A Vastervik experience

Sweden has an endless amount of rock scattered around the country, and much of this being top quality as well. A more well known area of Sweden is Vastervik, located on the east coast it offers amazing views and nature as well as some of the best climbing in the country. The development of the area started in the early 1990s, and therefore there are still bigger clumps of rock being found and hard work by the local developers, Stefan Rasmussen and Lorenz Ulmer, are still put in by finding and brushing up these blocs.

The landscape offers a great variety of rock types, within 30 min of driving you can climb on incredible water polished rock on Fruberget, coarse crystaly granite crimps in places such Forsby or MommehÃ¥l or some incredibly smooth rounded wave-like features at Östra Skalö.

Västervik is a great place for anyone, no matter the climbing ability. There is everything from 4´s-5´s all the way up to 8B/+ and hard undone projects. The areas offer great access as well with mostly short and easy to find approaches and very few guidelines in terms of accessibility in some seasons with hunting grounds. It is also very important to act respectful when you go to these areas, park according to the instructions found on the the website (linked below) or on the app 27 Crags, as well as following the obvious paths, don’t litter, no need to use excessive amounts of chalk and it wouldn’t hurt either to brush off excess chalk and tickmarks. If we keep these amazing outdoor spots clean and leave as little of an impact as we can, we might just have the chance to enjoy them for longer.

“Revolver” 8A (Västervik)

You can almost climb all year around In Västervik, summers do tend to get pretty hot so if that is not for you then mid autumn- early winter and spring time is usually the best for temperatures, you can get unlucky with rainy days so longer trips works well at this time of year so there is more opportunity for climbing days. Otherwise there is a Climbing gym in the city as well, cafes, restaurants and beautiful hiking paths around the area.

Västervik could of course also be combined with a longer journey around south Sweden’s climbing areas. Other big areas are Kjugekull, many areas around Gothenburg and Stockholm as well. The styles of the areas differ a lot as well as the density. It is common that you might have to do a bit of driving from sector to sector, but there are some sectors that have high enough density for a full day’s worth of climbing.

“Nightshift 8A+” (Västervik)

 “Paskapäivä” 8A (Åland)

About the author: Mikkel Normann Meinertsen

I’ve been climbing for about 8 years primarily bouldering. Climbing has become the main focus of my life and i strive to push myself and my skill abilities within the sport. I highly prioritize and incorporate my environmental impact in the way I travel and function in my climbing whether it be the products i use or the food I buy. I am also one of the headsetters at Beta Boulders CPH which I am also very passionate about and enjoy experimenting with movement and it is a very creative outlet for me as well.