The two final climbing days were upon us.
Spartan Wall offered some new slabby warmups up to 35m in length, and Ruth and Dave decided to stay on here while the rest of the crew headed uphill to Spartacus.
Spartacus hosts a great collection of routes in an orange bowl and our team ate them up. Harakiri 6b+, Tales Of Greek Heroes 6b+ and Les Amazones 6c were all dispatched as well as attempts on Mon Bat... 6c+ and Gladiator 7b.
The final climbing day rolled around and we woke to storms and rain. A nice excuse for a long breakfast/brunch and extra coffee as we waited to see what the weather would do. Most climbers took the soft option and stayed in the cafe, but hell - it was our last day! Once it looked as though it would hold off a bit we grabbed the gear and headed to the Grande Grotta and Panorama.
The storms had washed a whole lot of mud and rocks down the hill. Not only was the path up to the Grande Grotta washed away and eroded, a couple of local scooter operators had some of their scooters washed down into the ocean! One of the tavernas had a retaining wall collapse and there were road closures due to landslides. An action packed storm!
We managed to tick our way through Carpe Diem 6b+, Panselinos 6b+, Commandant Marcos 6c+/7a, Uncle Bert 6c+ and its extension Steps Ahead 7a+ before it started raining again. Sam, Kurt and John had the good sense to leave before the final route and made it to the bar before the rain hit. Luke and I weren't so lucky and splashed our way home. Adventure!
So once again we've reached the end of yet another absolutely tip-top climbing camp here on Kalymnos. We had such a diverse group for this camp from guys with less than a year's experience on real rock, to Dave who has been climbing since the 1950s! Of course the great benefit of this is the knowledge sharing that happens. Climbing is all about constant learning and improving. Ultimately, we all learn a lot on these camps and are able to go home fitter, more knowledgeable, and more confident on the rock.
Our camps are open to all climbers. We'd like to hear from you if you think you would like to join us in the future.
Spartan Wall offered some new slabby warmups up to 35m in length, and Ruth and Dave decided to stay on here while the rest of the crew headed uphill to Spartacus.
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| Ruth gingerly pads up a huge tongue of rock on Spartan Wall. |
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| Kurt bags Yo-Yo 6a+. A newie on Spartan Wall. |
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| An odd sight at the cliff! |
Spartacus hosts a great collection of routes in an orange bowl and our team ate them up. Harakiri 6b+, Tales Of Greek Heroes 6b+ and Les Amazones 6c were all dispatched as well as attempts on Mon Bat... 6c+ and Gladiator 7b.
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| Me having a quick arvo onsight attempt on Magnetus 7c |
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| Luke rigs a neat way to descend if you drop your belay device. |
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| Something to do while de-pumping - rigging practice! |
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| Luke onsights Tales of Greek Heroes 6b+, Spartacus |
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| There's a lot of photos of Lewis sleeping at the cliff. But then, not many people put in the effort he does on his burns. 100%, every time. |
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| John put this one in the bank. Les Amazones 6c, the third most "recommended" route under 6c+ in the 8a.nu database worldwide. |
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| A different angle on Harakiri 6b+. Luke is onsighting this pumpy beast. |
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| Kurt and I discussing possibilities on Mon Bat 6c+. |
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| Lewis takes flight |
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| Luke's consulting the tome. |
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| Lewis mid-crux on Harakiri 6b+ |
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| Kurt also got it done. Les Amazones 6c. Tick tick. |
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| John tops out Harakiri 6b+ |
The final climbing day rolled around and we woke to storms and rain. A nice excuse for a long breakfast/brunch and extra coffee as we waited to see what the weather would do. Most climbers took the soft option and stayed in the cafe, but hell - it was our last day! Once it looked as though it would hold off a bit we grabbed the gear and headed to the Grande Grotta and Panorama.
The storms had washed a whole lot of mud and rocks down the hill. Not only was the path up to the Grande Grotta washed away and eroded, a couple of local scooter operators had some of their scooters washed down into the ocean! One of the tavernas had a retaining wall collapse and there were road closures due to landslides. An action packed storm!
We managed to tick our way through Carpe Diem 6b+, Panselinos 6b+, Commandant Marcos 6c+/7a, Uncle Bert 6c+ and its extension Steps Ahead 7a+ before it started raining again. Sam, Kurt and John had the good sense to leave before the final route and made it to the bar before the rain hit. Luke and I weren't so lucky and splashed our way home. Adventure!
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| The pumpy and sustained Panselinos 6b+ was no match for Luke who was climbing well on his final day. |
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| A large pizza at Prego Restaurant is dubbed the "Lightfoot Challenge". John was up for it. |
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| Beaten! Go back to Australia! |
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| Self portrait on the last night of the camp. |
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| Our motley crew getting ready to depart Kalymnos. It's been a TERRIFIC two weeks. |
Our camps are open to all climbers. We'd like to hear from you if you think you would like to join us in the future.
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