Good Things Come to Those Who Wait!!

After three trips to the Rjukan area in Norway I finally got the route I have had my eye on ever since I saw a picture of it in the Petzl catalogue.  Three months of winter climbing in Scotland and mega training sessions on the wall in my garage lead up to today, and I can safely say that they all paid off, because today Ken Lacey and My self climbed the fantastic WI7 called Lipton. It was a remarkable route with some of the best climbing I have ever come across and in the most impressive position. Ken lead the first pitch which was a detached ice pillar leading to some very steep and technical ice, he cruised up this with very little fuss. I then went on to lead the second pitch (crux) whitch was home to some very thin icicles and very powerful moves to get from pillar to pillar. Even though the moves where tenuous and there was a 100ft of free air hanging below my feet, the pitch was not too bad and we where soon thinking that we might actually get to the top of this amazing route. Once I had brought Ken up to the belay I then went on to lead the third and final pitch. It was a steep fan with some very unpredictable ice making it hard to find good screw protection, but I battled on and finally got to the last easing moves of this monster of a route. It was dark by the time Ken had reached the top and we set about climbing the easier ground out of the gorge. With a very relaxed walk back to the car we both looked forward to a longer lie in bed tomorrow morning. And chatted about wot to do next……