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Valshamar Rock Climbing
Routes in Valshamar
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17. júní S 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b PG13 |
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Eilífur er ekki hé (Forever is not here) S 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Kristján X S 5.4 4a 12 IV 10 VD 3c |
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Stóplægt (Stopped; Strobe Light) S 5.4 4a 12 IV 10 VD 3c |
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Supermax S 5.11+ 7a 24 VIII 24 E4 6a |
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Tjakkurinn (The jack) S 5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b |
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| Elevation: | 662 ft |
| GPS: |
64.30367, -21.63351 Google Map · Climbing Area Map |
| Page Views: | 2,318 total · 24/month |
| Shared By: | riley abbott on Jun 17, 2016 · Updates |
| Admins: | Muscrat, Matthew Clausen |
Access Issue: Fences & Gates
Details
You must drive through gates in a horse fence to access the land, and then park within a fenced-off area to prevent horses from damaging your car. Look at the beta photos for how to get through, and ALWAYS leave gates as you found them: close them if they were closed, leave them open if they were already open.
DO NOT hop the gate for the private residential community. The climber approach trail goes through the horse pasture, along the west side of the development and looping along its north end to a stair way that goes over the fence NE of the gated community.
DO NOT hop the gate for the private residential community. The climber approach trail goes through the horse pasture, along the west side of the development and looping along its north end to a stair way that goes over the fence NE of the gated community.
Description
Valshamar is a relatively small cliff overlooking a residential neighborhood and horse pasture. Yet, even though small, it still has over 25 distinct routes crammed into its columnar basalt. Most routes are 30-35 feet in height, with difficulties ranging from 5.4-5.11d. Open air and great views. No shade. Rock is a little crumbly, but didn't feel dangerous.
This is a great place for a one-day trip with family or if you only have a couple days in the Reykjavik area to see the sites and want to get some climbing done.
Or, if you have several days and a rack, first ascents are nearby for the taking. From the crag, look south up the valley, following the river. Locals report a few people have gone back into the cliff band at the head of the valley and found a couple nice routes with much more development opportunity, but most people who come there only TR or sport climb. Plus, it’s the north face of the formation, and you’re in Iceland. The farmer who owns the land that Valshamar is on also owns the land up that valley to the cliff wall and is OK with climbers hiking back there. Report back if you find good rock!
Be respectful of the neighbors, the land, and any livestock that you come across. The climbing is on private property, and the farmer has graciously allowed climbers to drive across, park upon, climb and bolt there for years. Don’t be a gumby tourist who ruins it for all the locals and everyone else! Being polite, showing respect, and acting with humility will ensure that you have a great climbing trip and that the locals will welcome you and help you out with any questions.
There are no restrooms available within 30 minutes between walking and driving time, so bring a trowel and biodegradable TP with you for any #2s if you’re out there all day. Remember that you’re standing on a hill overlooking a somewhat posh neighborhood, so walk around behind the cliff and go out of sight before dropping the trousers. As you’re walking to your private potty, try to avoid crushing the abundant yet fragile arctic mosses and other plants--stepping from bare stone to bare stone will help the local flora a lot.
Camping and lodging: there is a quiet and calm campsite on a farm owned by a nearby café’s proprietor, and the campground’s name is Hjalli but you might not find it on any maps. The café is called Kaffi Kjós (www.kaffikjos.is) and it is pretty close to the crag. They also rent a loft if you don’t want to camp. You pay there, drive down the road a little, and then can set-up anywhere you want to camp in the small field / large yard. There’s a wash basin for dishes and water, along with two bathrooms and a HOT shower. Alternatively there are some small huts you can rent along lake Meðalfellsvatn. Do NOT camp in the horse pasture or at the crag itself: locals frown upon this and you could create land use issues.
Food and water: water from the streams is safe to drink, and it’s also available the café bathroom from the tap or at the Kaffi Kjós campground. If you’re drinking from the streams, you may want to bring a filter with for your own peace of mind, or even just a UV pen--odds are low that you’d get sick, but if you do it could ruin a rather expensive climbing trip to Iceland. Food and coffee are a little pricey (but that’s the case everywhere in Iceland) at Kaffi Kjós, but they also have a mini mart for you to get food basics and cook your own at camp.
Respect fences! Do not push down, knock over, bend, remove or leave open any fences (unless you found them open). This is an active farm with livestock roaming the pastures. Always leave gates the same as how you found them.
Approach from the parking lot:
Look uphill, past the houses. See that little cliff sticking out from just below the crest? That’s the crag.
Walk uphill towards the housing development, but turn left at their fence line. Follow the footpath to go around the end of the housing development, turning right alongside the fence. Keep walking until you’re past the houses on the right. You’ll see a wooden A-frame ladder (kind of looks like a small set of stairs) that goes over one side of the fence and down its other side. The path leads right to this.
Go over the ladder and continue following the path straight towards the cliff band.
This is a great place for a one-day trip with family or if you only have a couple days in the Reykjavik area to see the sites and want to get some climbing done.
Or, if you have several days and a rack, first ascents are nearby for the taking. From the crag, look south up the valley, following the river. Locals report a few people have gone back into the cliff band at the head of the valley and found a couple nice routes with much more development opportunity, but most people who come there only TR or sport climb. Plus, it’s the north face of the formation, and you’re in Iceland. The farmer who owns the land that Valshamar is on also owns the land up that valley to the cliff wall and is OK with climbers hiking back there. Report back if you find good rock!
Be respectful of the neighbors, the land, and any livestock that you come across. The climbing is on private property, and the farmer has graciously allowed climbers to drive across, park upon, climb and bolt there for years. Don’t be a gumby tourist who ruins it for all the locals and everyone else! Being polite, showing respect, and acting with humility will ensure that you have a great climbing trip and that the locals will welcome you and help you out with any questions.
There are no restrooms available within 30 minutes between walking and driving time, so bring a trowel and biodegradable TP with you for any #2s if you’re out there all day. Remember that you’re standing on a hill overlooking a somewhat posh neighborhood, so walk around behind the cliff and go out of sight before dropping the trousers. As you’re walking to your private potty, try to avoid crushing the abundant yet fragile arctic mosses and other plants--stepping from bare stone to bare stone will help the local flora a lot.
Camping and lodging: there is a quiet and calm campsite on a farm owned by a nearby café’s proprietor, and the campground’s name is Hjalli but you might not find it on any maps. The café is called Kaffi Kjós (www.kaffikjos.is) and it is pretty close to the crag. They also rent a loft if you don’t want to camp. You pay there, drive down the road a little, and then can set-up anywhere you want to camp in the small field / large yard. There’s a wash basin for dishes and water, along with two bathrooms and a HOT shower. Alternatively there are some small huts you can rent along lake Meðalfellsvatn. Do NOT camp in the horse pasture or at the crag itself: locals frown upon this and you could create land use issues.
Food and water: water from the streams is safe to drink, and it’s also available the café bathroom from the tap or at the Kaffi Kjós campground. If you’re drinking from the streams, you may want to bring a filter with for your own peace of mind, or even just a UV pen--odds are low that you’d get sick, but if you do it could ruin a rather expensive climbing trip to Iceland. Food and coffee are a little pricey (but that’s the case everywhere in Iceland) at Kaffi Kjós, but they also have a mini mart for you to get food basics and cook your own at camp.
Respect fences! Do not push down, knock over, bend, remove or leave open any fences (unless you found them open). This is an active farm with livestock roaming the pastures. Always leave gates the same as how you found them.
Approach from the parking lot:
Look uphill, past the houses. See that little cliff sticking out from just below the crest? That’s the crag.
Walk uphill towards the housing development, but turn left at their fence line. Follow the footpath to go around the end of the housing development, turning right alongside the fence. Keep walking until you’re past the houses on the right. You’ll see a wooden A-frame ladder (kind of looks like a small set of stairs) that goes over one side of the fence and down its other side. The path leads right to this.
Go over the ladder and continue following the path straight towards the cliff band.
Getting There
--->From Keflavic International Airport:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Keflavik+International+Airport,+Iceland/64.2962573,-21.6558272/@64.2985718,-21.6526997,1042m
1.5 hour drive from airport to parking in the horse pasture
Once in your car at the airport, follow the exit to the airport road. You’ll be heading north towards Hwy 41.
Take the roundabout to the right (east) onto Hwy 41. You may want to stop at the supermarket for supplies on your left after about 2 miles (3.2km) from the roundabout (look for the big pig icon, there are two competing supermarkets here).
Continue heading towards Reykjavik and, once you start getting near town, stay in the left lane because the road will split. After the split, continue on 41 into the city until you see the big highway, Hwy 49, ahead. You’ll need to get into the right lane for the onramp.
Take the onramp to Hwy 49, which will merge with Hwy 1, the Ring Road. Stay left because the road will split again, with the left lane turning into northbound on Hwy 1.
Continue until you’re almost to the first big fjord. Do not take the huge bridge over the fjord: turn right onto Hwy 47 instead.
Turn right onto Hwy 460
At the fork, stay right to continue on Hwy 460
Drive a little over 3km and turn right onto a dirt road by the sign that says Valshamar
Drive over the bridge, and take the first left down a dirt path into a field. You may or may not see a sign that says “VALSHAMAR KLIFURSVÆÐI” and have the ISALP logo with mountain and axe on it. The sign was knocked down during housing construction and was laying on the ground, but at some point it will likely be put back up.
When you come to the horse gate, use the black plastic handle to unhook one end of the wire and then drive through. Make sure you re-hook the wire! This is an electric fence, but it is seldom, if ever, turned on. The black plastic handle is an insulator and is safe to touch. If somehow the fence is turned on, and you touch it, you will receive a painful but not harmful shock. Have your climbing partner work the gate while you drive. ;-)
Drive through the rough field, avoiding the larger rocks as best you can, and through a little stream. Low-clearance passenger vehicles will make it just fine, just drive slow and don’t hit things.
You’ll see a roped-off rectangle ahead on the right. That’s the parking lot. The far side of the rope along the road unhooks so that you can open it up and drive in to park. Be polite and leave room for others. The parking rope is to keep horses from scratching their itches on your car and taking off your paint while they rub along it. Close the rope by re-hooking it after you park.
If you’re going to Kaffi Kjós afterwards, leave the parking area and keep driving through the field, away from where you entered. You’ll come to another gate and a paved road on a residential street. Follow that road to Hwy 461, turn right onto it, and you’ll see Kaffi Kjós on the left in a little bit. It has good signage and is hard to miss.
--->From Akureyri
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Akureyri,+Iceland/64.2962573,-21.6558272/@65.0177014,-21.1270963,8z
About 4.5 hours, or 4 hours and 45 minutes if you want to skip the toll for the bridge and drive around the fjord instead.
Take Hwy 1 out of town to the west
If you want to pay the toll, cross the giant bridge after Grundartangi and then turn left onto Hwy 460 and follow the rest of the directions above as if you were coming from Keflavic.
If you want to skip the toll, turn left onto Hwy 47 to follow it around the edge of the bay and keep reading the below directions
Turn left onto Hwy 460
Drive about 4.5km and turn left onto a dirt road by the sign that says Valshamar
Drive over the bridge, and take the first left down a dirt path into a field. You may or may not see a sign that says “VALSHAMAR KLIFURSVÆÐI” and have the ISALP logo with mountain and axe on it. The sign was knocked down during housing construction and was laying on the ground, but at some point it will likely be put back up.
When you come to the horse gate, use the black plastic handle to unhook one end of the wire and then drive through. Make sure you re-hook the wire! This is an electric fence, but it is seldom, if ever, turned on. The black plastic handle is an insulator and is safe to touch. If somehow the fence is turned on, and you touch it, you will receive a painful but not harmful shock. Have your climbing partner work the gate while you drive. ;-)
Drive through the rough field, avoiding the larger rocks as best you can, and through a little stream. Low-clearance passenger vehicles will make it just fine, just drive slow and don’t hit things.
You’ll see a roped-off rectangle ahead on the right. That’s the parking lot. The far side of the rope along the road unhooks so that you can open it up and drive in to park. Be polite and leave room for others. The parking rope is to keep horses from scratching their itches on your car and taking off your paint while they rub along it. Close the rope by re-hooking it after you park.
If you’re going to Kaffi Kjós afterwards, leave the parking area and keep driving through the field, away from where you entered. You’ll come to another gate and a paved road on a residential street. Follow that road to Hwy 461, turn right onto it, and you’ll see Kaffi Kjós on the left in a little bit. It has good signage and is hard to miss.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Keflavik+International+Airport,+Iceland/64.2962573,-21.6558272/@64.2985718,-21.6526997,1042m
1.5 hour drive from airport to parking in the horse pasture
Once in your car at the airport, follow the exit to the airport road. You’ll be heading north towards Hwy 41.
Take the roundabout to the right (east) onto Hwy 41. You may want to stop at the supermarket for supplies on your left after about 2 miles (3.2km) from the roundabout (look for the big pig icon, there are two competing supermarkets here).
Continue heading towards Reykjavik and, once you start getting near town, stay in the left lane because the road will split. After the split, continue on 41 into the city until you see the big highway, Hwy 49, ahead. You’ll need to get into the right lane for the onramp.
Take the onramp to Hwy 49, which will merge with Hwy 1, the Ring Road. Stay left because the road will split again, with the left lane turning into northbound on Hwy 1.
Continue until you’re almost to the first big fjord. Do not take the huge bridge over the fjord: turn right onto Hwy 47 instead.
Turn right onto Hwy 460
At the fork, stay right to continue on Hwy 460
Drive a little over 3km and turn right onto a dirt road by the sign that says Valshamar
Drive over the bridge, and take the first left down a dirt path into a field. You may or may not see a sign that says “VALSHAMAR KLIFURSVÆÐI” and have the ISALP logo with mountain and axe on it. The sign was knocked down during housing construction and was laying on the ground, but at some point it will likely be put back up.
When you come to the horse gate, use the black plastic handle to unhook one end of the wire and then drive through. Make sure you re-hook the wire! This is an electric fence, but it is seldom, if ever, turned on. The black plastic handle is an insulator and is safe to touch. If somehow the fence is turned on, and you touch it, you will receive a painful but not harmful shock. Have your climbing partner work the gate while you drive. ;-)
Drive through the rough field, avoiding the larger rocks as best you can, and through a little stream. Low-clearance passenger vehicles will make it just fine, just drive slow and don’t hit things.
You’ll see a roped-off rectangle ahead on the right. That’s the parking lot. The far side of the rope along the road unhooks so that you can open it up and drive in to park. Be polite and leave room for others. The parking rope is to keep horses from scratching their itches on your car and taking off your paint while they rub along it. Close the rope by re-hooking it after you park.
If you’re going to Kaffi Kjós afterwards, leave the parking area and keep driving through the field, away from where you entered. You’ll come to another gate and a paved road on a residential street. Follow that road to Hwy 461, turn right onto it, and you’ll see Kaffi Kjós on the left in a little bit. It has good signage and is hard to miss.
--->From Akureyri
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Akureyri,+Iceland/64.2962573,-21.6558272/@65.0177014,-21.1270963,8z
About 4.5 hours, or 4 hours and 45 minutes if you want to skip the toll for the bridge and drive around the fjord instead.
Take Hwy 1 out of town to the west
If you want to pay the toll, cross the giant bridge after Grundartangi and then turn left onto Hwy 460 and follow the rest of the directions above as if you were coming from Keflavic.
If you want to skip the toll, turn left onto Hwy 47 to follow it around the edge of the bay and keep reading the below directions
Turn left onto Hwy 460
Drive about 4.5km and turn left onto a dirt road by the sign that says Valshamar
Drive over the bridge, and take the first left down a dirt path into a field. You may or may not see a sign that says “VALSHAMAR KLIFURSVÆÐI” and have the ISALP logo with mountain and axe on it. The sign was knocked down during housing construction and was laying on the ground, but at some point it will likely be put back up.
When you come to the horse gate, use the black plastic handle to unhook one end of the wire and then drive through. Make sure you re-hook the wire! This is an electric fence, but it is seldom, if ever, turned on. The black plastic handle is an insulator and is safe to touch. If somehow the fence is turned on, and you touch it, you will receive a painful but not harmful shock. Have your climbing partner work the gate while you drive. ;-)
Drive through the rough field, avoiding the larger rocks as best you can, and through a little stream. Low-clearance passenger vehicles will make it just fine, just drive slow and don’t hit things.
You’ll see a roped-off rectangle ahead on the right. That’s the parking lot. The far side of the rope along the road unhooks so that you can open it up and drive in to park. Be polite and leave room for others. The parking rope is to keep horses from scratching their itches on your car and taking off your paint while they rub along it. Close the rope by re-hooking it after you park.
If you’re going to Kaffi Kjós afterwards, leave the parking area and keep driving through the field, away from where you entered. You’ll come to another gate and a paved road on a residential street. Follow that road to Hwy 461, turn right onto it, and you’ll see Kaffi Kjós on the left in a little bit. It has good signage and is hard to miss.
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