History

Västervik Bouldering

Chalk, obsession, and the moment the secret leaked

Every bouldering area has a moment when the secret gets out.

In Västervik, that moment was called Project Granite.

But the story didn’t start there.

That was just when the rest of the world finally noticed.

1997 – before anyone was watching

Back in 1997, in the old climbing gym, a few people started looking past plastic holds and into the

forests.

Mikael Meyer, a strong competition climber, and Jakob (last name permanently lost to chalk

history) began poking around the local granite together with Stefan.

No plan.

No marketing.No idea where it would lead.

Stefan Rasmussen – the finder

If Västervik bouldering has an engine, it’s Stefan Rasmussen.

There were major contributions from many others — Fredrik Dahl, Jens Ekelund, Stefan Borrman,

Tomas Bovinder, Shawn Boye, and many more. A long list of friends constantly pushing things

forward. But Stefan didn’t just climb here — he found almost everything.

He didn’t even have a car to assist in development. Instead, he relied on a moped, riding through the

countryside around Västervik in search of new boulders. With crash pads strapped on and an eye

trained for potential, he systematically explored forests, gravel roads, and coastal paths — often

stopping wherever the granite looked promising.

Blocs, lines, sectors, problems. Even when he didn’t make the first ascent, he was usually the one

who cleaned it, tried it, named it, and made sure it didn’t disappear back into the forest.

Historic first ascents like Namaste and The Hourglass helped define the area early on, but Stefan’s

real contribution is bigger than any single problem. Nearly everything that has been climbed in

Västervik exists because he went looking for it.

Later developments like Cornet Cave and the southern sectors — including Vargblocken and

Roffans svampställe — added more of what are now considered some of the area’s true diamonds.

This early era was documented in the film Sends and Meatballs by Shawn Boye 🤘Falling smarter since 1997

Already in 1997–98, Västervik was ahead of the game. The area was among the first in Sweden to

import and retail proper cordless bouldering pads. While others were stacking gym mats and hoping

for the best, real pads were already being carried into the woods here.

Progress doesn’t always shout.

Sometimes it just lands softer.

1998–2000 – Kraft makes a statement

By the late 1990s, problems like Kraft (8A) were being climbed. Hard, physical, and uninterested in

being friendly. This was the confirmation moment: it wasn’t a coincidence — this place had serious

potential.

The Ulmer years Lorenz Ulmer pushed things even further with ascents like Contradictory Reality, Hövding, and

Great Dane, raising the bar and expanding what people thought was possible in Västervik.

Living in the area for months at a time, he repeated many of the core testpieces and established new

problems together with Stefan. He also wrote a proper, physical guidebook. It sold out years ago

and now lives on as a semi-mythical artifact from a time before apps, GPS pins, and instant beta —

arguably a take on doing it the right way.

Project Granite – when the secret leaked

Eventually, the local secret escaped the forest.

Project Granite was a collaboration between the climbing club and the Västervik tourist office,

aimed at showcasing what the granite around Västervik had to offer. Suddenly, there was structure,

visibility, and — whether we liked it or not — attention.

It didn’t create Västervik bouldering.

It revealed it.

Jim Wurmuth was employed through the climbing club during this period and played a key role in

the project’s execution.

From local obsession to global interestWith Project Granite, the word spread further. Soon, world-class climbers began showing up —

drawn by rumors of exceptional granite and problems that actually meant something.

They climbed.

They tried hard.

They nodded in approval.

Then they left, and the forest returned to normal.

Side note: international visitors

Over the years, Västervik has attracted many strong international climbers who have left their mark

on the rock.

In 2011, the Västervik International Boulder Meet brought climbers such as Anthony Gullsten,

Guntram Jörg, Chris Webb-Parsons, and Alex Puccio. Classic problems like Namaste (V12), The

Hourglass SDS (V13), and More Than One Way To Skin A Cat (V11) were climbed — a rare

moment when the area briefly became a buzzing stage for visiting talent.

In 2018, Ned Feehally spent two weeks climbing a massive number of hard problems, including

The Hourglass (8B). He noted that the existing guidebook at the time covered only about half of

what the area actually had to offer. His partner, Shauna Coxsey, also climbed several 8A and harder

problems during the trip.

Alex Megos and Daniela Ebler visited Lorenz and Stefan, and during their stay we witnessed sometruly impressive ascents from the German crusher.David Mason’s visit after the Boulder Meet is also worth mentioning, as is Nicolo Ceria’s flash

ascent of The Hourglass.

No banner,No announcements. But a driven new crew of developers mainly from Denmark/Germany. This crew have been in the area for a long time and have found loads of new stuff. In areas like Oskarshamn Kristdala and in-between there is a rocking crew creating new stuff… Future is solid and the areas live close so expect some borderline information on this page. have a look at. Summer houses and life in Sweden half way here…

https://www.instagram.com/thomasbrandtkjaer/ https://www.instagram.com/liv_gyllenborg/ https://www.instagram.com/nicholas__tomkins/ https://www.instagram.com/lorenz.ulmer/

And this is what we’re stan standing at today. no flux no promises just the intention of giving out all….