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Written by Richard Apps
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Page 2 of 4 Norway 24/05/02
A bit of a tardy start. We were eventually hounded out by the housemaids who found the armfuls of climbing gear and heavy rucksacks highly entertaining (well I hope it was that anyway).
There had been a lot of rain whilst we slept and everything was soaked. True to the forecast, it was overcast and threatening rain.
We drove around the corner to the AAK centre (much later we found out there were two and we were at the wrong one) to seek a bit of advice on Trollryggen and what condition the route was in. We hung around for a while but the chap couldn't find anyone for us to speak to. We left for the supermarket and loaded up with a couple of days food and chocolate. As it was getting later we headed out to drive the trollstigen road and snap a few piccies of the waterfall. We even did a reccy on the Fiva Farm road where the guidebook recommends parking for the troll. At this point it became apparent that unless we did something now we would have wasted a precious day. We decided that we'd park up and head out to the wall and bivi at the bottom for an early start.
 Dodging stonefall.
This is where we got the second omen. (The first Omen was a food cockup - it didn't arrive before we left and caused undue stress) After sorting through the gear, making last minute adjustments and getting changed, the car keys disappeared. At first this was a minor irritation but after ten minutes it had turned into something considerably more irksome. At about fifteen minutes we unpacked the entire contents of the sacks and shook everything out. After about 20 minutes we got the third omen which was a monster avalanche just out of site behind us. At about 30 minutes the keys mysteriously reappeared in the lock of the boot. There are only two possible explanations that fit the facts, we consider the one about the kink in the quantum mechanical probability distribution curve is not the right one.
Re packed and now in high spirits were able to make our way through the dense undergrowth up to the foot of the wall. This was a bit of a slog and after we parted company with the path it became harder. After clearing the undergrowth and getting established at the base of the wall we were able to survey the rock at close quarters.
What we found was not promising. The rain in the early hours had drenched the rock and the warm temperatures and high humidity had only aggravated the meltwater flowing down the face.
With considerable reluctance we realized and admitted that to climb the pillar under these conditions would be foolhardy. The crux of the climb according to the guide were the slabs above and to the right of the cave at 1/3 height. Traversing around the corner to foot of trollveggen we could that even these slabs high on the wall had water running over them. We returned to the sacks somewhat dispirited, the Trollryggen was clearly not on for this trip.
 The prow with instu conqueror
To make the most of the evening we bouldered around on a remarkable prow which overhung steeply at its left end, and practised self rescue techniques from the very convenient spike of the prow. A spot of food and a cup of tea had put us in the frame of mind to climb something in the morning and we elected to have a go at Fivaratu which is described as a descent route the guidebook had this down as 3-5 hours of ascent but rarely climbed these days.
Whilst reconnoitering the climb earlier we had heard a few stones coming down the cliff, but just as were in the process of setting up a z-pulley a shower broke bringing down a steady cascade of rocks from high on the cliff. The overhanging prow that had served as a playground now afforded us shelter from both the rain and the steady stonefall. Many of these stones were sizable chunks larger than a fist, one or two football sized. The sound they made was distinct thrum like a helicopter which deepened considerably with doppler shift as they came down. No suitable bivi had been forthcoming earlier, in particular one which would protect against stonefall so we spent an uncomfortable night under the overhang. At some point during the night something very large must have come down as we were able to feel the vibrations through the ground before hearing the impact. We both slept with our helmets on, though more for reassurance than genuine need - anything able to go through the overhang would not be stopped by a helmet.
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