




The sunlight doesn’t last long in Norway and winter, so luckily for us, after about 4 or 5 climbs we were knackered, and the light was getting low. It was time to head back, massage our quads and our forearms, have some good food and chat with the other people staying at the hostel about their days conquers, and start all over again the next day.
This time, we headed to Krokan. Again, another popular, easy beginner’s area with some beautifully formed climbs ready and waiting for us. We tied in and immediately jumped on the ice, trying to focus on practicing good technique such as monkey hangs, enjoying the snow that was falling around us and totally absorbed in the moment. Every year Rjukan holds one of the biggest ice climbing festivals in this area, and it’s easy to see why. The big names and brands descend on the town and the locals come out in force too. From women’s only clinics to the must-watch speed ice climbing finals, festival is a big attraction and well worth a look in, if just to enjoy the show!
Once again the light began to fade, and we found ourselves tired from using muscles that we didn’t normally use quite as much in rock climbing compared to ice climbing. But the smiles on our faces said it all. Ice climbing was something we weren’t going to forget about in a hurry, and Norway was definitely a place we were going to return to, no doubt about it, and both have left with dreams of scaling the ice back in the U.K. as well.
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For ice climbing courses based in Rjukan, we can recommend Skyhook guiding,who can cater for most levels and design a lot of their courses to fit around along weekend so you don’t have to take too much time out of work.