Norway Mixed Climbing Project Climbing under the green light A 69 North Mission March 2017
The Project Legendary territory of Vikings, Norway is well known at the present for its stunning Northland landscapes and tourism outdoor activities, hiking, skiing, fishing... A third of the country is located above the polar circle. This massive area is covered by mountains and impressive fiords and coast lines. During Winter, there is snow everywhere, even down to the beaches... a dream for skiers all around the world! But, the Lofoten Archipelago and Senja Island are a hidden spot for mixed and ice climbing. The local community has been developing the region, exploring valleys and faces looking for nice lines to climb. Our project is scheduled to take place during the first two weeks of March 2017. We will discover and explore these destinations with local climbers, climb mixed and ice lines, alpine faces, repeat some of the classics and hunt out first ascents. Using a classic land approach or even kayak and zodiac for the most remote stuff.
Objectives Mixed climbing and ice climbing In both Lofoten Archipelago and Senja Island the idea is to climb on mixed and ice climbing routes. Meeting locals and discovering their playground in the extreme environment which gives the chilly rough winter its reputation in those Northern Islands. Quite a unique destination for the french alpinist. For a good warm up we will be looking for great lines that have been previously climbed and for the main highlight of the expedition, our team looks forward to opening new routes and sharing the amazing adventure with the local talented climbers. Photo report The trip will be documented by one of the team expedition members, Thomas Vialletet, who is a photographer specialized in shooting big adventures and missions! With 10 years experience Thomas has a good handle on his job and the skills required to line up perfect camera angles. His vision and creative imagination capture the scale of the mission and story as it unfolds. As always he's sure to shoot a killer photo documented report of the trip! We will post as regulary as possible a daily journal of pictures and comments to share on the social media network ( Facebook, Instagram... ), and of course we'll keep the best images for published articles, and available for commercial use.
Movie documentary For the entire duration of the trip we will also be filming. We aim to produce a short movie telling the tale of the expedition. The highs and lows, the people we meet, the fresh lines we discover, the old lines we keep alive, the extrodinary scenery and of course the commitments of climbing in such extreme conditions. We wish to tell our story and share our adventure to open up to the world of climbing the undiscovered potential this beautiful country has to offer. We would love our movie to be presented in a selection of different outdoor movie festivals throughout France and Europe.
Team Members Jeff Mercier - Alpinist Talented climber based in Chamonix. Jeff spends most of his time hanging off his ice axes, playing in cracks and ice and steepness like no one else! He's always looking for new lines to climb, bringing a new vision to the traditional climbing routes in The Mont-Blanc area. His climbing list is impressive! Jeff also works for the mountain rescue in Chamonix and he's an IFMGA Mountain Guide http://jeffmercier.blogspot.fr
Jonanthan Joly - Aplinist The smiley, really tall blond guy Jonathan might have been born with ice axes on his hands. Always up for the first frost to the last, climbing every piece of ice he can find. And when there is no ice, he just keeps climbing on rock with his tools... He's been travelling a lot around Europe doing what he loves... Jonathan is an IFMGA Mountain Guide http://jonathanjoly.fr
Thomas Vialletet - Photographer Thomas is the photographer of the team. Drowned by adventures, he always takes his camera on big missions all around the world. His work has been published in several outdoor magazines and used for commercial business. He's also an accomplished climber and alpinist and an IFMGA Mountain Guide. http://www.thomasvialletet.com Instagram : @tomvialletet
Martin Skaar Olslund Alpinist Martin, he's the youngest of the team and is a truely gifted, super talented climber!!! He's been climbing almost everywhere ( Europe, Patagonia, Yosemite... ) He's Norwegian and has already explored alot of his own country's potential. Martin will be an amazing guide showing the frenchies all the good spots! http://sikringklar.blogspot.fr
Trip Itinerary and Budget Itinerary : Fly to Tromso, then heading first to the Lofoten Archipelago. Spend about 1 week there. The second week of the trip will be up north to Senja Island. At the end of our journey we'll fly back from Tromso. Budget per person : Flight ticket : 600 Car rental : 400 Accommodation : 500 Food : 400 Total : 1900. Media Budget : Movie producing, editing and promoting : 7000 A : Tromso ; B : Senja Islande ; C : Lofoten
Our Needs Financial support Any help for supporting us to bring this dream to life would be welcome with arms open wide! Any financial contribution will help us to go through the expensive economy of Norway and raise enough funds to be able to share this adventure by editing and promoting a movie. Gear support We will need some gear and clothing to be able to climb comfortably in this extreme environment. It could be also a great opportunity for any brands to test and promote their equipment in the real stuff.
Contact Group Contact Jeff Mercier +33 675 362 829 jeffmercier05@gmail.com Media Contact Thomas Vialletet +33 661 466 115 thomas.vialletet@yahoo.fr On behalf of the team in advance we would like to say a big thank you to the sponsors coming on board with the project. Expeditions like this wouldn't be possible without your continued support and passion for keeping dreams alive. Here's to climbing hard, first ascents, meeting new people and one hell of an adventure!