The Troll Wall () is part of the mountain massif Trolltindene () in the Romsdalen valley in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located to the south of the towns of Åndalsnes and Molde inside the Reinheimen National Park.

The rock is gneiss, formed into a broken rock wall of huge corners, concave roofs, and crack systems, topped with a series of spires and pinnacles on the summit rim. The rock is generally loose, and rockfall is the norm on this north-facing big wall. There was a series of large rockfalls on the wall in September 1998, radically changing the character of several climbing routes.

The wall has been a destination for climbers and BASE jumpers. Carl Boenish, the "father" of BASE jumping, was killed on the Troll Wall in 1984 shortly after setting the world record for the highest BASE jump in history. His wife, Jean Boenish, jumped with him and held the record until Valery Rozov jumped off Cho Oyu in 2017 from . BASE jumping from the Troll Wall has been illegal since 1986.

Climbing history

thumb|The Troll Wall (left), with the peaks of Brudgommen (The Bridegroom) and Store Trolltind to the right

The Troll Wall was first climbed in 1965 by a Norwegian team consisting of Ole Daniel Enersen, Leif Norman Patterson, Odd Eliassen and Jon Teigland. They finished one day ahead of the British climbers Tony Howard, John Amatt and Bill Tweedale, who established the most popular climbing route on the wall, the Rimmon Route. As of 2003, this route was reported unclimbable because a rockfall in September 1998 destroyed five of its pitches. The long Krasnoyarsk, graded f6c+/A4+, is generally thought to be the hardest aid route on the wall and was awarded first prize in the 2002 All Russia Winter Mountaineering Championships.

In July 2010, Arch Wall, previously a serious aid route of difficulty up to A4+, saw its first all-free ascent by local climber Sindre Sæther and his father, Ole Johan. Arch Wall is about of climbing over 37 pitches, and it took the two a total of 36 hours of climbing to reach the summit.

In July 2012, Sindre and Ole Johan Sæther repeated the feat by free climbing the Krasnoyarsk Route. Eight BASE jumpers are known to have died at the Troll Wall. The first recorded fatality was Carl Boenish in 1984, while the most recent was in 2012. Despite being illegal, BASE jumpers jump from the Troll Wall most summers, and are generally able to flee before the police arrive.

In February 2018, Spanish ski mountaineer Kilian Jornet was the first to ski down the Troll Wall. He had previously climbed the route.

See also

  • Besseggen
  • De syv søstre
  • Kjerag
  • Kjeragbolten
  • List of waterfalls
  • Preikestolen
  • Trollgaren
  • Trolltunga

References

  • Trollveggen BASE picture gallery
  • Trollveggen Camping
  • Some information on the routes on Troll Wall
  • John Amatt on the first ascent of the Rimmon Route
  • Updates, topos, and more on the climbing in Romsdal
  • Base fatalities list
  • UKClimbing.com on the free ascent of Arch Wall
  • "The First Ascent of the Troll Wall" by Tony Howard