july/august in sweden/norway

I'll be traveling to southern Sweden for a wedding in mid august, so am hoping to tack on a couple weeks of sport climbing (5.9-5.11 range) somewhere in the general region, but I don't know that part of the world at all. Looks like Norway is a better bet than Sweden, though pricier. What else should I keep on my radar? Also what's the best way to find partners in those parts--on these forums, at the local climbing shop, or at the closest campground to the crag?? Lastly, anyone have any book recommendations? Thanks!!

bump for this post! I'll be in Norway in June and am wondering the same things! looking for partners and beta!

Bump! I will likely be in the Bergen area the last week of July. Anyone else be there?

Hi, I got pretty good overview (Norwegian). What kind of climbing are you guys looking fo?

Bohuslän is a really great Swedish climbing area with great cragging at least for trad-cragging and bouldering that is just as good as anything in the Oslo-region.

To the second guy: what kind of climbing and where are you staying?

Bergen-area:
Bouldering: Harbak is the best bouldering area near Bergen. Øygarden has some decent bouldering and lots of sport. For alpine then Hurrungane is the place to go. I moved from Bergen in 2011, so I don't know if there is a topo now. This is the climbing-club: bergen-klatreklubb.no/ A car will be useful but not absolutely necessary.

Kristian

kristian,
I will be flying into bergen on june 9th. As of right now I will be by myself and dont have any real plans untill june 22nd, when I fly back to the US from Coppenhagen. I am taking my tent, and was going to buy a EuroRail pass. Work my way to trondheim, then back south to Oslo, but no real plans. I will not really be able to take much of my climbing gear as it would be too much to carry backpacking, especially considering I will not have a guaranteed partner.
I am looking for ways to meet potential partners, info on what parts of the country to visit. I love to climb mountains, and hike/backpack, so If I do not find climbing partners I will still travel, boulder, hike etc... I can climb trad/sport/boulder, and would carry a harness and shoes and simple gear (even through my week in Iceland before) if I could even get one day of real climbing while in Norway.

Bohuslän is good, and my most positive memories are of Holler. But as I recall all of Bohuslän is much closer to Goteburg than anywhere else mentioned hitherto.
As for where to go between Trondheim and Oslo? Well, you can get to Lofoten in fairly short order from either, and it is pretty darn worth while, but it's all trad, so find a partner or hire a guide as one. The bigger walls there are pretty incredible.

Hi GoingUp,

if you like hiking I recomend stitching together a bus-trip from Bergen to Trondheim (not the direct-line, that is horrendous) with some stops along the way. That will take you through all the fjords worth seeing, and the hiking is spectacular. It can be pricey, but using CouchSurfer or AirBnB (or just a tent, you can safely camp just about anywhere)can make it more reasonable.

Some key words:
- Hurrungane: the prime alpine area. Base in inner Sogn. Lots of alpine climbing.
- Jostedalen Glacier can be reached from Olden, Loen and Fjærland. A great alpine area. Skåla is the most visited peak here and absolutely spectacular with easy access. You can stay overnight in the simple cabin on the summit. Highly recomended. Crowded in the weekends.
- Sunmøre alps: not high (ca 1500 meters) but very jagged peaks going straight up from the fjord. Ålesund is a good base.
- Romsdal: tons of alpine, climbing and some bouldering. Base from Åndalsnes. Romsdalshorn (3 pitches, 5.5?) is an alpine classic.

As for climbing in Trondheim it is a bit scattered around, but there are good bouldering at Harbak and Vingsand, a good sport-climbing-crag at Hell (yes, that's the name). A bit further north is the infamous Flatanger Cave of Adam Ondra.

Between Oslo and Trondheim you should really try to get off at Dovre and hike Snøhetta. Oppdal is also along the train and make a good starting point for hiking.

The main problem may be to get around and finding people. Maybe looking for Facebook-groups or similar could help here. Also there is a site called fjellforum.no that might help.

Kristian,

Thank you for the recommendations! I am wondering if there is any more information on Øygarden you could provide - how to get there and is the climbing mostly sport? We will be looking for easier sport routes, 5.9-5.11. Is there a preferred guide book? Thank you very much for your guidance to us all, it is appreciated.

Also, any food recommendations to take with while camping for extended periods? As I assume getting out to Øygarden would involve leaving the city. Thanks again.

Hi John, I found this guide-book that should cover most of it.

bergen-klatreklubb.no/forer…

You can buy it at the shops Ute and Platou in downtown Bergen. They also sell drytech-food. The guide-book should contain instructions for access. If not then they should know at Ute or at Bergen Climbing Club (Bergen-klatreklubb.no)

Øygarden is a string of islands like a mini-version of the Keys. It's a really beautiful place, and as long as you are considerate you can camp every where in uncultivated land. However, you'll have to drive to find food shops and to go between crags. Depending on how many days you are staying and whether you'll have a car or not you'll have to consider to bring food from Bergen.

Be ware that weather is highly variable. The coastal climate can be humid, to put it like that. On the good side, it can be dry in Øygarden while raining in Bergen (Bergen is what we call a rain-hole with a very wet microclimate).

Thanks a lot Kristian! Thats a ton of information to help me plan my trip!, I did look into Loen and hiking Skala! Easy research turned that up, my only worry is too many people?!
as this trip gets closer (and partly thanks to you) It is becoming more and more real for me to be able to truly, backpack much or Norway, while still being able to climb and hike without a car!
From the Bus trip moving north from Bergen to Trondheim, are places to camp easily accessible without a car?

Hi, yes I guess you will find plenty of places to camp. As I said: as long as the land is uncultivated you can camp wherever you want. And there is plenty plenty of scenic places.

As for other mountains: yes there are plenty abound that are absolutely spectacular and where you won't meet a soul. Also straight off the bus. Here is a site for finding peaks. It is mostly in norwegian, but got a nice map-function
peakbook.org/

Search around in the map, find out where the bus passes, and make a plan :-)