Disclaimer

Below we list a few tips & tricks. These are highly subjective, and represent partial views or experiences of our members. In particular, we do not necessarily share the opinions expressed in the linked resources, and we do not guarantee the correctness of the information. We do not have affiliations or agreements with the linked companies or persons either. The intention here is to provide some resources around climbing in Oslo and climbing in general that might be interesting to our members.

We highly encourage you to contact us on Facebook or E-mail if you have something we should add to this list!

Crags

If you are new to Oslo, you probably bought the "Oslo & omegn" Climbing guidebook from Kolsås klatreklubb (Link). Note that a new version will be released in 2021, and the current one does not include all the crags in Oslo. In particular, a few highly beginner friendly crags that are not included are

  • Nedre Sydstup (Kolsås), digital and free guidebook can be found here on the Kolsås klatreklubb website
    Nedre Sydstup dries quite fast, has sun from around noon til sunset and has a lot of friendly bolted routes in lower grades, but also a decent number of interesting routes up to Norwegian grade 8. The rock is a bit loose, so both climber and belayer should wear a helmet! Very convenient to reach with T-bane 3.
  • Den skjulte veggen (up at Kolsåstoppen), digital and free guidebook can be found here https://www.kolsaas.no/klatreforeren-for-oslo. This crag is a bit shaded, so it is very well suited for the summer.
  • Isdammen, free route description can be found in the happy climbers Facebook group (go to "Media" in https://www.facebook.com/groups/happyclimbers). Lots of friendly bolted routes in the lower Norwegian grade range, and thus very popular since its rebolting by Olav Vestlie in 2020. Convenient to reach with the bike!
  • Svaraberget, digital and free guidebook can be found here https://www.kolsaas.no/klatreforeren-for-oslo
  • Skullerud, convenient to reach with T-bane 3. Topo information can be found here: https://www.thecrag.com/climbing/norway/skullerud
  • Megaløkenhavna: Olav Vestlie bolted some new and friendly routes in 2021 there. The rock is a bit loose, so both climber and belayer should wear a helmet! Very convenient to reach with T-bane 3 and bike/15 min walk. Update can be found here: https://m.facebook.com/groups/happyclimbers/permalink/3568638206496066/

Some notable crags which are not in the "Oslo & omegn" guidebook:

  • Hyggen (Drammen). Topo is for example in the highly recommendable guidebook "Climb Norway"

Bouldering

  • The crew behind Gryttr (https://www.gryttr.com/, Gryttr Facebook page) provide an extremely nice service to the climbing community in Oslo: Boulders in østmarka are named and described with grade, picture and sometimes beta videos, and are located on a google maps card, make sure to check it out! They will also release a guidebook for bouldering around Oslo in 2021.
  • There is a public "bouldering wall" in Oslo, just search for "Ammerudtunnelen"

Media

Safety

  • We have the book "Sikker klatring" (https://www.friflyt.no/bok/sikker-klatring) in our bouldering room at Blindern, so come by for a good session (after SiO re-opens) and educate yourself in the breaks
  • Do you want to convince your friends to wear a helmet not only when belaying, but also when climbing? Show them a few weekend whipper videos, e.g. here: https://youtu.be/ZkidNWmhSPs
  • Do you climb hard (i.e. risking decent falls?) and your weight is more than ~ 130 % of the belayer's weight? Then you might want to learn about the Edelrid Ohm (see, e.g. here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6ElZtMcvpM) if you care not only about your own, but also your belayer's safety! Of course, rope management becomes a bit more tricky, but some climbers find that its safety benefits outweigh its drawbacks (you can't pull lots of rope very fast when clipping in panic, for example).
  • Did you ever worry about losing your ATC on a multipitch? In such a scenario, it would be good to know how to rappel with a knot called hunters hitch, see for example this video: https://youtu.be/Y1V5Pnc3OuQ

 

Etiquette

Some ideas that have emerged within some climbing communities over the last decades

  • Is it wet at the bottom of the crag? Put on your shoes on a rock or a rope bag, and try to avoid walking through mud with your climbing shoes, as this will smear the (foot-) holds on the route. It has the benefit retaining the grip of your shoes as well.
  • Are you projecting a route on toprope or putting up a toprope for your friends? In Norway it is favored that you use your own draws/locking carabiners instead of using the rappel rings / rappel bolts. This reduces the wear on the bolts significantly!