The young Norwegian has made the first ascent of Kjernekraft at Julsundet near Molde. He bolted the line with his father this June and proposes 9a/+, a grade somewhere between 9a and 9a+.

Vekve sent the route on Sunday 25 October, on his third try of the day. The day before he had fallen at the very top, after the last crux. Shortly before the send, the climber from Molde had won the Nordic U19 title. He is a member of the Norwegian junior team and climbs for the Romsdal Tindegruppe club in western Norway.

Kjernekraft is about 35 metres long. It starts out roughly 25 degrees overhanging and steepens to about 45 degrees in the final and hardest section. As Vekve describes it, the line first follows Café Kraft (8b/8b+) to its anchor, where there is a good rest. A 6B boulder comes next, then a rest, then a 7B+ boulder with only a poor shake before the 8A crux boulder. After that it eases off to the top. He spotted the line in 2025, bolted it with his father Thomas in June 2026 and worked out the beta and the grade together with Erik Grandelius.

The slash grade means Vekve sees it between 9a and 9a+. The Darth Grader app, which he checked, came out at 9a+. He admits he is bad at kneebars, though, so others may find it easier. He would understand a downgrade to 9a, he says, but not any lower. Until someone repeats it, the grade stays unconfirmed.

Before Kjernekraft he had two 8c's and one 8c+ to his name. The 8c+ was his own first ascent too, Dønn Seriøst at the same crag earlier this season. According to Friflyt, Kjernekraft is now clearly the hardest route in Romsdal, ahead of his father's Kunne vært verre (8c), and undoubtedly the hardest put up by a Norwegian junior. Vekve himself doubts that many climbers his age have opened a 9a/+ and says he has never heard of one in Norway or abroad. The hardest route ever put up by a Norwegian remains Leo Bøe's Hafgúfa (9b) in Flatanger, the cave where Jules Marchaland added King Kang. Vekve has posted a rough cut of his ascent on YouTube.

Sources: Friflyt, 8a.nu, Climbing History, YouTube (Ola Vekve), Instagram (Ola Vekve)

Cover: the Julsundet strait, which gives the crag its name. This is not a photo from the ascent. Photo: Lukas Beck, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.