Palkkivehmas

Like many great things in life, Palkkivehmas (or Palkkis, as we locals call it) have its bright and dark sides. The original area in the clearcutting is sunny and hot during the summer. But it makes a perfect spot for starting the season early in the spring or finishing it in the late fall, like many of us do. Unlike the original boulders, the newer sectors (Etiikka, Pianisti) lay in nice shady forests giving an opportunity for some good summer-time bouldering as well.

Palkkivehmas has something to offer for everybody. There are plenty of short easy routes for beginners, lots of good quality 6's and a good amount of 7's for more advanced climbers. Stylewise you name it, Palkkivehmas has got it, from easy slabs to harder testpieces on overhang. Mostly boulders aren't too tall, but there are some higher ones also to get your pulse go a bit higher.

Palkkivehmas is most likely known by its 3-star slab route Comfort Zone, 7A, that puts your technique to the test. But there are some other masterpieces there too, such as:

Master, 6C, a nice short overhang
Pianisti, 7C, and its variations for the ones who have already gained a bit more finger strength
Dirtbag Diaries and Shark Ethics, 6B/+, supernice slabs on "Etiikka" -boulder
Kurki and Äkkihoppu, 6A, both great low-end 6's
Keine Åland and What time is it? It's hawk time!!, 7A/+

You'll just have to go and find out what's your favourite, there's a fair chance that it's some other than the ones mentioned here.

As mentioned the original Palkkivehmas -area is sunny and very hot in the summertime, so don't forget to bring your sun cream with you. There might be some insects as well, so it won't hurt having your mosquito repellent with you too. There are quite a lot of mosquitos in the shadier boulders in the summertime as well.

Note that it is recommended to drive Metsolantie from north, as the southern road is in pretty bad shape.

Some videos from Palkkivehmas in Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/search?q=Palkkivehmas

For all the First Ascentionists: Topo suggestions with silly eliminations and unnecessary variations will not be approved. Keep it simple and natural please!

Palkkivehmas was first found in 2010 for the delight of the locals, as back in those days there weren't that many good areas around. Luckily things are different today... After the season -11 had ended the original area in the clearcutting had basically found its form and most of the routes had been already opened.

After few more quiet years, things started to happen in the area again. 2013 came out the Boulder topo -book for southern Finland, in which Palkkivehmas was included, and more boulderers found the place and came climbing the routes that had been there for a few years already.

It took only 2 years after that to have a big boom again. S. Haarahiltunen had in the early years wondered around the forest and talked about a nice tall arete. His motivation back then was towards more overhanging harder stuff, so it remained as a "rumor". 2015 T. Peteri and K. Nurminen decided to take a look at the woods. In the first hike to the woods they got really inspired by the blocks found. So the "Etiikka" -boulder was established. On the second boulder hunting hike with V. Mäkinen they found "Pianisti". A totally new block to everyone, that had layed there in silence. So spring and summer -15 was another year of developement for Palkkivehmas and some 30 new routes were opened.

Nowadays there are still some routes to be opened in the existing boulders and a high chance of finding a few new ones. We'll see how the future will be for our beloved Palkkis :)