Tingeling, new link-up on Blamann by Hansjörg Auer & Much Mayr

In 2007 Hansjörg Auer from Austria travelled to the massive Blamann granite monolith on the island of Kvaløya in Norway, to carry out the first one day ascent of "Arctandria" (8b). Whilst working the route he spied a possible new line, and with this in mind he returned at the start of July together with habitual partner Much Mayr, with whom he has shared numerous climbs together, such as Waiting for Godot in Patagonia and the first onsight of La Cattedrale on the Marmolada in the Italian Dolomites.

During a rainy few weeks the two worked their way up a combination of two existing routes, Bongo Bar and Atlantis, to create Tingeling and although the duo managed to redpoint all the individual pitches, they were unable to attempt a single day redpoint ascent due to continuous rain. Afterwards Auer commented dryly : "That's Norway!"


Tingeling, Blamannen, Norway by Hansjörg Auer
Three years ago I managed the first one-day ascent of "Arctandria" together with Markus Haid. I was so impressed that I decided to return to the Blamannen North Face this year with Much Mayr.

At the time my eyes continued to stray across to "Bongo Bar" (A3) on the left-hand side of the Wall. I was certain that the rock quality wasn't as good, but that this section held immense potential for difficult, alpine multi-pitch routes.

After two days on the wall we started to feel a little down hearted. The third, steeply overhanging pitch of Bongo Bar was completely wet. Climbing free was impossible. Why not try a traverse left into virgin territory? What about a link-up of the routes "Bongo Bar" und "Atlantis"?

Day 3. It worked. But I had to place a bolt, because the loose flake which enabled us to climb the route free fell into space after just a couple of blows of the hammer as I tried to place a peg. We couldn't have done without the bolt. Unfortunately the corners and cracks above were extremely dirty and often wet. Climbing in these conditions was very demanding and we needed a further two days to complete the first ascent and redpoint the remaining pitches.

Facts Blamann:
Blamannen is located close to idyllic town and island Tromsoe, which can be reached easily by plane. This "small" bigwall is located on the Kvaloya island and is a paradise for mountaineering, sports climbing and bouldering. The North Face now has 9 routes, of which all were first ascended using aid. Apart from "Atlantis", "Arctandria" and "Ultima Thule", "Tingeling" is now the 4th free route up this circa 400m high rock face, but the route hasn't had a continuous one-day redpoint ascent. A visit to Blamannen is highly recommended for those who don't mind bad weather and predominantly "alpine" conditions. Reaching the wall is very easy and the rock quality is excellent, at times though the routes need cleaning. The island also offers plenty of bouldering and sport climbing.

Tingeling
Blamann, island of Kvaløya, Norway
Route line: combination of "Bongo Bar", new pitches and "Atlantis"
Height: ca. 400 Meter
Grade: 7c+
Gear: 1 Bolt, pegs, Copperheads, nuts, Camelots up to #4