Disco 2000

Disco 2000, 8a+ Blåmman from Dave MacLeod on Vimeo.

The video above takes in some of the great climbing on Disco 2000. The pitches went at 7b, 8a+, 7a, 8a+, 7c, 7c, 7b+, 7a, 7a, 6a, 6c, 6b+, 5+.

It was while freeing Bongo Bar on the north face of Blåmman, 4 years ago that I got the spark of curiosity to try to free Disco 2000. Looking across at the maze of roofs to my right, I saw a bolt belay looking lonely in the middle of nowhere on a blank looking granite wall. Huge roofs above and below. I could picture Marten Blixt hand drilling them by headtorch in some blizzard during their winter aid ascent in 2000.

After 4 days of sitting in the rain in our tent below the wall, Jacob and myself were desperate to make more progress in aiding up to that belay and finding out if the line was even possible to free. We continued aiding through the ‘night’ (the midnight sun period had just passed) and made it up to bolts. There were definitely enough holds on the crux pitch. However, the next roof, which was split by a soaring finger crack, was completely soaking.

Returning to our tents to sit through some more days of rain, we began to realise that wetness was going to be a major problem for us in trying to free this line. Calum Muskett arrived, bringing a couple of dry days with him. Jacob and I were so impatient as the wall started to dry out again that we raced back up to try the Arctandria corner at around 11pm.

On the crux of pitch 2; the Arctandria corner (8a+).

Disco 2000 shares the first two (and crux) pitches of Arctandria before breaking out left through the roofs. Arctandria was first freed in 2005 by Didier Berthod and Giovanni Quirci. The immaculate 50 metre open groove on the second pitch went at 8a+. We were both rather intimidated by it.

It turned out to be a bit easier than we had worried. Perhaps a combination of mutual keenness to climb it, and cool conditions of the middle of the night helped. After working out the moves and gear placements, Jacob went first and dispatched it. His telescopic arms spidered through the whole crux section in two moves. I went straight afterwards. It was after midnight and a little hard to see the odd foothold, so a few smears were improvised in a hurry.

After going down for a rest as it got light, we climbed back up the fixed line later the same afternoon and I finished cleaning the crux pitch while Calum worked on the Arctandria corner. Later on it started to rain again. Calum descended the fixed rope first, and as myself and Jacob descended, I noticed the temperature dropping. I stopped and asked Jacob if I could try the crux pitch now. As it turned out, while I led this, Jacob was getting steadily soaked by the rain on the hanging belay below me. On the roofs above, I didn’t even notice. I was in my own bubble, absorbed by this brilliant varied pitch.

On thin crimps where the aid line pendulums on pitch 4 (8a+)

The load carrying involved in remote big walling has been a little hard on my still recovering ankle, so just now I feel such pleasure to step into rockshoes and move freely without pain, or having to concentrate on every step to avoid it. Still, I was anxious not to take a long fall from the delicate final groove to the belay, the result of which would have been a nasty slam into the wall. We also took turns to free an unbelievable finger crack through the next roof. Even though the fingerlocks were wet, it was still one of the best pitches anywhere. Jacob joked that there ‘might be some crimp on the lip’ to help us pull over where the crack thinned. I agreed outwardly. Inwardly, I thought ‘there’s no crimp up there!’ As it happened, there was the most badass jug exactly where you’d want it. Swinging footless from this proves a spectacular finale to the roof pitches.

Calum approaching another roof on pitch 6 (7c)

The rain prevented us from doing any more, so we went down. But the next morning the sun was shining and the air seemed really dry. The upper pitches had had seeps of around 100m in length after all the wet weather, but today they looked much shorter and more broken. So we blasted back up the ropes to start trying the upper pitches. Jacob and Calum had a good tussle with another E7 pitch of laybacking and slippery undercutting. The next E7 above had a worrying gap between holds where the aid line pendulums. It needed cleaning which I did as quickly as possible and then Jacob asked to jump on the lead. He wanted to try and dyno sideways across the gap. He clearly likes and is good at dynos. But when he flung himself at the hold, slid off it and hurtled down to join me on the belay stance, I suggested he look at the crimps just above. 

He wasn’t having any of it. Instead, shaking with a wee dose of adrenaline, he scuttled back up the flake and took off sideways again. This time he stuck it. I knew there was no way he’d let himself fall off the sustained E6 climbing that followed. So I relaxed and waited for my turn. I found a technical traverse on sidepulls just above and next thing we were all hanging awkwardly from the next belay. 

Nice camp site below the wall

At this point it was nearly midnight, it was clearly raining to the north and south of us and we knew the next 4 day spell of rain was due to hit in a couple of hours. It seemed like continuing would almost certainly mean a cold and wet retreat from near the top of the wall. On the other hand, if those pitches were easier, we could just make it. They still looked wet and we knew that this moment was likely our only realistic chance to complete the free ascent. So we carried on, first with a soaking wet E4 groove. I slithered and power screamed my way up it. It wasn’t pretty, but I got to the next ledge. The following two pitches went a little quicker in the gloom of the night and landed us on a ledge with two pitches to go. The rain clouds looked like they were just a few minutes away. To be honest, the rain wouldn’t have made much difference to the next pitch.

I climbed it by pasting the back of my Gore-Tex jacket on the wettest, moss ridden side of the groove, while leaning both feet out to the driest footholds out left. A ridiculous technique to look at, and to do, but I got higher. Every so often I lobbed dripping lumps of turf over my shoulder to reveal soggy handjams beneath. I slithered across a bulge that would be easy in the dry, getting really pumped. I shouted to Jacob that I couldn’t hold on to the wet holds any longer. He didn’t believe me. If it wasn’t for a wee kneebar on the lip, I would have been right. In the end, the rain started just as I pulled over the last pitch of proper climbing. Within 5 minutes we were completely soaked and water was pouring down the rock, but we scrambled to the summit, happy.

With the all the route now freed, we would have returned to make a single day redpoint which is definitely possible. But after more days of rain, the face was soaking again, so we didn’t get to even try. I was still really happy that we managed to take every moment of dry weather to get all the pitches freed in the 50 hour, rain interrupted sessions we did get. The locals we met in between the solitude of our camp below the wall were extremely friendly and kind to us. Both the climbers and the various people we hitched lifts from. It made it such a nice experience on top of all the great climbing, and this left us very impressed by the community in this part of Norway.

A rather finely placed jug on the lip of pitch 5 (7c)

Bongo Bar first free ascent, Blåmann

On the first free ascent of Bongo Bar, Blåmann, Norway. 400m, 7b+, 7b+, 8a, 7c, 7b, 6c, 7a, 6b. Photo: Paul Diffley/Hot Aches Productions. More pictures on the Gore-Tex facebook page shortly, and also on Julia's blog and Hot Aches blog.

Between the three of us, we have climbed a ton of superb granite routes during our stay in Kvaloya. Some of the classic established routes, which are as good as anywhere in the world, and a few great new routes. But before coming here, the biggest thing in my mind that I wanted to do was a new free route on the north face of Blåmann. It’s only been in the past few years that the aid routes here have been considered as big wall objectives for free climbers. The visits by the Austrian climbers Auer and Mayr brought the wall to international attention, and it was their pictures that made me first think of coming here, followed closely by Marten Blixt's excellent guidebook.

Those pictures were from their attempt to free climb the aid route Bongo Bar. They freed the first two pitches at 7b+, 7c+ (although the second is more like 7b+), but the overhanging pitch 3 through the roofs was wet and they traversed left into the ‘Atlantis’ and abseiled off to create the route 'Tingeling' (Tinkerbell in English). Their route was finished to the top of the wall this summer by locals Andreas Klarstrom and Thomas Meling (Peter Pan 400m, 7b+).

On day one of our trip, we could see Blåmann from Tromso airport, standing out from the other peaks on the skyline. When we drove round to the approach and could see the north face, I could hardly get my sack full of ropes on quick enough. 

But arriving under the wall, it was less clear if Bongo Bar would be possible. It looked really steep and blank through the roofs. But then again, all the other potential new lines looked rather desperate also! Lots of overhanging closed granite seams, with apparently sheer and featureless sidewalls. Andreas and a friend were stationed 60 metres up a new route, and were obviously having an exciting time. He was shouting down, encouraging us to look at Bongo Bar, and so I thought we should at least give it a shot.

A 55m E6 6b pitch to start was a rough warm up, and a reminder that we have no steep granite laybacking to speak of in Scotland. The following pitch went rather better. E6 6b again and the best granite pitch I have climbed anywhere. Perfect laybacking with spaced but good protection. 

The next day, I sent Donald onto the crux third pitch (A3) with the aiding gear. It looked hard and scary. ‘Bong, Bong, Bong’ a hollow ringing from his peg hammer came from over the first roof, followed by an exclamation; ‘Jings, Crivens and help me John Boy!’ Donald had just realised that the crack he was aiding up was actually a huge pancake flake, tottering in a groove waiting for an unsuspecting aid climber to release it from it’s perch. He was not a happy man and came down, suggesting it might be better if I delicately free climbed past it. That I did, only to find the next flake made the previous one look solid. My exclamation was less civilised. I did continue, half aiding, half free to the next belay, to find that pitch 4 looked almost as hard. After another day, I’d worked each move on pitch 3 but needed more time for pitch 4. The forecast looked poor, we were unsure how to manage with logistics of a team ascent with many sharp edges about and a prospect of me doing most or all of the leading. We had a discussion on the belay and reluctantly decided to bail.

However, my greatest failing is never being able to leave things like this and a few days later, I resurrected the idea of a free ascent - I would put in another day of dangling about to clean pitch 4 and scope out some of the pitches above while Helena and Julia ticked classic routes on Hollendran and then I would hopefully go for a redpoint with Julia if the weather held.

Moving around the arete, Bongo Bar pitch 7 (E5 6a)

Some rain threatened our chances. I walked up with Julia to find the black streaks of pitch 3 still looking dry-ish, so we started with no expectations. The two 7b+ pitches flew past and hanging on the belay 100 metres up the wall, inevitably expectations crept in to our minds. Speaking of expectations, Julia seemed to have no questions that I’d be able to dispatch the 8a (E8 6c) pitch above, and told me so in her direct but ever positive style. I launched up the pitch, climbing smoothly at first but wobbling into the crux and seriously losing my cool. I looked behind me for the crucial thumb press; it was wet, and so was the foothold. There was no time for hesitation and as I began to slip off backwards I threw my right hand across the corner without enough time to look for the hold first. Two fingers caught it and with a grunt I stayed on and continued with ‘Elvis leg’ all the way to the ledge.

Julia still smiling, pitch after pitch

Julia’s task of seconding the pitch was going to be one of the main hurdles of the route. 8a climbing, not having been on it before, carrying a rucksack and a 45 metre diagonal pitch through roofs with razor sharp edges. Not for the faint hearted really. The rope came in steadily without a sound. Pulling on gear where she could to avoid weighting the rope and sawing it on the edges, Julia was up in 30 minutes, still smiling and directing me to dispatch the balancy 7c pitch above. After that performance, I thought I’d better.

I climbed it well and in no time was swimming up layback cracks in the upper pitches. Julia was determined to go out in front and lead pitch 6. We were climbing onsight now and the pitch turned out to be 7a (E5 6a) and 60 metres long. She was obviously tired from carrying our jackets, food and water on the hard pitches below but still went for it. After 20 metres, she shouted that she had decided to make a belay on a slab. A good belay? She shouted yes, and then as I arrived admitted it was two old peckers from an aid ascent plus a poor cam and didn’t want to tell me before. We excavated a welcome backup cam placement and I headed around the corner and up endless cracks, now bathed in the lovely late evening sun. A BASE jumper leaped past us just before we topped out on Blåmann, and he touched down safely before we could even finish the last pitch and begin our tired stumble down for 1am pasta. Bongo Bar - the name kept reminding us 30 something brits of this song from our childhood!

Blåmann north face

I have a feeling that despite the unpredictable Norwegian climate, Blåmann will be one of the most famous walls in Europe for hard granite big wall climbs in the coming years. It’s a very accessible place and yet really impressive with some of the best granite you’ll find anywhere. 

Thanks to the Gore-Tex experience tour for sending myself, Helena, Julia, Donald and Paul on the trip, and to all the locals who helped us with information and encouragement. It was a pleasure. Here is a taster from Paul's film of Bongo Bar.