An epic day climbing the Kongsvollfossen

As we climb, the ice stretches on endlessly above us. Two more pitches? Maybe three? We pause and discuss. Topping out would mean an easier and possibly safer walk back down. But if the ice near the top isn’t fully formed, we’ll have to abseil all the way back down — on whatever energy we have left, and probably in the dark.

We don’t take long to decide: let’s goooo!

The next pitch is fine. The one after, I start feeling fatigued. Halfway the third, my arms feel like lead. That’s when Ben calls down that I’ll need to do a tricky move to reach where he’s belaying me. I can’t see the problem at first, the route looks manageable. But as I climb closer, the challenge becomes clear: he’s perched on a ledge, with overhanging icicles below. To reach the hollow he’s standing in, he placed an ice screw in one corner, then made an expert level move to the other side.

It quickly becomes clear I won’t be able to replicate his acrobatics, so I climb up to remove the screw, then downclimb to a snowy rest spot. Without a plan I start placing axes in his general direction. Not a good idea. Unconfident, I slip, and one of my axes goes flying. My stomach sinks as I watch it slide down the ice. Damn! Thankfully, it comes to a stop after about 20 meters. Ben lowers me so I can retrieve it, and I climb back up. With a better plan, a tight belay and some desperate scrambling, I reach the ledge.

Suddenly, there’s only a very short but exciting pitch left to the top. I climb out of the small cave and onto a vertical wall of exposed ice. Just then, the sun dips below the clouds, casting golden light over the valley and the ice. It’s breathtaking, but there’s no time (and also definitely no hands) for photos. My arms are toast, my fingers barely holding on. The fear of slipping—and dropping an axe—fuels me through the last few meters. I call out to Ben to keep me tight: this is not a moment to fall and lose grip of any gear.

After less than 10 meters of climbing, the gradient eases. I walk to where Ben is standing. The climb is over, but the adventure is not! It’s dark now, and we still need to navigate the steep, snowy forest to get back to the Bobil. With only our headlamps for guidance, we cautiously pick our way downhill, following hare trails and consulting the map to avoid cliffs. Progress is slow—deep snow, thick bushes, and hidden drop-offs keep us on edge. It takes a few detours, one abseil, a bit of sliding and nearly two hours of effort before we finally make it back to the van.

And that marks the end of another epic day out climbing!

The start of the last pitch