18.-21.4.16

The steep path follows a small stream while it is passing the monstrous climbing rock to our left. It seems that a long time ago a massive part split off and crashed on the ground leaving a huge field covered in rock fragments behind. Here and there trees stick out between the partly moss-covered rocks that are up to 10m big, a truly impressive picture that arises in front of us. Tangowall, the name of this climbing area, is going to be our challenge for the next 4 days.

We carry on and get deeper into the forest. Leaving the path, each step feels like walking on clouds, thanks to the moss that’s almost completely covering the ground. We arrive at a small glade which was evoked by two huge trees that were knocked over by the wind and took the soil around with them. A five meter long and up to three meter high wall of roots, plants, soil and moss reaches into the sky. A few steps away we find a tree that serves as a perfect spot to build a shelter. Julian calls me to follow him, he found a nice spot for our tent. A few conifer branches help us to get the floor even and suitable to sleep on. Our home for the next three days is quickly put up and while Julian puts our backpacks and stuff in I start looking for wood to make a fire. As I arrive back at the campsite Adam and Mike just finished building their shelter. We hide under the tarp as it starts to drizzle. The rain suddenly turns into a massive hailstorm which makes us feel really happy about the good timing we had with building the shelters. As fast as the hail came it’s leaving again, also taking the rain away and a snatch of sunshine blinks through the clouds. We start chopping the wood and enlighten a fire to warm up our dinner. Four men on their own, apart from civilization, living in the forests of Norway, somehow this feels like being in a Jack Wolfskin commercial.

Birds’ twittering wakes us on the next morning. The sun is heating up the tent and we’re ready to conquer the rock. For breakfast we prepare porridge with banana and apple, the milk powder adds the needed slushy consistency. We snatch our climbing gear and set our steps towards Tangovall. The way to the climbing routes leads directly through the rock covered field in front of the wall. Mike is leading the first routes as he is the most experienced and skilled climber in our group. While Adam is belaying him I make my way over and under the rocks to find a suitable nature toilet. Woah.. stop. The story started so beautiful, like being in paradise. Why am I now starting to describe my search for a nice place to take a shit? Because that’s also part of living in nature, like it or not. But no worries, this part is now over.

After belaying Julian we switch and it’s my time to show the world what I can do. Regarding climbing, unfortunately not that much. I haven’t been climbing for years (except the three climbing lectures with the class, but it sounds cooler without mentioning that; and yes, putting this sentence in brackets counts as not mentioning) which gives me a pretty tough start. Luckily the rock provides a lot of grip and I make it to the top. Not too bad. For the next two routes my arms accustomed to the challenges of climbing and I reach the top in an acceptable time and style (at least that’s how it felt). The skills of the others are also around the same level as mine and everyone masters the climbing routes the best climber Mike chose to lead. In the early afternoon the sun already hides behind the rock and we decide to search for a smaller wall in the sun and practice some abseiling. We finish the day with a nice campfire, warm dinner and more or less sophisticated conversations.

Because the climbing wall points eastwards the shadow comes fast, that’s why we decide to get up earlier on the second morning. On another part of the wall we struggle the sharp edges of the rock cutting into our fingers. With improvised swinging and other magic tricks we manage to get the last quickdraw, we left on a route that was even too difficult for Mike to lead completely, back down. Once again our incredible teamwork proofs that together everyone achieves more. Meanwhile the sun has left the wall again. We pack up our climbing gear and go back to our campsite for the fourth fire in 2 days and some lunch. It’s time to hike and use the beautiful weather. Abandoning our initial plan to hike 15 kilometres we start towards a big lake which is around 4 km away. The first 30 minutes we follow a path into the forest, then we decide to make our own way through the bushes. Every now and then a small, deeply blue lake pops up behind a hill. We finally arrive at the lake we aimed for, but unfortunately standing on a cliff 30 meters above. Therefore the view is once more astonishing and we spot a nice little rock which looks perfect to use for a jump into the water. Following a path around the lake, the wish for my bike gets bigger and bigger. The trail just looks too perfect for awesome shredding, having a soft ground, some flowy turns and even a few drops. And when I discover some skidmarks in the mud I swear to myself to come back here and ride in this forest. We fight our way along the last part of the lake, as we had to leave the path to get to our destination. The sun is still alone in the sky without any clouds approaching and we decide to test the water temperature, which feels colder than my ex-girlfriends’ heart. So we take our clothes off and dive right in, just like I did in the old days. Satisfied we start our way back to the campsite, going off-track again. Suddenly area gets steeper and steeper downhill while more and more small trees are blocking the way. We realize that we’re almost trapped in the forest, but then find a small stream which we can follow. It leads us to a dirt road that ends up in the small village close to Tangowall. For the last night we plan on making a barbeque and therefore go hunting for some meat and sausages at the Kiwi market close by. Once again we get reminded of our extraordinary group cohesion as we decide to stay in the car for some time to savour the well-deserved sweets we bought. The day ends with a fire and grilled sausages at the top of the climbing rock were we enjoy the sunset. On our way back to our home in the nature everyone just walks silent on his own recapitulating one of the best days of our lives.

Rain the next morning cancels our plans to go for one more climbing session and we decide to pack up our stuff and leave this tranquil and lovely place. I still can’t believe how perfect this week was and I definitely want to come back here someday.

Norway, I love you.