Two Czech climbers in their 40s lost their lives last week at Norway’s well-known Trollveggen rock face in western Norway. A search operation located the two men at the foot of the mountain, but it took rescuers four days to recover the bodies.
The two men set out on the climb on July 25. Relatives became concerned when they failed to hear from them as planned two days later. Norway’s Joint Rescue Control Center received a call on the morning of July 29 and the climbers’ car was quickly located at the Trollveggen visitor center. The bodies of the two men were spotted by a search team several hours later.
A challenging climb
It isn’t known why or from where the climbers fell. However, rockfall is a common hazard on the mountain that is home to some of Europe’s longest climbing routes. Many adventurous climbers choose to spend at least one night on the mountain.
Part of the Trolltindene mountains in the Romsdal valley, Trollveggen is the tallest vertical rock face in Europe. At its summit, the rock face stands around 3,600-feet high, and overhangs the base of the wall by as much as 150 feet. It attracts climbers from all over the world keen to challenge themselves.
Trollveggen is no stranger to tragedy. At least eight base-jumpers are known to have lost their lives there over the years. In 1986, the increase in the number of accidents and the cost and complexity of the resulting rescue operations caused the activity to be banned at Trollveggen.
A demanding recovery operation
In a press release, local police praised the work of Romsdal Mountain Rescue Group and their partners in the rescue. Four days after the climbers were discovered, the demanding recovery operation was finally completed.
The danger of rock fall and challenging weather conditions led to the Police considering canceling the recovery operation several times during the week. The area had been subject to high winds and low clouds throughout the week, posing a high risk to those taking part in the recovery.
The operation involved attaching a rope more than 3,000 feet in length to the climbers’ rope from a helicopter. Several observers were located on top of Trollveggen and neighboring peaks to help guide the process.
“The police now extend a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to the safe execution with experience, knowledge and expertise. In particular, the Police thank the contributions of Romsdal Mountain Rescue Group, Nord Helikopter, and the crew of the 330 Squadron rescue helicopter,” read the statement.
The rock face is close to the Trollstigen mountain pass, where a Lithuanian tourist fell to his death earlier this year. It’s been a busy year all-round for Norway’s rescue services. Last month, Norsk Folkehjelp (Norwegian People's Aid) said they had already conducted more rescue operations in the first six months of this year than in the whole of 2018.
