Page 27 - 2007/08 AMA Winter

Pianohandler Lunds Rute HS4c.isa good introduction, to the area, 5 pitches, best tackledyith', a large party. OÖdt Reg , Gentry on pitch oneT L
crack systems for finger and hand-jamming (Bare Bl&baer is highly recommended, and well worth the walk-in), and enormous granite slabs. The rock Is almost completely unpolished and exceptionally quick-drying - the frequent morning rainstorms never prevented us from climbing in the largely dry afternoons. And the views are incredible - unbroken chains of moun­ tains rising out of the deep blue Arctic Sea. Most of the climbing is in the grades VS and up, so this isn’t necessar­ ily a place for beginners.
That said, Kalle proved ideal for teaching leading and gain­ ing logbook experience, with
at least ten 10m (VDiff) routes covered as well as a pair of 30m (Sev 4a) pitches. More experienced climbers took to Skiloperen, ‘the Skier’ (E1 5b), on Store Festv&gvegg, which is described as, “the best route ever, ever," thus relegat­ ing Lys og Skygge, on Pianokrakken, to “best route ever, ever, except for the Skier.” Gamle Rev (E1 5b) and Lundeklubben (E1 5b), both on Festv&gvegg, also deserve mentioning. An hour’s walk-in from Presten leads to Bare Bl&baer
(VS 4c), which trans­ lates as 'Easy Peasy’ in Norse slang.
Wild camping meant
limited facilities, and
we were grateful for the shower facilities at Climbers’ Café in Henningsvaer, which cost 20 NOK to use. This Klatrekafe’en also provided a new routes book, cheap cof­ fee and cake and occasional­ ly shelter from the rain. A small group explored the superb bouldering at Presten about 1km from our campsite, enjoying both the high-quality
boulders and the astounding views out to sea.
By the end of the week, we had climbed on most of the crags
Flenningsvaer also mounted an
expedition to Svolvaer, to climb the iconic “Svolvaergeita,” or Svolvaer Goat, named for its horns. Special mention should go to Lt Cdr Hoather and OCdt Goss, who were filmed by a Norweigan televi­ sion helicopter while helping down two over-ambitious Norwegians - the first indica­ tion that something was wrong was when their leader tied in to our abseil rope!
The Lofoten Islands are remote and take some effort to travel to - but the quality of the climbing more than repaid our effort, and we can defi­ nitely back Ed W ebster’s decision to dub them ‘the Magic Islands.’
Exped Leader OCdt John Goss
ARMY MOUNTAINEER 25