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Showing posts from February, 2019

Crampoff (WI4, 200m), Svenkerud

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Eventyrland is a fairly well-known route at Svenkerud, however further right there are a number of ice lines that have seen a lot less attention from climbers. Naturally there is very little information about them. Nikolay had already climbed the ice line immediately right of Eventyrland, referred to as 'Svenkerudisen Venstre' by ourselves, but there remained a right-hand variant still to try, and also a completely independent line even further right. The latter had greater appeal for me due to it being a fully independent line. These ice routes in question follow an easy angle in the lower parts but are steeper in the upper parts. In the case of the far right hand route there was no clear visible way to transition between these two sections, however I was fairly confident that a way would present when at closer quarters. The uncertainties over route-finding actually added interest for me, rather than raised concern.  Ice at Svenkerud In light of Svenkerudisen Venstre

No Disappointments on Skuffelsen (WI5)

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I haven't been the biggest fan of Rjukan in recent years as I prefer less frequented places where the ice is free from hooks or steps. That often isn't what Rjukan does best, and in leaner times it has been the polar opposite due to limited options. In better years there can be a huge volume of climbs, although I've generally been unlucky with injuries and illness on such occasions.  There's actually a fair number of three star routes in the Rjukan guidebooks that have no entries in the UKC logbook. A lot of these routes have a relatively moderate approach of one hour or less, however by Rjukan standards that isn't very convenient. They are total non-classics that probably see very few, or even no ascents each year. The bucket list routes take less effort to reach and often have a regular stream of conditions beta, which has a perpetual effect of further increasing their popularity. I've climbed most of the standard bucket list now, so I figure it's time