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pcousar
Sport climber
White Salmon, WA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 23, 2009 - 03:09pm PT
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Kalymnos Sport Climbing TR, what a great place!
My wife Kay and I stayed in town in 2008, saving our dollars for our first European vacation – to Kalymnos, Greece. We flew in comfort on Lufthansa, 10 ½ hours from Portland Oregon to Frankfurt, then another leg to Athens where we spent the night. A third flight to the island of Kos, and then the ferry to Kalymnos, and a taxi to Triantafillos studios in the town of Armeos, just below the Grande Grotta. About 22 hours (not including the night in Athens) to get there.
We arrived at 11 am local time and immediately headed up the Grand Grotto.
What a cave; huge and covered with tufas and stalactites. Every route overhangs, some going horizontal for many meters. Can you find the climber??
We started on several easy gray slabs around the left side of the cave on the Afternoon wall, with bolts every four feet. Now these are NOT friction slabs, just low angle rock with sharp holds.
After a few of these we were ready for tufas – after all, that IS what we came so far to climb on. We headed back to the Grotta and got on a gently overhanging 5.10 pitch following several of the hundreds of ‘tufa snakes’ on the Panorama wall.
The next day we climbed at Poets on more slabs, not as sharp as the first day, and plenty of fun while our minds were getting psyched for the ubiquitous steepness. We worked our way from Poets to the Kalynda sector, which had some great just off vertical face climbing.
Day three, time to step up to the plate at the Ghost Kitchen sector.The single word ‘tufa’ was insufficient to describe the formation, so the modifier mushrooms is added, as in ‘tufa mushrooms’!
How these tufas form is a mystery to me, as they grow straight out of the cliff! We again started on a few slabs, then onto the 5.11 tufas. The climbing is very fun, pinching, stemming, laybacking, and our favorite, riding the wild tufas – yee haw!!
Time for a rest day. We had rented a scooter to get to the ghost kitchen, and held onto it for a tour of the island. The sky spit raindrops here and there, but no problem, we put on our gore-tex and headed for the Hora Castle ruins.
A few stops under large trees to avoid rain, a few slick tiled alleys, and locals pointing the way, and we were there. We wandered around the ruins and were amazed at the number of tiny restored monestaries – each one named after a different saint. All of them with candles burning.
Heading back we took a slight detour, just as the clouds decided to release their cargo – it poured. We pulled over at a café and had a some double espressos, which were so good. An hour later it was still pouring. Time to suck it up and get on the scooter. A cold wet ride got us back to the studio.
More rain the next day, but scattered enough that we hiked to the Odessy without much more than a sprinkle. The Odessy is listed in the guide as ‘good for rain days’. What it did not list is that the goats know this too! Kalymnos is covered with goats, and thus goat sh#t. At this sector, where the rains never reach the base, the smell in places was almost overwhelming… While there are goat droppings at almost all the crags, this was by far the worst.
Despite this funnel cloud and squalls, we did get on some fun routes, stayed mostly dry, and called is a day.
Rain coming in over Telendos.
A third day of rain, lighter than the others, found us back to the Grotto and Panorama. At this point we had hooked up with Doug, a solo traveler from Pittsburg. He was made the trip photographer, and got some great pics of Kay and I climbing.
He climbed fast when it was his turn, and was fun to hang out with! After a few warm-ups, it was time for DNA.
This is the most popular climb on the island judging from the number a ascents on the website 8a.nu. The climb was quiet while we warmed up, but then the rain came back and folks started heading for the shelter of the Grotto.
Kay and I had trained hard all winter, hitting the gym nearly 20 times, (which was about a 1.5 hour drive each way). Now was the time to see if I could send THE route! I tightened my helmet, made one last adjustment to the knee pad, and headed up. ‘Like climbing the branches of a large tree’ the guide said – and so true.
The tufas drip down this way and that, with the typical move being reach up and grab the bottom of a tufa and lay it back. A bit of that, a back step here and there, toe hooks, knee bars and then wrap your leg around the final mushroom and clip the anchor! I had sent, and was grinning ear to ear!
We awoke to sunshine and warm temps on our 6th day of climbing, so we jumped on our scooter and headed to Arhi. The place was PACKED, over 50 climbers!
So we headed to the nearby Seabreeze sector for some fun low angle warm-ups. The flowers were in full bloom and these ones we came across mid-pitch.
However, I had to climb at Arhi, so back we went, and amazingly walked to the route we wanted and no-one was on it! Climbed it, and the two other pitches I wanted all back to back! Here’s Kay on one of them.
Here are the boys, hang dogging is the european way!
Our next rest day we headed over to the main island town of Pothia, a small but bustling port full of harbor front cafes.
We wanted to check out a few of the sights, and when ever we stopped at a corner and pulled out a map, one of the amazingly friendly locals would stop their car, or their scooter, or lean over their porch railing, speaking Greek and pointing/waving us in the right direction.
After checking out the Italian Road we were LOW on gas and headed into the center of town, working our way down narrow roads/alleys that brought us to a very congested one-way road, bumper to bumper, with scooters weaving in and out! It was a bit exciting keeping up with traffic while looking for fuel. I eventually pulled up next to a gal on a scooter and asked about gas, ‘follow me’ she replied and led us to safety!
Fueled up we headed out of town and ‘cruised’ along the coast, past crop circles!
Then inland through the only region that supported agriculture. A few side hikes to check out the views from the 300 meter high pass, and give Kay a chance to take some more plant/flower photos.
As a professional residential landscape designer, she was freaking on the flowers. A number of which she uses in her projects, so it was fun for us to see them in their natural habitat. And the rains which dampened a few of the climbs was more than offset by the zillions of colors spattered across the lands.
A pleasant scene.
An early dinner at Harry’s Paradise concluded a great rest day tour!
View of Masouri from Kastelli.
Three more days of climbing, back at the Ghost Kitchen, the Grand Grotto/Panorama, and the very quiet Styx ended out stay at Kalymnos.
On the scooter ride out, we passed a local gentleman feeding his herd. He was whistleing and the goats were running down the hill for breakfast. It was quite a scene!
Kay sharing holds on Panorama.
The Europeans are very casual about this, and don’t mind you pulling your rope down onto them after they have started climbing while your 2nd in still on the pitch.
Me loving the Ghost Kitchen mushrooms (I’m in the green shirt….)
Kay leading Joy in the Garden – very fun!
And tufa wrangling!
Another of the climbs on my list was Trella – the monster. This pitch is desribed as 3D climbing from another realm! 40 meters of steep tufa fins and stalactites that overhung 20 meters! It took everything I had, both mentally and physcially to get to the anchors without falling! An awesome fight through tufas, with one big one to sit on and rest 2/3 of the way up!
One of the unexpected surprises was all the cats on the island. We saw at least 50 different cats, and have photos of 35 of them. The cats are well liked by the Greek and highly tolerated, even allowed to beg for food in restaraunts!
Others just begged on the streets – feed me!!
Here’s a nice cave we got to explore. A small hole at the base of a crag with ladders leading down opened up into a single cavern.
Leaving the island port of Pothia, back to Kos.
The last day in Greece we trekked around Athens, grooving on the history.
This is where the crowds were!
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Apr 23, 2009 - 03:21pm PT
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Very cool. The Greek islands are awesome.
cool pics too!
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handsome B
Gym climber
SL,UT
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Apr 23, 2009 - 03:30pm PT
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awesome! thanks for the TR
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Erik Christensen
Boulder climber
Bozeman, MT
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Apr 23, 2009 - 03:39pm PT
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I want to go to there.
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Tomcat
Trad climber
Chatham N.H.
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Apr 23, 2009 - 04:01pm PT
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Yo brother,you did Tradchick and I proud....
....you young people....lol....great job!
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MisterE
Trad climber
One Step Beyond!
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Apr 23, 2009 - 05:25pm PT
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Really neat! The tufas and mushrooms look so stellar!
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Ezra
Social climber
WA, NC, Idaho Falls
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Apr 23, 2009 - 05:44pm PT
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I love you pictures, yet another place i have to visit!
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Redwreck
Social climber
Echo Parque, Los Angeles, CA
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Apr 23, 2009 - 05:55pm PT
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Damn, that looks like fun.
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S.Leeper
Sport climber
Austin, Texas
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Apr 23, 2009 - 07:03pm PT
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Wow thats great! I want to go there too.
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Barcus
Trad climber
San Luis Obispo, Ca.
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Apr 23, 2009 - 07:21pm PT
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Tufa! Tufa! Tufa!
Thanks for the awsome treck!
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Anastasia
climber
Not here
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Apr 23, 2009 - 08:53pm PT
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Opa! Bravo, poli owreo taxithi!
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I am very impressed! I really am glad that you had a great time! Yeah... The Acropolis has always been a tourist trap. I tend to hate Athens and prefer getting to the islands ASAP. :) Athens really is too overbuilt, exploited, lacking organization, etc.
Plus, I am an island girl. Islanders are a different species.
AF
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mrtropy
Trad climber
Nor Cal
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Apr 23, 2009 - 09:01pm PT
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very cool thanks- Another Place I need to go
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Churningindawake
Sport climber
Portland, Oregon
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Apr 23, 2009 - 10:45pm PT
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Awesome TR Paul! It's awesome how you and Kay are climbing so well! Maybe someday when I get a job I'll be able to go climb with you on all your wonderful vacations!
Hope to climb with you this summer!
Wolfgang
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JOEY.F
Social climber
sebastopol
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Apr 23, 2009 - 10:51pm PT
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Enjoyed that tr!
Thank You!
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TKingsbury
Trad climber
MT
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Apr 23, 2009 - 11:23pm PT
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WOOOOO!!!!1
great stuff! The more I see the more I want to check it out!
thanks for post up!
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snowey
Trad climber
San Diego
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Apr 24, 2009 - 03:26am PT
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Excellent TR! Reminded me of my time there. Isn't the Grand Grotta spectacular?
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tradchick
Trad climber
White Mountains
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Apr 24, 2009 - 07:12am PT
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Paul and Kay: Nice TR and what an adventure! Those "tufa mushrooms" are crazy looking....and I thought the chickenheads in Red Rocks were wild!
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Paulina
Trad climber
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Apr 24, 2009 - 08:46am PT
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Wow, awesome! I so want to go there!
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kpinwalla2
Social climber
WA
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Apr 24, 2009 - 10:10am PT
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Great TR you guys. When were there in late June a few years ago there were no crowds and not a cloud in the sky the whole time. When it got too hot to climb in the afternoon, we headed for the beach at Massouri - tough life, I tell ya. See you Spring Mtn.
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J. Werlin
climber
Cedaredge
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Apr 24, 2009 - 12:56pm PT
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bump for an excellent TR. Thanks for posting up.
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