Presten - Vestpillaren

Approach

From the dirt pull-out on the road just below Presten walk to the cliff on a path towards the right hand side of the wall. For the “original start” go up the gully for about 60m. The “direct start” (described here) starts to the left of the beginning of the gully, it takes the central one of three corners.

Route

L# | 5b | 45m | Climb up the corner, traverse left on an easy sloppy ledge, then climb up a steep crack to a nice ledge below a corner. There is a fixed belay on the slab to the right, but its more comfy to stay on the ledge. L# | 5c | 40m | Climb towards a big flake on the left, then traverse right into a thin crack that widens and leads to a fixed belay passing right of a small roof. L# | 6a | 50m | Climb the corner to its end and then take a low angle diagonal ramp to a fixed belay. L# | 5a | 20m | Continue up and right through the wide crack to a fixed belay at the right end of the big grassy ledge (Storhylla). L# | 4 | 30m | Climb right around a big block and belay on its top at the base of a corner. L# | 6a | 45m | Climb up the corner and cracks to a ledge, then traverse left, down and up to another nice ledge below a shallow corner. L# | 6a+ | 45m | Climb the shallow corner to the easier crack system and into the corner, hanging belay in the middle of the corner just above a steeper part. L# | 5b | 40m | Continue up the corner, pass some steeper sections towards the right until the base of a leaning corner. L# | 6a | 40m | “The slanting corner”, Climb up the sustained corner, to the base of a thin crack, go straight (hard) or avoid the difficulties going left. L# | 4 | 30m | Climb up and left around flakes and blocks (some loose) to a belay below a nice diagonal crack. L# | 5b | 35m | Climb the thin diagonal crack to its end, then downclimb some meters and traverse right to a slab (delicate if wet) and gain the grassy gully. L# | 3 | 55m | Scramble up the gully to the summit.

Descent

From the summit of presten walk E over the ridge to the col between Festvagtinden (the summit to the S) and Budalstinden (the summit to the N). Continue on the ridge to the S towards the Festvogtinden and below the summit take a nice path that descends to the lake and then to the road.

The cliff is exposed to the bad weather coming usually from the SW, it is possible to abseil down from Storhylla (the big grassy ledge at 1/3 of the route), from there up the best way down passes from the summit. Retreat can be complicated once above Storhylla.