Norway/Sweden - In need of suggestions

Planning on taking a trip to Norway and Sweden around July next year. Hoping to experience crazy amounts of daylight hours and relatively cooler temps for the time of year compared to where Im from. 

I was hoping anyone thats ever climbed there has any suggestions for the following:

-Multi-Pitch trad routes     -sport areas     -guide books   -shops  -gyms  -helpful links   etc.etc. 

MP international stuff seems to be pretty bare bones. So anything would be major help. 

In Norway I’d recommend climbing in Lofoten, it is insanely beautiful with lots of routes and fickle weather but definitely worth the time, world class destination regardless of climbing. Solværgetia and Henningsvær were where we went. Stetind is somewhat nearby and has several super high quality alpine multipitch routes.

There is also flatanger, which had a surprising amount of moderates, but is a long drive into the middle of nowhere. Eresfjord if you want to see the troll wall and do some sport climbing. Innerdalen is also gorgeous scenery and has several alpine-ish multipitch routes, we did Innerdalenstårnet and had a great time.

In Trondheim the best gym is probably grip but contrarians will say buldrsenter. Nearby there is tons of sport climbing in hell, korsvika is not bad for an afternoon. For stores can recommend VPG in oppdal and skandinavisk in Trondheim. Don't know much about Oslo but heard good things.

Wherever you go, track down a guidebook for the area at a local store, because I did not find any information online for most routes!

There is a fairly current (2021) Norway selected climbs guidebook ( Climb Norway) in English. I see you have a N.Y. location and I saw a copy recently in Rock and Snow.

Due to the frequent rain in Norway, many Norwegians, esp from Oslo, go to Bohuslan in Sweden.  Fantastic climbing, beautiful red granite. mostly crack climbing. Mostly 1-3 pitches. All trad.

Stay at the Haller campground  hallerklattercamping.se/en/  unless you want the dirtball experience in which case stay at the BKK (bohuskk.se/in-english). . Easy to find partners at either one. All the beta you will need. Food stores nearby.

Haller is prob the most luxurious climber's lodge I have ever been to anywhere in the world

Hi! I live in Sweden and I've climbed here and there in Norway every summer and most winters for the last 15 years. 

Mostly focused on multipitch trad and alpine (scandine?) If there's any questions I can answer I'll try my best to do so.

There's amazing climbing of all kinds almost all over Norway but the rain is unfortunately no joke, winters generally have more stable weather.

A few trips have been ruined for me because of endless rain so the way I do it now is I check the weather map on the day of departure and go whereever there's a big sun and even that is not foolproof. It's roughly a 6 to 20 hour drive to reach anywhere in Norway for me.

I agree that it's hard to find information online, it used to be better but those websites and online forums have died and gone to heaven. Most online climbing talk in Scandinavia nowadays takes place in various facebook groups, or so I hear, I don't use social media. Other than MP.

Thank you so much for all of the input so far! Going to start doing more research! Will post in here for any more questions as I start digging around. 

If you make it near Ålesund a trip to Molladalen is highly recommended. There’s a few other crags in the region but I didn’t get to explore too many. A guidebook for the area can be found at the boulder gym in Ålesund/Moa.

Talking with locals/guides I heard that the climbing around Trømso is really good. Specifically, Baugen is said to be some of the best multipitch trad in the country.

I think 27crags is used most out there for route beta.

I live in Stockholm Sweden and can offer tips on Bohulsan if you decide to go there (I do a trip there every summer so might be around during your trip). I think it is really the only world-class climbing in Sweden. All the other advice on here related to Norway is spot on. Lofoten might have the best granite I've ever climbed on and the destination itself is epic but the weather windows can be painfully short (or sometimes non-existent). One tip is to have backup plans and position yourself strategically so you can easily make a move. 2 summers ago I met some Austrian climbers in Bohuslan who had spent nearly 6 weeks in Norway waiting for dry weather before giving up and relocating to Bohus where the weather was amazing. 

If for some reason you find yourself in Stockholm there is definitely some entertaining cragging, which is nearly all accessible by public transit. But I certainly wouldn't call it a climbing destination.  

And yes, 27 crags seems to be the most comprehensive online source of intel but lacks any sort of meaningful user engagement for partners/beta etc. 

Mike J, where in Sweden are you? 

I agree with everything said in this thread so far. @BFK I'm in Stockholm too.

Excellent! This community is the best. We will be flying into Oslo and eventually working through to Stockholm. We will likely have 2 to 3 weeks in the area with a rental car. Will try to find lodging in other areas closer to climbing areas that are too far from major cities. From what I understand Lofoten, is quite a journey to get to by car and ferry. So we will try and find lodging there for a few days. Just getting a bit worried about all of the rain many of you have mentioned! The tentative date to land in Oslo is July 15th, 2024. 

The forecast for July 15th looks pretty bad but the 16th looks mint! Seriously though the weather is too unpredictable here so I wouldn't worry about it until you're in it. I've been here for 5 weeks and I've climbed enough to have constant skin issues and not enough rest days. Either way it's fantastic scenery! 

thomas elliswrote:

The forecast for July 15th looks pretty bad but the 16th looks mint! Seriously though the weather is too unpredictable here so I wouldn't worry about it until you're in it. I've been here for 5 weeks and I've climbed enough to have constant skin issues and not enough rest days. Either way it's fantastic scenery! 

Where was this picture taken? 

Eftang. Southern Norway near Sandefjord. It's beautiful everywhere here and I don't believe you can make a wrong turn. I've ended up places I didn't intend and saw beautiful landscapes, met interesting people and climbed nice rocks. A couple from near Trondheim and near Mo I Rana

Another vote for Lofoten here!

The fickle weather is offset by how quickly the cliffs dry after a rain due to the constant breeze. I loved my couple weeks there!

B Ywrote:

Excellent! This community is the best. We will be flying into Oslo and eventually working through to Stockholm. We will likely have 2 to 3 weeks in the area with a rental car. Will try to find lodging in other areas closer to climbing areas that are too far from major cities. From what I understand Lofoten, is quite a journey to get to by car and ferry. So we will try and find lodging there for a few days. Just getting a bit worried about all of the rain many of you have mentioned! The tentative date to land in Oslo is July 15th, 2024. 

Honestly, if you’re attempting to go to Lofoten, you should just try to fly there. The drive is much longer than what Google maps will lead you to believe (which is already really long) given speed limits/ferries. You can get direct flights to several towns in that region from Oslo, and then rent a car from the airport. Lofoten is amazing, you should try to spend more than just a few days there if you want to do it justice, especially given the unpredictable weather and heightened tourist season of July. If you want to experience midnight sun you’ll need to be in the arctic circle at that time of year. 

I spent 3 weeks in Norway this past August/September traveling to a few different regions for a week at a time. I would fly to a place, rent a car and explore, staying in airbnbs. I had mostly amazing weather days, with a few days of pure rain mixed in. To have the best time in Norway you want to have a flexible itinerary and give yourself enough time in one place to see/do what you want in case of bad weather. 

That being said, it’s an amazing country and I had the best time. With 3 weeks I only ever so slightly scratched the surface.

Edited to add: I also found that the weather app everyone uses there (yr.no) could be unpredictable/wrong and the forecast can change day to day. Some places I’d go it said it would be raining but it wasn’t, and vice versa. 

Good advice above.

If you google "Klatring" (means climbing)
and either of these area names, that might help you get further in your research. These are just good climbing areas, off the top of my head, in no particular order. (Dal means valley btw).

Nissedal
Molladalen
Uskedal
Romsdal
Innerdalen
Jotunheimen
Litldalen
Stetind
Lofoten

And Bohuslän (in Sweden but only a 2-2,5 hour drive from Oslo). Very high quality granite crack climbing but no long routes.
There's lots more and I bet I forgot some ultra classic gem too.

Oh, and I would bring basic camping gear. It just makes it so much easier to stay and climb in some of these areas.

for scenery, Lofotens are a beautiful as anywhere and nowhere else on earth looks like them but the drive is very long, as noted above

if you go to Bohuslan and stay at Haller, they have rooms for rent, camplng spots and van parking