After the Mountain to Fjord trip there was a chance to go on a self-organised trip in the south of Norway. I was in a group with the three German guys Mike, Julian and Jonas. The previous week we had all decided on a location and route that would include hiking and climbing from Tangvall to Nodeland based a few km from Kristiansand. In the end this plan changed due to the great weather and climbing opportunities.
Day 1
The first day it was decided that I would pick the rest of the guys up at 1400 from their accommodation then drive to Tangvall and hike a little way to find a good camping site. Once there, we carried all our camping equipment but left the climbing gear in the car as the next day would be spent climbing at the Tangowall which was 5 minute walk away.
After a 10 minute walk up a hill we started to find suitable areas to set up camp. The first area was next to a stream but there was a lack of flat areas to set up, the ground was slightly damp and it was close to the path so we looked elsewhere. After another short hike we found a perfect spot not too far from the water source, covered by trees and enough space to set up a tent and a Tarp. Julian and Jonas set up their tent whilst I and mike set up a huge tarp. We used the tarp as a social area for all of us which provided us with shelter to cook and set up a little fire. A little later in the evening in started to hail so we all took shelter underneath the tarp. Immediately after the weather cleared and the rest of the evening was spent socialising. The German guys were really keen to speak in English which was really good as I was the only English guy there. It would have been very easy to just speak German for the whole trip which would have been difficult for me so I appreciated that.
Day 2
After breakfast we headed back to the car to pick up the equipment for a full day climbing. Tangowall is an excellent wall with 16 sport routes and 2 trad graded from 4 to 8a. More information can be found here https://27crags.com/crags/tangowall
We started at 1000 on an easy route with Mike Leading and me belaying. We were both experienced in this therefore, it was decided that Mike would lead and set up a top rope in order for the other guys to climb who were less experienced. This did however put a lot of pressure on Mike to climb a lot though he enjoyed it!
Unfortunately the sun disappears behind the wall at around 1300 so its in the shade for the rest of the day. After a few hours we moved to a different area close by to practice abseiling and ascending.
Day 3
After a half day of climbing back at Tangwall before the sun disappeared, we decided to go on a little Hike for around 6 km in the afternoon.
The weather had been really hot and sunny all week which made it a really fun and relaxed trip. To end the trip in the evening we hiked back to the top of a close by the hill and set up a small fire where we grilled some sausages and watched the sun set.