UKH

Hello UKC users,

So in light of this recent spate of warm weather and the poor conditions at Rjukan, my partner and I have cast our net further afield and will look to climb at Hemsedal and/or Gudvangen. Is there perchance anyone here who has been in the Gudvangen area recently, or going there, or hallelujah living there who can provide any beta on conditions? I know this is a bit of a stretch on an English speaking website, and I will look around for some Norwegian sites to post similar questions, but any advice would be great!

/sanguine

In reply to sanguine:

When were you planning your trip?

I've not been to Gudvangen but is it protected enough from warm air from the Atlantic direction? Generally heading more East to more central parts of Norway finds better conditions. Go on yr.no and compare temps for the next few days for different places example. Eg it's currently +1 degree in Gudvangen and -18 in Hemsedal.

In reply to sanguine:

Drove through on the 27/12 on the way back to Valdres. No snow in the valley, ice was building. Was quite impressed with the amount of ice that had built considering when I drove to Bergen on the 23rd it was raining cats and dogs in Gudvangen.

Gudvangen is at sea level. I have driven through this amazing valley many times and have seen it most years in good conditions, but when is the tricky question. It is home to some amazing looking lines. What has been done is a mystery. Some just look like vertical vapour smears, clinging momentarily. With the lack of snow this year I saw many other lines of a more modest nature that i had not seen before. The same went for Lærdal. Often in these snow poor years the most amazing ice lines appear.

In reply to Mr. Lee:

We are planning for the second last weekend of January (fixed dates unfortunately as I am away to the equator for February).

In reply to Jamie Simpson - Alpine Dragons:

Thanks for the update Jamie - I have been following your other reports from the region - it seems that Gudvangen is coming into shape now? I am not sure where we will try for yet, but we will concentrate our efforts for Gudvangen and attempt something in the region of a 5 grade. Any thoughts on that?

Also, moderately priced accommodation in the Flåm/Gudvangen/Ardal region is scarce - all we need is four walls and a roof - any farmers in the region with a cabin to spare? Not wanting to spend +900NOK for a small apartment that doesn't even include sheets :-p Any recommendations on a place to stay? We would also consider camping wild, providing we can find any decent spots.

In reply to sanguine:
The scutterbutt from Otta and Gudbrandsdalen areas is pretty good!

http://tinyurl.com/lp8fdpr

With an intriguing long term forecast: http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Oppland/Sel/Otta/long.html

In reply to GarethSL:

Interesting for sure - any knowledge of current ice formation?

In reply to sanguine:

If you use facebook the link below shows conditions from Selsjordsbekken (Pillarguri, page 53 in the pdf link) from around 10 days ago... And also from earlier in December near Fagernes.

Given the present cold conditions and recent snow then there is likely more ice and winter feeling there by now, I imagine that anything around Lillehammer and northwards is probably well in condition. Whilst the west has been merked with warm wet storms coming in from the Atlantic and UK, the inner parts of Norway have been quite nicely protected.

https://www.facebook.com/IceClimbingConditionsNorway/?fref=ts

In reply to sanguine:
Sorry for the slow reply. Been busy running avalanche courses at Filefjell Ski center. Its been to dark on the way there and the way back to get pictures at the moment.

Gudvangen: From what i hear and have seen you need a prolonged cold spelt sea level, with the optimal conditions at the point the temps start to rise again (which inherently means its about to fall down). I have tried together info on Gudvangen for several years and failed. My advise would to base yourself centrally keeping all options open.

On the accommodations. Difficult to find cheap accommodation in Norway, most camping grounds are closed in the winter. Its been a big criticism of Norwegian accommodation, being expensive and often poor quality. Airbnb might be worth a look and be willing to ask for an offer especially out of season. Camping: Wild camping is legal, as long as its not in someone garden or a field. If I hear of anything i'll post.

In reply to sanguine:

Hey Jamie, where would you recommend staying if route objectives are around Bagn, Gol, Hemsedal, Vang. Coming to Norway for a first time climbing visit in a couple weeks. And if climbing in Gudvangen and surrounding areas, Would Aurland be a good place to stay?

In reply to Dave Rone:

Hi,

Didn't see your post! For Bagn, Gol & Hemsedal I would suggest Gol. As you can find reasonable choices of accommodations. Hemsedal is expensive. Bagn / Stavadalen is about 1.5 hours from Gol. They generally have short walk in so your compensated for the drive.

Gudvangen / Lærdal etc, best find accom on that side. Aurland has been used quite a bit by Martin Moran so I would think he´s done the maths and thought it is a good location.

If you focusing on Vang / top end of Lærdal you could get accommodation in Filefjell / Tyin. Accommodation in Vang would be cheaper. You could stay in Fagernes and just drive to Bagn (45mins) or Hemsedal (1.5hours) and vang (1h).

In the future we will be renting out our annex (6-8 beds) but right now we are living in it while we renovate the main house. The dream is to renovate the barn to a bunk house type place. We are based between Vang and fagernes (Røn)