Lofoten 2022
- Tomaso Greksák
- Sep 24, 2022
- 6 min read
Lofoten Islands is one of the remote paradises in Europe. From the Climbingbus base in Central Europe it's more then 3000km, so quite a drive. The scenery, atmosphere and climbing there is worth every bit of trouble of getting there. Normally our trips are worryfree not only for our clients but our staff as well. But sometimes things get complicated. Sometimes right from the start. That is usually a moment you are glad, you chose to travel with Climbingbus.
Dramatic start of the journey
For me as a guide it all started with a text message. Not a positive one. Four out of six clients stuck at their departure airfield with a canceled flight. With no chance getting to Bodo for another couple of days with a long and costly layover in Oslo. A logistical/communication challenge started and ended up by rerouting the group to Narvik, at the other side of Lofoten, some 5 hour drive from where we were supposed to meet. They got there before midnight, and exited Narvik airport in a downpour that was drowning the region for the past couple of weeks. The forecast did not look great either. Locals talked about the worst summer in 10 years. Not a good start and still 5 hour drive ahead of us to get to our designated starting point. Good thing about bad starts in my experience is that they tend to improve and do it exponentially. Although it was not a downright climbing curve, I was right in the end. But we get to that.
The group I picked up and I have spent a short night camping by the road as not to drive through the night, while Matej slept in a hotel in Bodo, the ferry port to Lofoten and Peter at the camp in Moskenes, our designated meeting place. All I could do for a better comfort of the group was a fresh hot coffee in the morning with a rich and sweet porridge, which was well received by the sleepy people, still a bit shaken from the stressful previous day. As we have finished our long journez through the whole Lofoten to almost their most southern tip, the weather improved somewhat and the first meeting of the whole group was actually made in sunny camp in Moskenes. There we have updated our itinerary for the next couple of days and after a quick shopping headed straight for the beach near Ramberg with the warm-up boulder in the middle.
All days are insanely long in the far north in summer, but this first one seemed almost never ending and luckily improved as it progressed. We made camp in the wild under the immense cliffs by the beautiful waterfall and still only a hundred meters or so from the sea shore. I have cooked our first dinner - grilled salmon with grilled corn and salad and while half of the group opted for a well deserved sleep I took the other half for their first midnight sun bouldering. There could not have been a better end to the first full day in Lofoten.
Sunny days and rainy days
Next day started with sun as well and a nice warm-up bouldering in Flagstadpollen area. We even brushed some new boulders and made couple of first ascents. For first ascentionists Lofoten are a "terra promesa", just pick one of the multitude of laying around boulders, give it a bit of a scrub with a brush and "voila". The session evoled from a warm-up into a regular projecting and crushing so after our skin was raw, we headed for a well deserved coffee and cake to the nearby Glasshytta - an artisan glass workshop with a cafeteria and fashionable amenities. Thus refreshed we all finally slipped into the full holiday mode.
Culture is part of the deal
Sunday morning has surprised us with heavy clouds and a smell of rain in the air. Our skin and bodies were still quite sore so I set course for some sightseeing as a rest day. We visited Nusfjord, one of the oldest fishing villages in Lofoten, turned into an open-air museum. We wandered about for a few hours and had a wonderful cakes in a small and cozy bakery. Refueled on sugar we continued to Lofotr - the largest viking museum on the islands. After spending two hours there we have returned to the Lofoten Beach Camp where we spent last night. We spend the late evening watching the sun set shortly before midnight, a spectacular event after the skies cleared in the evening.
The rain was in forecast for Monday as well, but we have waken to a dry but overcast morning. We packed our camp and spend a few hours bouldering at Skagsanden a nice crag with boulders on the rocky beach and meadows near the camping site. Satisfied and tired we moved north in expectation of better weather there. We have reached our next campsite in the evening and set up our tents in between downpours. So much for the better weather. The common room/kitchen at the campsite became our evening abode and it turned out quite a party place after our group get into a dancing contest with the group of French youngsters and their parents. This lifted the mood significantly.
Tuesday was promising showers throughout the day so we once again headed for some coffee and local pastry. This time to Henningsvaer a nice small town spread over several small islands, connected by bridges. The weather has cleared somewhat in the afternoon so we decided to go for our first hike to Festvägtind towering over the town. Unfortunatelly the rain has started again when we have reached the first outlook so we got back to the car and went for a dinner. After dinner it got reasonable again and we at least had a short night bouldering session around our campsite.
Next day was a total opposite to the previous two days. Clear blue sky, nice and warm and windless. Perfect day for bouldering at the beach under a popular trad climbing headwall of Gandalf. This day was really great a treat we all needed after several wet and rainy days. We have cleared the beach sector quite thoroughly climbing all the lines, and adding a new dyno.
I planned climbing near Henningsvaer longer but the weather got worse again drove us to wait out the morning rain to the town, sampling other coffee shops and artisan glass and candle workshops. The weather was not improving o we decided to go for a little recon to the crag called Presten boulders. It was soaking wet when we arrived but decided to give it a chance. Miraculously the sky has cleared a bit and we even got some sunshine in the end. Our patience was rewarded by a great bouldering session on the local gems. After tthe session we hit the road again and moved to the next destination on the list - Uttakkleiv.
Highlight of the trip
Uttakleiv was a hit of the trip 3 years ago and did not disappoint this time either. Green, low grassy hills close-cropped by sheep running to a sandy beach are as aesthetic as it can get. Add to it boulders laying on that sandy beach and you get paradise. Friday was warm and sunny since morning so we bouldered a lot, bathed in the sea and went for a beautiful hike on the mountains above the beach. That treated us with vistas of unprecedented beauty. The amazing sunset and a late supper, midnight bacalao dish was a great end to the yet another awesome day.
Saturday was the last active day as everyone had a flight to catch next day from Bodo. I took the group to one of the special places. Special for me personally but mainly special, because it is quite remote and combines beautiful views, nice bouldering and fun hike. This place is called Kvalvika or more precisely Vestervika beach. We all were quite tired after such an eventful week but we managed the hike and bouldering while the weather held and finished the trip by "last supper"of hamburgers and fish burgers I grilled after the hike.
In the evening it was time to say goodbye. These moments are always awkward as we have spent quite an intensive time together. I always consider my clients as friends and its even stronger after trips like these when we go through a lot together. They all were amazing individually and made a great and cohesive group despite not everyone knowing each other or me before the trip. People like these and places like Lofoten makes me love this job and motivate me to bring this kind of experiences to more people as well.
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