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Lofoten

The Lofoten Islands are located off the west coast of Norway 130 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The string of islands is covered with inspirational mountains of perfect grey granite cut by deep fjords and presenting some amazingly dramatic scenery. The chain of islands is over 100 miles long and much of the north and west coasts are inaccessible.
For hundreds of years Lofoten's main source of income has been the cod harvest that takes place in March each year. The fish are hung to dry on the racks that appear all over the islands and then are exported all over Europe once that are cured. The fishy odour pervades the whole area all year round!

The developed climbing has barely scratched the surface of available climbable rock and yet the established routes are already regarded as some of the best multi-pitch granite routes on either side of the Atlantic. Henningsvær is home to the renown Nord Norske Klatreskole (NNKS as it is normally known) and its famous cafe, and here is the main focus of the climbing, with stacks of great rock and routes within a short drive.

This Area Guide gives you all the essential information you need to plan a trip. At the time of writing this information is exactly as contained in the guidebook, but new developments will be added as things progress. The Accommodation section is likely to be expanded and any changes in information will appear here.

One very useful extra resource is the Destination Lofoten website which offers a huge amount of information on getting to Lofoten, where to stay once you are there and things to do and see in the area. There is also a downloadable PDF available from the web site called Lofoten Info-Guide which is well worth a look.

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ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS

Lofoten Rock   by Chris Craggs and Thorbjørn Enevold Published - May 2008 Price - £24.95 - - Winner of the Mountain Exposition Prize at the 2008 Banff Mountain Book Festival Winner of the Guidebook of the Year Award at the 2009 Outdoor Writers' Guild The Lofoten Islands have an almost mythical status, and despite their remoteness, more and more climbers are making the long pilgrimage to this remote stronghold of traditional climbing. This guide covers the many new routes that have been put up since the last guide in 1994 from the huge multiday outing on the massive Storpillaren, to the steep (and ever-dry!) sport routes at Eggum. -

Djupfjord   by Chris Craggs and Thorbjørn Enevold Published - March 2008 (version 1.10) Price - FREE - This sample chapter from Lofoten Rock covers the beautiful Djupfjord valley, to the north of Vagakallen and Budalstinden on Lofoten. The routes in this valley include the mega-classics of Bare blåbær (Only Bilberries) and Solens sønner (Sons of the sun) as well as a handful of other great pitches. -