Blog
2009-01-10 11:54:39
Toys vs. conditions
Today I took a moment to reflect (it doesn't happen very often). Two days ago I had advanced plans of sending some really big ice routes in Eidfjord, some of my hidden secrets up there. The night before leaving, the forecast showed temperatures up to 8 C in that area, which pretty much killed that project. Plan B for me and my friend Seth was to complete a project here in the valley, however, when I woke up this morning thermometer showed fucking 7 C. I have climbed enough here to know that when temperature goes from pretty cold to 7 C in less than 24 hours, I stay away from any interesting climbing.
So this morning I was basically looking at a day at the office, which just didn't feel right. Too warm for ice climbing and nordic skiing, not enough snow to go snowboarding, shit weather for paragliding.. Desperate to get some workout done I decided to take my bike out for a ride, which proved to be an excellent idea. Roads were clear from ice and snow and I managed to get a good two hours on the bike.
I think that the key to have fun every day in the mountains is to cover enough sports to be able to whatever conditions and weather allow. For me, doing 30 km on nordic skis in perfect conditions, or go snowboarding in fresh powder, is just as rewarding as swinging ice tools on a good day. Point is, that those memorable moments from each season, are rare, and I much rather choose my toys by looking at the current conditions, than go out and have a mellow day, doing something that the conditions are not great for.
On the trail, in perfect conditions
Today I took a moment to reflect (it doesn't happen very often). Two days ago I had advanced plans of sending some really big ice routes in Eidfjord, some of my hidden secrets up there. The night before leaving, the forecast showed temperatures up to 8 C in that area, which pretty much killed that project. Plan B for me and my friend Seth was to complete a project here in the valley, however, when I woke up this morning thermometer showed fucking 7 C. I have climbed enough here to know that when temperature goes from pretty cold to 7 C in less than 24 hours, I stay away from any interesting climbing.
So this morning I was basically looking at a day at the office, which just didn't feel right. Too warm for ice climbing and nordic skiing, not enough snow to go snowboarding, shit weather for paragliding.. Desperate to get some workout done I decided to take my bike out for a ride, which proved to be an excellent idea. Roads were clear from ice and snow and I managed to get a good two hours on the bike.
I think that the key to have fun every day in the mountains is to cover enough sports to be able to whatever conditions and weather allow. For me, doing 30 km on nordic skis in perfect conditions, or go snowboarding in fresh powder, is just as rewarding as swinging ice tools on a good day. Point is, that those memorable moments from each season, are rare, and I much rather choose my toys by looking at the current conditions, than go out and have a mellow day, doing something that the conditions are not great for.
On the trail, in perfect conditions
2009-01-08 01:16:27
Weekend plans!
Me and my US friend Seth Hobby had cooked up some pretty advanced plans for this weekend, keywords: Eidfjord, unclimbed big ass routes, perfect conditions etc. It's been cold for weeks, even in areas closer to the coast, and ice has built like mad in Eidfjord. Sadly, looking at weather report today, this weekend is looking pretty fucked up, weatherwise. Rain and temps up to 7 C for the whole weekend is not ideal conditions for sending 300+ meter ice routes. Bummer...
Looks like conditions at home will be good though, so might have a go at a project here in the valley, that I've been thinking about for years.
Looking forward to paragliding season now, so had to add a photo, for inspiration! Cred: Fredrik Gustavsson www.carpe-diem.se
Me and my US friend Seth Hobby had cooked up some pretty advanced plans for this weekend, keywords: Eidfjord, unclimbed big ass routes, perfect conditions etc. It's been cold for weeks, even in areas closer to the coast, and ice has built like mad in Eidfjord. Sadly, looking at weather report today, this weekend is looking pretty fucked up, weatherwise. Rain and temps up to 7 C for the whole weekend is not ideal conditions for sending 300+ meter ice routes. Bummer...
Looks like conditions at home will be good though, so might have a go at a project here in the valley, that I've been thinking about for years.
Looking forward to paragliding season now, so had to add a photo, for inspiration! Cred: Fredrik Gustavsson www.carpe-diem.se
2008-12-29 09:44:18
Season is ON!
It's been a great start of the ice season here, tons of ice relatively early in December, with close to perfect temps every day (except for a few days with -15 C and one with +7 C and rain) Despite the generally good conditions, few climbers have visited Rjukan, compared to last season, at least this is my feeling. The last couple of weekends I have counted no more than 10 - 15 climbers on one day at Krokan, which is the most popular area here.
So far I have more than 20 days on ice, included days I've been guiding and doing clinics. Nothing big so far, saving that for later in the winter. I like to have a long warm up at the start of the season, to get my head go into ice mode, which I find harder this season after having a summer without climbing (but not without training though). This winter I'm gonna put more time into snowboarding and nordic skiing as well, which I often find more rewarding than climbing ice these days, don't know why. I might get my hands on a speed rider later this winter, which is going to be interesting, hmm..
With only a few days left of 2008 I wish everyone a Happy New Year. See you out there!
It's been a great start of the ice season here, tons of ice relatively early in December, with close to perfect temps every day (except for a few days with -15 C and one with +7 C and rain) Despite the generally good conditions, few climbers have visited Rjukan, compared to last season, at least this is my feeling. The last couple of weekends I have counted no more than 10 - 15 climbers on one day at Krokan, which is the most popular area here.
So far I have more than 20 days on ice, included days I've been guiding and doing clinics. Nothing big so far, saving that for later in the winter. I like to have a long warm up at the start of the season, to get my head go into ice mode, which I find harder this season after having a summer without climbing (but not without training though). This winter I'm gonna put more time into snowboarding and nordic skiing as well, which I often find more rewarding than climbing ice these days, don't know why. I might get my hands on a speed rider later this winter, which is going to be interesting, hmm..
With only a few days left of 2008 I wish everyone a Happy New Year. See you out there!
2008-10-21 11:32:46
Weekend with the Norwegian Team in Telemark
This weekend I spent together with the Norwegian National team in telemark. Me and my friend Marius had been asked to put together three days of different excercises as part of their training program for this winter. A perfect opportunity to check my own level of fitness before the winter season start. For this winter I have been focusing on endurance and mental training only. I have come to the conclusion that clipping bolts or bouldering doesn't do anything for me. This summer I have not climbed one meter and I still send the same sport routes as I did last season, when I had months of climbing behind me. This weekend with the Telemark Team pretty much summons my own training program for the last couple of months.
Friday
We started on Friday morning by hiking up the steep trail behind Saaheim power station, which is a work out if you do it under an hour, which we did. From Selstali Seter, we followed the road for about 5 km to the road block, where our bikes were waiting. It was time for a trail session with bikes. We followed a pretty technical trail down to the dam at Krokan and the followed the road to the bridge at Våer. After a rappell down into the gorge we hiked up the trail to the parking lot and got on the bikes again. Instead of taking the main road back to town, we hauled ass down Kraftledningsveien, a tourist trail, perfect for mountain biking.
Saturday
I woke up to strong winds and low clouds, not the ideal day for mountain adventures, but we had scheduled to hike up Gaustatoppen this day. Conditions wasn't too bad until we got up to about 1500 meters. Ice and snow made it hard to walk fast but we reached the top within 1,5 hours. A good work out. Our original plan was to do a ridge traverse but it was windy as hell at the top and visibility was almost zero. Instead, we did a fast descent, back to the parking lot.
Sunday
We started the day with a four hour session on the indoor wall. I was mostly instructing but I got an hour of climbing and campus myself. After the gym session we took our bikes up to Krossobanen, for some down-hill in Ryes Vei, a 5 km less technical but super fun down-hill ride. I used my wife's Nakamura Black Dog free-ride bike, which is a beast compared to my Specialized FSR XC Comp. We all did three runs each, a few crashes and flat tires, but no incidents. Perfect day!
This weekend I spent together with the Norwegian National team in telemark. Me and my friend Marius had been asked to put together three days of different excercises as part of their training program for this winter. A perfect opportunity to check my own level of fitness before the winter season start. For this winter I have been focusing on endurance and mental training only. I have come to the conclusion that clipping bolts or bouldering doesn't do anything for me. This summer I have not climbed one meter and I still send the same sport routes as I did last season, when I had months of climbing behind me. This weekend with the Telemark Team pretty much summons my own training program for the last couple of months.
Friday
We started on Friday morning by hiking up the steep trail behind Saaheim power station, which is a work out if you do it under an hour, which we did. From Selstali Seter, we followed the road for about 5 km to the road block, where our bikes were waiting. It was time for a trail session with bikes. We followed a pretty technical trail down to the dam at Krokan and the followed the road to the bridge at Våer. After a rappell down into the gorge we hiked up the trail to the parking lot and got on the bikes again. Instead of taking the main road back to town, we hauled ass down Kraftledningsveien, a tourist trail, perfect for mountain biking.
Saturday
I woke up to strong winds and low clouds, not the ideal day for mountain adventures, but we had scheduled to hike up Gaustatoppen this day. Conditions wasn't too bad until we got up to about 1500 meters. Ice and snow made it hard to walk fast but we reached the top within 1,5 hours. A good work out. Our original plan was to do a ridge traverse but it was windy as hell at the top and visibility was almost zero. Instead, we did a fast descent, back to the parking lot.
Sunday
We started the day with a four hour session on the indoor wall. I was mostly instructing but I got an hour of climbing and campus myself. After the gym session we took our bikes up to Krossobanen, for some down-hill in Ryes Vei, a 5 km less technical but super fun down-hill ride. I used my wife's Nakamura Black Dog free-ride bike, which is a beast compared to my Specialized FSR XC Comp. We all did three runs each, a few crashes and flat tires, but no incidents. Perfect day!
2008-10-14 14:20:03
Banff Mountain Film Festival in Gothenburg
I did a short speech to introduce the Ice Mines film at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Gothenburg, on October 6. More than 700 visitors had come to the old cinema "Draken" in center of Gothenburg, to watch some of the best outdoor films of this year. I'm not a big fan of climbing or ski films, and I rarely watch them, but I have to say I was impressed by the quality of almost all the films of this year's show.
The whole arrangement at Draken was perfect, thanks to Pathfinder Travels, that have hosted the Banff Film Festival for the last couple of years. I got the chance to meet up with a few climbing friends and spoke to a lot of nice people (Gothenburg is maybe the most friendly big city in Sweden). Myself, my brother and his girlfriend, and a climbing bud of mine, Per, finished the evening with beer and food. Perfect!
I did a short speech to introduce the Ice Mines film at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Gothenburg, on October 6. More than 700 visitors had come to the old cinema "Draken" in center of Gothenburg, to watch some of the best outdoor films of this year. I'm not a big fan of climbing or ski films, and I rarely watch them, but I have to say I was impressed by the quality of almost all the films of this year's show.
The whole arrangement at Draken was perfect, thanks to Pathfinder Travels, that have hosted the Banff Film Festival for the last couple of years. I got the chance to meet up with a few climbing friends and spoke to a lot of nice people (Gothenburg is maybe the most friendly big city in Sweden). Myself, my brother and his girlfriend, and a climbing bud of mine, Per, finished the evening with beer and food. Perfect!
