Senja Climbing

The island of Senja is an amazing venue for ice, mixed, and alpine climbing as well as ski touring and/or ski mountaineering. It's generally very quiet and has not received very much attention or exposure in the media. This is despite the fact that when conditions are good, the climbing is as good as it gets (maybe a little on the short side) and the setting is spectacular.

The locals told us that the ice season is typically January-March and the best skiing is found from late March-April. We visited at the end of March and found that to be pretty accurate. Ice was in, but either on it's way out or getting covered in snow. We didn't have skis and were pretty disappointed to slog through 40cms of soft snow every day to get to some objectives. (that being said, if you're not a skier, that's fine. Slogging works. But if you are a skier, you'll be kicking yourself for not bringing them)

There's currently no published information about the climbing on Senja, but one of the local guides is in the process of writing a guidebook. He has a folder with some helpful information in his lodge in Mefjordvaer and is very friendly and welcoming. Additionally, we found it pretty difficult to find trip reports online. It's hard to tell if this is because no english speakers are going there and posting about it or simply because very few people are climbing there.

Helpful links/websites:
senjalodge.com
The lodge where you can go to get beta and/or accommodations. Make sure to book early as they fill up almost every season.

varsom.no
The Norwegian avalanche forecast. Super useful, but it's worth noting that the lack of people and observers in the terrain in a place like Senja makes for difficult forecasting and can result in a disparity between what's written in the forecast and the reality you'll find in the field.

yr.no
The Norwegian weather service. An awesome site that's useful beyond Norway. (usually more accurate than NOAA for the PNW!)

isklatring.no/eksterne_side…
northnorwayice.blogspot.fi/…
blackdiamondequipment.com/e…
alpinist.com/doc/web15s/wfe…
A few blog posts to get you started as to what to expect while climbing in the area.