Trollveggen: Europe’s Tallest Vertical Rock Wall and Where to See It

SummitClimbs Field Note: Trollveggen, the Troll Wall, is the tallest vertical rock face in Europe: part of the Trolltindane massif in Romsdalen, Rauma, with about 1,100 m of wall from its base to its highest point (about 1,700 m from the valley floor), and a summit ridge that overhangs the base by nearly 50 m. It is a serious big-wall climbing objective with loose rock and frequent rockfall, and BASE jumping from it has been illegal since 1986. For hikers, the best way to experience it is from across the valley, for example from Litlefjellet, a 20–30 minute walk with one of the best views in Romsdalen.

Europe’s Tallest Rock Wall

The wall stands above Romsdalen, south of Åndalsnes, inside Reinheimen National Park, with the Rauma river, the Rauma Railway and the E136 running just to the east. It is gneiss, broken into huge corners, concave roofs and crack systems, topped by spires and pinnacles on the summit rim. The rock is generally loose, rockfall is normal on this north-facing wall, and a series of large rockfalls in September 1998 radically changed several routes.

Trollveggen at a Glance

• Height: about 1,100 m of vertical wall; about 1,700 m from the valley floor to the top
• Overhang: the summit ridge overhangs the base by nearly 50 m
• Location: Trolltindane, Romsdalen, Rauma, Møre og Romsdal; Reinheimen National Park
• First ascent: 1965, by a Norwegian team, one day ahead of a British team
• BASE jumping: banned since 1986–87
• For hikers: the top can be reached without climbing from the back, from the top of Trollstigen; for the view, walk up Litlefjellet across the valley

A Climbing Legend

The wall was first climbed in 1965. The Norwegian team of Leif-Norman Patterson, Ole Daniel Enersen, Jon Teigland and Odd Eliassen reached the top on 23 July, one day ahead of the British climbers Tony Howard, John Amatt and Bill Tweedale, who established the Rimmon Route, later the most popular line until the 1998 rockfall destroyed five of its pitches. The first winter ascent came in March 1974, when the Polish climber Wojciech Kurtyka spent 13 days repeating the 1967 French Route, and in 1979 Hans Christian Doseth and Ragnhild Amundsen made the first free ascent of the wall.

Later milestones include the 1972 Arch Wall (climbed by Ed and Hugh Drummond in 20 days), the Russian Krasnoyarsk Route of 2002, considered the hardest aid route on the wall, the first free ascent of Arch Wall by Sindre and Ole Johan Sæther in 2010, and the Polish route Katharsis in 2015. In February 2018 Kilian Jornet became the first to ski down the Troll Wall.

The BASE Jumping Ban

In 1980 the Finn Jorma Öster made the first parachute jump from the wall, and it became one of the pioneering sites of European BASE jumping. After several deaths and difficult rescues, including eleven rescue operations in 1984–1986, and the death of BASE pioneer Carl Boenish in 1984, BASE jumping from the Troll Wall was banned, first temporarily by the police in 1986 and then by law in June 1987.

See It on Foot: Litlefjellet

Litlefjellet is a “light version” of Romsdalseggen: about 1.7 km there and back with 141 m of ascent, only 20–30 minutes from the car park in Vengedalen to the top, and suitable even for small children. From the top there is a magnificent view across to Trollveggen and the Trolltindane, Åndalsnes and the Romsdalsfjord, with the Vengetindane behind you and Romsdalshorn close by. Arne Næss Sr. is said to have exclaimed there: “Never has man got so much for so little!” For the full ridge walk, see Romsdalseggen.

The SummitClimbs Take

Trollveggen is a wall for legends, not for hikers: loose, overhanging and serious. Admire it from Litlefjellet or Romsdalseggen across the valley, and leave the wall itself to experienced big-wall teams.

Facts from Wikipedia (Troll Wall) and Norwegian Wikipedia (Trollveggen); Litlefjellet from the UT.no route to Litlefjellet.