Do not forget your credit card

12.08.2019 - Instead of our daily washing with a washing glove we treat ourselves with a nice shower this day. To do so, we drive to the beach near Kalle where we can use the public showers and toilets for a small fee. However, all payments must be made with a credit or debit card. So far we have been able to pay for everything with credit cards in Norway and Sweden and no cash has been required.

A sunny NON-enjoyable day

13.08.2019 - Sigi is eager to explore and does not want to take another day off in bright sunshine. The skin on my fingers is not yet completely restored. Therefore, he offers to climb the north ridge of the Vågakallen, the so-called Nordryggen (N4+, UK: S 4a, 12 pitches, Top 50), with me. After the last climbs this should be a pure enjoyable route, almost a walk, in wonderful weather.

On our way to the starting point of the route we get lost. We miss the crossing on the Djupfjorden path and ascend on the wrong mountainside. It is heavily overgrown and the dense undergrowth make it almost impossible to get through. We try to descend along a creek. Sigi slips in the middle of the stone gully which is covered by moss and grass. He breaks the tip of his expensive walking stick and scrapes his forearm. A short scream of rage and on we go: There is no surrender. Instead of the estimated 1 hour, it takes a full 4 hours to reach the starting point of the route.

Ready to set off, Sigi wants to start the tracking on his watch. In doing so, it drops out of his backpack and rolls down a steep slope which is followed by a cliff. Sigi is about to climb down. Just in time I can convince him to use a rope because the slope is very steep, brittle and slippery. While Sigi is searching, a group of climbers is approaching. A few meters below me, on the other side of the ridge, they stop and prepare for the climb. Sigi cannot retrieve his watch. We decide to hurry up and get going before the other group. Sigi is really upset and simply sets off wearing his approach shoes. While he leads the first pitch, it is really getting crowded at the starting point. I put on my climbing shoes, but take them off after the first pitch since there are a lot of grassy sections to pass. Sigi advised me to put them on again in the 5th pitch because the chimney is quite wet and slippery. Except for the chimney, the terrain is rather brittle and confusing. The route finding is more difficult than expected. The grand finale of this (for us) NOT enjoyable route is the jump over a deep crevasse. This jump is not just a little hop. It is a running jump and you land on a slab which is declining into the crevasse. Protection is possible but in case of a fall you would most likely get injured. (Look for yourself: Image search for Vågakallen Nordryggen)

The view from the summit is fantastic. However, the question is whether this route is worth it.

A hiking trail leads down from the summit. In Austria this path would be classified as difficult to very difficult. There are climbing passages and a scary slab. This slab is about 8 meters long, declines steeply to one side and after 3 to 4 meters it drops off into the depth. You should not stumble while crossing it. In rain and wet conditions this section might become quite unpleasant since the holds a not good. In Austria a steel rope would definitely be stretched across this passage. Norwegians seem to be quite serious about keeping paths clean and do not want to change nature permanently by using ropes, ladders etc. Or maybe they are just a bit tougher. We even meet a few young Norwegians wearing sneakers and short clothes who greet us in a good mood on their way up.

We drive to a parking area near the bridge to Henningsvær. A friendly Norwegian camper allows us to pass to a small road which leads to a beautiful spot next to the sea. Finally, we can enjoy the view of a spectacular sunset.

Overnight stay: N 68.168097, E 14.224332

Friendly faces

14.08.2019 - It is raining. We are still near the bridge to Henningsvær and enjoy the view. Before breakfast we go fishing (unfortunately without success). After breakfast we are highly motivated and start processing emails, bank transfers, blog entries etc. until we get an unexpected visit. Marius, the friendly Norwegian camper and climber who we have met the evening before with his climbing partner Karen, drops by. We invite him for a cup of tea and chat about climbing areas and routes, various climbing adventures and other hobbies. He also has a funny anecdote about the jump in the Nordryggen and how he watched other climbers trying to protect the jump in some way. In the evening Richard and Bernhard, two very friendly fellows from Bavaria, surprise us with a visit. For the past two years Richard has been living and working in Norway. He and Marius know the area very well and can recommend climbing areas and routes which are not necessarily found in the climbing guidebooks.

On this day we fail once again to create blog entries and have dinner after 20:00: A regular day in Norway.

Lessons learned

• In Norway you can pay by credit card almost everywhere. Even at the public toilets.
• In Austria there a fixed ropes and ladders, in Norway there is nothing but personal responsibility.
• The best plans and intentions sometimes fail because of friendly visits.