Joe Kinder roadtripping Norway

My first experience was last Flatanger in September 2014 and I quickly fell in love. The climbing is to die for and the ambiance and quality of life here was another thing I noticed. That trip was successful for me as I sent everything I wanted to. The style suits me really well. It's steep, wild and is the best stone on the planet. That trip to me was so satisfying in all aspects but my lack of exposure to the Norwgian culture was the one thing I missed out on. I had no car and stayed in the same zone the whole time. I really enjoy the cultural part of traveling and put just as much emphasis on its importance as I do getting to the cliff.

This trip however was an invitation to the Ballensteinfestevalen in Bø. The Ballsack Festival was the craziest event I've ever been to. My buddy Hangdogg (Henning) WangBang suggested we take a road trip after the event and cypher around to the best crags in Norway. This sounded like the best plan ever and would also make up for my lack of cultural experiences from September.

We hit up 6 insane spots and have ended up in Flatanger. The cliffs we climbed at were some of the best I've seen. Perfect granite/gniess/schist of all types. The climbing at each spot was totally different and all so high grade. Our plans were to keep the game simple and send a couple of routes at each spot up to around 8b. When you have minimal time it really puts you to the test. Either try to onsight/flash or second try. In the past three weeks we've had (as of now) 3 rest days. Needless to say I am pretty worked and actually sick. So much traveling and being in the cold has caught up to me, but it was ALL worth it.

We dealt with perfect temperatures from 2º-10ºC and had a bit of rain, but that is to be expected anywhere in the Spring time. We surely froze our asses off at times and had some pretty sleepless nights out there. The driving distance to each area we traveled 2-4 hours. The drives were super pretty and on the West coast there were many ferries (which aren't cheap). The idea of traveling in Norway is tricky as the Kroner is pretty strong compared to my US Dollar and the cost of doing your normal deeds can break your bank. Renting a car is almost an anomaly, the idea of going to a hotel is almost out of the question. Gas is loco pricey and there are NO bars that make the nightlife fun. I actually stop drinking completely while I'm here because the beer is weak and way over priced. Maybe that's a good thing though huh? Living super cheap was the motive and I actually enjoyed the challenge. We slept on floors, at the cliff and ate simply as well which has its good sides but going to a decent restaurant here and is kind of a ludicrous endeavor. It's just very expensive.

But, it's the climbing that I've traveled for and it's worth traveling for alone. To me it's the best stone on the planet and there's tons of it. There's Flatanger, which would keep anyone busy, but there are many other spots with routes for all levels of the highest quality. The country of Norway is so unique in the fact that there are very few people which gives you the feeling of being small like a tiny speck of life. The nature is so profound and clean and the mountains are massive. This place has become a special feeling for me and will be a spot I'll to as much as possible.