Skiing and climbing on a study trip to Sicily

At the end of October, the Ski and Climbing department went on a study trip to San Vito Lo Capo in Sicily. We had eleven great days down there, with lots of great climbing, beautiful weather and nature, swimming in the Mediterranean and wonderful cultural experiences.

The climbing was a little different than most of us were used to. The climbing area was always full of people, and we often came into contact with climbers from other countries. It was something new for us who have only climbed on the areas here in Sogndal. The rock we climbed on was also different (limestone), and we climbed inside caves and on stalactites, which was very exciting compared to the granite rock here in Norway.
We stayed in three bungalows, and ate meals together on the terrace. Every day we enjoyed a lot of good food that everyone helped to prepare. We can describe the diet on our trip in three words: pizza, pasta and ice cream, (or gelato in Italian). It was good to get away from the small, boring food package with slices of bread and brown cheese at home in Norway, and enjoy ciabatta with pesto, fresh tomatoes and cured ham.

Even though we climbed a lot, we didn't climb every single day. One day we went on an excursion to Palermo where we got to experience a bit of culture, and one day we went on a mountain hike and got some great views. Deep water soloing was something we tried for the first time, and everyone thought it was really fun. We were bouldering right over the azure blue sea, jumping off cliffs and snorkeling around a bit. It was something very different from the bouldering hall back home in Sogndal.

We had a fantastic trip to Sicily and everyone had great climbing experiences and improved on the climbing wall. There was a good atmosphere among the whole group, and we are very happy with our days down there. Text: Sigrid Hegge Eriksen, student at Ski and climbing