Very few people have put Store Blåmann on their climbing map. Yet this summit features a compact granite north face, overhanging and streaked with cracks over a height of 400m. Not far from Tromsø, even further north than the famous Lofoten Islands, this 1,044-metre peak facing the icy Norwegian Sea has a dozen major routes leading to its summit. Among them is the extremely difficult Arctandria, recently climbed by Norwegian Tuva Stavø. Meet this eighth-degree climber.
In 2005, Didier Berthod laid – and stuck – his hands in this Arctandria route. It’s a de facto harbinger of cracks to come. It was then the late Hansjörg Auer who reached the summit after a one-day ascent in 2007. He said : “Considering the technical difficulties and the alpine character of the route, it can be described as one of the most difficult of its kind in Europe.“
Since these ascents, other tries have been rare. “There were three very good climbers, two Swedish and one Norwegian, Andreas Klarström, Erik Grandelius and Martin Skaar Olslund, in 2011, and then a local climber from Tromsø, Thomas Meling, around 2016, who followed up the route with a bit of an update,” Tuva Stavø tells me.
She discovered this wall, Store Blåmann : “I’d just come off a winter during which I’d skied a lot, so I wasn’t in great shape for climbing. I really loved the atmosphere on this face and the quality of the rock. So I concentrated more on climbing this year and returned to Store Blåmann at the beginning of the summer.“
it’s an obvious line with lots of roofs and dihedrals
really a beautiful line
North face of Store Blåmann, Norway, bathed in the midnight sun. ©Vetle Sevild
Tuva Stavø in her element. ©Coll. Tuva Stavø
As soon as she got back to the foot of the wall, Arctandria was in the back of her mind. “I knew Arctandria before I’d climbed the other routes, it’s an obvious line with lots of roofs and dihedrals in the center of the wall, really a beautiful line. But before I tried it, I wanted to make sure I was strong enough. For me, style is very important, and I didn’t want to put on fixed ropes and come back every day to try each length. The aim was to link each pitch directly in order from the ground.
I went up the first time, but the conditions weren’t ideal: the first pitch was wet, but I was able to try the next one – the most difficult of the route. Store Blåmann faces the ocean, and even when the weather forecast is good, it can be foggy.
My second attempt was the right one. I said to my rope partner, Vegard Lillebudal: you’re not letting me down until I’ve succeeded! In the end, everything went really well, with only two pitches of traversing under slightly damp roofs requiring an extra try.”
I didn’t want to put on fixed ropes and come back every day
to try each length
The search for difficulty or the adventure of the big routes?
In addition to the difficulty of the route (10 pitches up to 8a+), it’s the placement of the protection that makes the undertaking particularly serious: “Most of the routes on Store Blåmann were opened by artificial climbing in the 80s. Today, almost all of them have been released. For Arctandria, for example, the initial grading was A2+/A3, which means that it’s quite difficult to place protection to make progress. In the key length, one rely on stuck cables that have been there for 20 years – but which look good – and then on friends and a piton that me and Vegard’ve been able to add.“
With Tuva having reached the belay of a route rated 8b – still in traditional climbing – last spring, I wondered in which direction she wanted to go, the search for difficulty on a pitch or rather the adventure of the big routes. On this subject, the versatile Norwegian climber hasn’t quite made up her mind, but listening to her one can sense a slight preference for the big routes.
climbing long, difficult routes
is the best way for me to combine
endurance sports and climbing
“I used to do a lot of trail running and ski mountaineering, and I love that feeling of fatigue and well-being one get in one’s body after an endurance effort. After a winter during which I over-trained, I gave up endurance sports and got more involved in climbing.
I think that climbing long, difficult routes is the best way for me to combine endurance sports and climbing: between the approach, the climb itself and the descent, at the end of the day I have that same feeling I get after a long endurance effort, which I enjoy so much.“
Second pitch of the route, which is the crux in 8a+. ©Vegard Lillebudal
More challenging Norwegian climbs
With a master’s degree in physics in her pocket, and a year and a half’s university exchange in Grenoble, Tuva Stavø moved to Tromsø. “The region is a real paradise for climbers; everyone stops off in Lofoten, but here, just a little further north, there’s everything for climbers: bouldering, big routes and rinds. And you can get stuck in a car by a herd of reindeer, it’s exotic!“
I then ask her if she’s noticed any differences between France and Norway in terms of climbing culture. Apparently, climbing is more sanitized in France: “The fundamental difference I’ve noticed is the rules imposed when opening new routes. In Norway, spits are very rarely used. Arctandria, for example, has one at a belay, and even then it’s not absolutely necessary. In France, in the Mont Blanc massif for example, you’ll find spiked routes with all the belays chained in the middle of the mountain, which has a nice, less sketchy side. Let’s just say that in Norway, we’re used to climbs that are sometimes tricky.“
Vegard Lillebudal twins to follow Tuva Stavø ©Tuva Stavø Collection
But let’s return to the island of Kvaløya, where Store Blåmann is located. Are there any tracks left to clear, any lines left to open? According to Tuva Stavø, yes! “As I was saying, I sometimes wonder why this island and the Tromsø region don’t get more interest…I really think a face like Store Blåmann deserves more frequentation! Incidentally, there are still a few old artificial climbing routes left to free that I’d love to try.”
it’s hard to imagine the sheer number
of high cliffs,
deep canyons
and magical forests to be explored
Between Flatanger and the Lofoten Islands, which need no introduction, the Troll Wall, which had its hour of glory at one time, and the Profile Wall (the cliff on which Crown Royale and Recovery drink are located, two of the most difficult cracks in the world), Norway is one of the countries offering the most climbing possibilities.
While doing this interview, I couldn’t help but think of Hoka Hey’s ascent of Kjerag, achieved by members of the Roc Aventure Programme and then by Tuva Stavø a few months later. This summit is also located in Norway, but on its opposite cardinal point.
With mountains covering the country from north to south, it’s hard to imagine the sheer number of high cliffs, deep canyons and magical forests to be explored between these little-known and magnificent routes, located 1500 kilometers apart!
For Tuva, a fast-growing climber specializing in the liberation of large, difficult routes on Norwegian grey granite, the next logical step seems to be across the Atlantic, on more orange granite, higher and more frequented faces. Tuva Stavø remains very evasive: “Yes, maybe, Yosemite sounds good, but we’ll see“… To be continued, but let’s bet that a visit to the valley by the Norwegian won’t go unnoticed!