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Hoots
climber
Toyota Tacoma
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Topic Author's Original Post - May 22, 2014 - 11:25am PT
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OK TacoHeads, I know there are some closet sport clippers lurking out there… So post up your photos and stories from climbing on the wild limestone or crazy cobbles of Greece or the tufa pulling Turkey is becoming know for!
Planning a trip for the fall and want some stoke and must hit locations! Also, if anyone out there has a Kalymnos or Turkey guidebook that is gathering dust after a one time visit, let me know- seem hard to come by til you get there..
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John Duffield
Mountain climber
New York
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May 22, 2014 - 12:31pm PT
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High on the Plateau above Hora Sfakion, we found this.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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May 22, 2014 - 12:33pm PT
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Crete is awesome on a scooter to blast around and nap in ancient olive orchards!
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Feb 23, 2017 - 02:18pm PT
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Going to Crete this summer and looking for beta. Specifically, if you only had a few days to climb, which area(s) would you choose? Looks like lots of climbing on Crete along with some alpine routes. Not exactly kitty litter Tuolumne, but it kind of looks that way.
Any help would be appreciated!
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Mike Friedrichs
Sport climber
City of Salt
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Feb 23, 2017 - 03:50pm PT
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I climbed in Crete a couple of years ago. It was pretty much and adventure. It's not really developed the way one would like with so much quality limestone and there's never anyone else at the crag.
We hiked to the Tersanas Cave, which was kind of hard to find and a scary hike. The routes were really stout, run out and a little creepy. The cave had 1-2 feet of goat poop in it. I've never seen so much. Still it was an impressive cave and we did manage to send a couple of the routes. It's on the same peninsula as Balus beach, the best beach on Crete.
By far the most unique place we climbed there was Plakias. It looks like a vertical, flat, gray, concrete slab with some fracture cracks. The climbing was actually pretty fun and different than anything I've ever seen. There is a nude beach just down the hill and occasionally some naked guy would wander up there to check us out. Totally weird.
The most fun city was Matala. It's still 1967 there -- quite the hippy hang.
I probably wouldn't go there just for climbing again. I'm not even sure I would bring climbing gear. The hiking in the Samaria Gorge is amazing. The mountains are spectacular. I suspect the skiing is quite good. And the beaches are wonderful. Have fun.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Feb 24, 2017 - 04:40am PT
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Thanks Mike.
The cave had 1-2 feet of goat poop in it.
Nice. I've heard software developers call this kind of a thing 'a feature'
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Feb 24, 2017 - 11:47am PT
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Spent a week on Crete for a canyoneering rendezvous a few (11? Yikes!) years ago. I'd highly recommend Ha Gorge especially if it still has water flow.
Summer? Its going to be darn hot. We were there in April and was plenty warm.
Get into some cool slot canyons. There's plenty.
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toyon
climber
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Feb 25, 2017 - 11:10pm PT
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If you're in Crete matala and sumarian gorge are quite worthy, tho not for climbing as it were.
Good thread. What's the current political sketch factor for climbing in western turkey? Planning a trip...
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Jim Lawyer
climber
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Mar 10, 2017 - 07:24am PT
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Some comments on Crete --
I was just in Tersanas Cave (yesterday). The back of the cave has goat poop for sure, but only a few inches. The mouth of the cave where the climbs are located has no poop. Unlike many caves I've visited in Greece, the air is fresh and the cave is clean and pleasant. There is a bivy platform that I would be happy to sleep on. The routes are bolted similar to the Grand Grotta of Kalymnos, nothing spooky. The anchor bolts are ok but the lowering hardware needs replacement. The hike had one section that was washed out, but totally doable, and my non-climbing wife had no trouble. It's a long hike out tho. And, oh man, the Balos Lagoon is amazing. Plakias is cool, but I thought it had about 1 days worth of climbing. It does face north and gets little sun. Some of the hardware was rusted and needs upgrading.
The most developed climbing in Crete is Agiofarango, about 100 routes and high-quality easy routes too. Stay in Sivas, a nice town. The hardware was in great condition(with a couple exceptions). In the summer check out Kapetaniana, which is very high. We were not as impressed, but it's a vast area and we only visited one spot. The holiday town is extremely scenic, and the climbing at Agios Antonios Cliff is really cool (although this will be sweltering in the summer).
Leonidio was quite good, and Kalymnos is really amazing. Not summer spots, but put these on your list for fall/winter/spring.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Mar 10, 2017 - 11:37am PT
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Thanks for the tips! However my in-laws, the drivers of this effort to go to Greece, can never agree on anything and if I play my cards right I might be able to swing a week surfing in Barbados or Costa Rica or Mex.
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