Øvredalsrenna (WI3/M3), Hemsedal

The pressure to get something climbed on Sunday was on after the volume of food consumed Saturday night. Half a box of ice cream, a large tub of cottage cheese, and a skolebrød were the trimmings to the main course of tacos. The reason for so much consumption related to the total lack of energy and fatigue during Saturday. Grand plans made on Friday had whittled down to getting nothing done the following day. The battery felt flat midway through the walk-in and by the time we were under a route I was ready to leave. Didn't see that coming...

The walk-in, with friends heading to Skurvefjell

Entering Øvredalen 

Sunday morning I didn't feel a huge deal better but then at 5am on a Sunday things rarely do. Clearly I hadn't recovered from the previous weekend. The basic plan was aim low, take the walk-in at a gentle pace, and hopefully reach the top of something before the battery ran flat again. The fine weather a major motivator for trying again. The low of -22 degrees on the car temperature gauge suggesting it would certainly be cold enough.

As it happened we got an excellent short route called Øvredalsrenna climbed. I had backed-off the start of this route the previous weekend due to its poor condition but sensed a further week would be enough to sufficiently improve things should we return. Reaching my previous high point of 5m was an easy affair given that the first 5m were now buried under a funnel of snow.

Øvredalsrenna (again)

The lower portion of the gully was filled with ice but the character of climbing remained very much mixed. Thrutchy, awkward and cramped. The thin streak of ice generally wide enough for one crampon, which made for some interesting bridging onto rock. At times the ice was particularly thin, for which my roughly sharpened mixed picks were ill-suited. There wasn't much in the way of solid rock protection but surprisingly some excellent screw placements. Also some not so good screws where the streak of ice became really narrow.

The start of Øvredalsrenna (again)

The guidebook described the difficulties slackening off after the initial climbing but in current early season state the challenging climbing kept coming. Below half height the ice quality had transformed into one of the worst of types. Poorly formed snowy ice suspended above unconsolidated powder. Ice just a few inches thick and useless for placing screws into. I kicked my feet into where this ice commenced and mounted it but quickly the top sheet deformed and then fell apart leaving my feet momentarily scrapping amongst powder for footing. The ice a little higher, where my axes were placed, was fortunately better but still required a some delicacy. Towards the the centre of the gully the ice was best for axes but at the edges I could easily punch foot holes through the top layer, which felt secure enough to weight bear.

One of the falling blocks, which had collapsed under my feet, had unfortunately hit Anna on the back of the hand. Evidently her belay wasn't out of the firing line. At first there was concern that it was broken but after a little pause things began to improve and she was able to enjoy the climb.

Gear wasn't great after the initial good ice. A poor screw in hollow ice. A number 1 nut that seemed resilient enough despite not looking so. I spent a long time trying to seat a large nut only for it lift once into the moves. Another nut sitting a little too shallow for comfort. Nothing totally reliable and everything fairly spaced from one another. Much of the rock was too compact. To be fair, I passed what looked to be a solid large cam placement but we had left all the cams to minimise weight. Just nuts, hexes and tricams.

The upper half of route was largely ice free, apart from the occasional thin covering on rock. The snow offered little help on steeper sections and in addition to this some large black holes were appearing through the snow beneath my feet. Fortunately I was able to patch these with the snow that I was sweeping from higher up. A couple of steep steps proved harder than anticipated. The poor snow forcing me to commit to some very fun mixed moves with a nice blend of solid hooks and holds more delicate. The route was probably all the better for this and very Scottish in character.

Anna climbing the second of two awkward steps

The steep, interesting climbing only lasted for around 60m. I looked to have just enough rope to exit the main gully but chose to make a belay just prior. Partly because this was the first decent rock gear that I had placed since near the base of the route and partly because I was unsure how soon a belay would present once onto easy ground. The final moves at the top of the route heralded bomber frozen turf at which point I knew I was home and dry.


The belay just below the top of the route

I needed to continue up the broad snow slope for maybe another 40m until a belay presented around some large boulders. Maybe this is what qualifies the route as being 100m but really the main climbing is just 60m.

Easy ground above the main climbing

I don't really have a feel for M-grades I will admit. Partly because the few M-graded routes that I have climbed have felt all over the place with regards to grade consistency. With my limited knowledge I would hint that this was hard for M3 in current conditions. It felt Scottish Tech 5. Arguably V,5 with the lack of good gear but possibly more like IV,5 with better ice and good neve in the upper half.

Thus I managed to finish a route this weekend... In fact once on the route I had felt quite fresh. We even set about continuing up and over Nibbi in order to return to the car but later changed tack upon seeing how the easy the descent back to our tracks in Øvredalen would be.

The descent back to Øvredalen (the long way)
(Photo by Anna Kennedy)

A moonlit descent

A trip to the legevakt on route home confirmed fortunately no broken bones in Anna's hand.

Next weekend is going to be largely rest. The mixed routes on Skoghorn I imagine will have become a little too dry for my liking and there looks still to be limited options for ice yet. A few photos below to illustrate conditions from last Saturday. Probably a good opportunity for me to have break. Then full gas the following week with a bit of luck.

Skogshorn Saturday morning

Lanciakaminen looking dry

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