Lee Harrison Climbing

Abseiling the main pitch 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 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...

With winter back from the dead for an encore I paid one more visit to Rjukan for what would certainly be the final, final weekend of ice climbing for the season. Above all else because I was flying to the Alps the following weekend. I've climbed none of the big A-list objectives that I had chalked up in my head at the start of the season, although I can take consolation that nobody else has managed to due to poor conditions. The season can be summarised by four weeks of solid cold temperatures in the middle of the season, with some very patchy conditions either side. On the plus side I've found some excellent, opportunistic, less-travelled routes that were well off my radar prior., and sometimes these sorts of routes can be more rewarding due to the lack of pre-expectations or beta. I had seen Blomkålsfossen from the road previously and it had looked an intimidating prospect. Its appearance resembled a smaller Juvsøyla, however it was hard to properly gauge conditions due ...

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...

Winter conditions looked to be holding in Rjukan for another weekend and I was keen to capitalise. Anna's psych for more ice this season I sensed was starting to wane, but a combination of cross-country skiing and climbing I hoped would reinvigorate her. Gaustatoppen looked still to be well below freezing and, given this was the scene of my final act in December 2015 before I was struck down with long-term fatigue, it seemed fitting to make a return. After missing out on the whole of the preceding winter I was keen to drag this one out as long as I could manage. I should quickly point out that I'm a pretty poor skier. This wasn't helped by me forgetting to pack my skins, partly because everything that I had done prior to this was in groomed tracks. At least I was able to purchase some wax at the Gaustablikk resort without too much delay. The approach was far from the idyllic skiing that I had envisaged. Often the way was too narrow to herring bone, meaning my 210cm skis...

The only WI5 that I had yet to climb in Upper Gorge was Verdens Ende, so this was Plan A for Sunday. Plan B was something nearby that was free of climbers. We opted to abseil part way into the western end of the gorge due to the unpleasant combination of powder snow concealing sporadic sections of hard ice on the descent. The last time that I had descended this way was following the fatal accident on Lipton in 2015 and it was difficult not think back to that terrible day. I had no interest in returning to the rocks beneath the climb where we had made futile attempts to save the Italian climber's life. This end of the gorge felt a world apart from the climbing busyness at the Vermork end with not a footprint to be seen. Rjukanfossen looked fat but Lipton was almost entirely absent of ice. Verdens Ende had seen better days with the ice on the first pitch looking eroded and hollowed out in the middle section. The route looked as though it had suffered some major thaws without t...