Solberget

Quite a nicely located crag next to Solbergasjön, 40 km northwest of Stockholm. This is a low but exciting crag because it contains some unusual formations quite rare for Stockholm, such as chimneys, free-standing pillars, and overhanging offwidths, interspersed with some clean-cut sections delimited by short but nice cracks. You will also find a mix of traditional and bolted routes. The routes are not more than 8-9 meters high. There are not many anchors on the crag and these often sit a bit over the edge. Bring a loop or rope stump to get the rope out over the edge if you want a top rope. It's quite easy to get up on the top of this little crag. A Steel brush is also good to have, as some of the routes tend to get quite mossy. Due to the proximity to houses above the crag, there is a climbing ban on the sector on the far right. Homeowners living above the main wall are still fine with climbing. Remember to keep a low profile anyhow. Solberget may not be a first-hand choice, but it is a distinctive little crag with a quirky touch and a couple of short but unique climbs.

Environment:
Southwest. Partly shaded by trees. Afternoon/evening sun. Quite a calm and nice environment next to a small lake.

Some of the older generation started to develop this crag in 1994, by mainly Kenneth Lindström and a couple other gays from the older generation in Stockholm. In a couple of years, most of the obvious lines were made.

For many years one of the big chimneys only got toproped (work name "Mormors spricka"), perhaps because it was heavily sandbagged and / or the lack of proper gear for such a wide "crack". Many years later Joel Nyberg, one of the younger generation in Stockholm, managed to free the route with the help of self-made metal pipes in different sizes that he used as protection. Joel named the route Stove legs and kept the grade 6a! There is a kind of historical photo on both Christer (top-roper) and Joel (doing the first ascent) on that route among the pictures.

When the routes on the crag were made, there were no buildings nearby and many of the routes had interesting endings. A stand was usaly made on the top in the traditional way and you sat and looked out over the area and fished up your friend below. Now the situation is very sensitive as several villas have been built very close to the edge of the crag while anchors are missing on a lot of routes.