confident that these had suitably fattened due to the amount of snow resting on them. Both Dorian and Jamie seemed psyched, despite this possibly no...
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Location: Rjukan, Norway
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Venstrelinja (WI6), Hydnefossen

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Venstrelinja on Hydnefossen was not remotely on my radar as a climbing objective until a few hours after climbing the classic, easier neighbouring line, Midtlinja. Midtlinja had felt a full test of my abilities on the first failed attempt, but better route-finding on the second visit had made it feel a comparatively steady outing and benchmark for the grade. I definitely wasn't finished with the Hydnefossen experience, which meant I needed a new challenge to start obsessing about, and on Hydnefossen this generally means a harder challenge.  The first test was trying to find someone willing to attempt Venstrelinja with me. Moving up to a higher grade might have made partner recruitment a harder project, but luckily Fredrik said yes with little evidence of hesitation.  The forecast for the coming weekend wasn't ideal, but I was off to Scotland the following weekend, and so my next opportunity wouldn't otherwise be until mid-March. There seemed therefore a possibility of missi...
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Location: Hydnefossen, Hemsedal kommune, Norway
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Midtlinja (WI5), Hydnefossen

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Hydnefossen is a waterfall that I was in awe of long before I ever felt capable of climbing it. Its prominent position over the main Hemsedal valley makes it impossible to miss. It has drawn my eye both summer and winter and it is undoubtedly Hemsedal's jewel in the crown when it comes to ice climbing. This awe has grown into an obsession of late. It's a waterfall that I've geared my winter season around. I even turned down an offer to visit the Canadian Rockies in case Midtlinja ('the middle line' in English) on Hydnefossen came into condition in my absence. Nobody successfully climbed Hydnefossen to my knowledge last season and the way the season was panning out, with some significant warm periods, I wasn't expecting much different this time around.  Then a report of an ascent of Midtlinja, with good conditions reported... That one took me by surprise!  My friend Murilo was visiting from the UK for four days. I popped the Hydnefossen question and he w...
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Hardis (WI4+/5), Sørstulen

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The hardest element of climbing Hardis at Sørstulen seemed to be getting through the barrier at the start of the private road. The 200kr fee for using the road is around three to four times the typical rate, and arguably exploitative, but pragmatically it's still cheaper than Jeroen and I visiting a climbing wall together, and the quality of climbing at Sørstulen was top notch on my last visit a few years ago. It was worth biting the bullet and paying. We sent the text, with the car registration details as described, waited for the barrier to lift, but nothing happened, apart from receiving a 200 kr invoice by SMS. It was 8:20am and the customer services were not available to speak to until 9am. I tried sending another text ten minutes later but it was the same outcome. Another invoice. We waited patiently until 9am. Sending an angry email to the same customer services helped pass the time. Jeroen meanwhile Googled and tried several optimistic ways to trick the gate to op...
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