Kalymnos 2012

After finally coming to the end of 6 years at uni, I booked a holiday to Kalymnos with a group of friends. The place is amazing, and for anyone psyched for routes it has to be an essential tick. As it happens, anyone psyched for great food, beaches, snorkeling, sun and relaxing would also have a great time in Kalymnos.

photo Laurie Kearsey

It was an amazing place for combining all of the above and the perfect way to relax before starting work. Although it’s known for its steep tufa-packed terrain there was actually a good variety of all angles. However, as I’ve always been a fan of monkeying around on overhangs I was most inspired to get some roof action.  

We went in early summer, which was ideal for the beach but was a bit of a killer when it came to walk-ins and climbing. Psyche levels were high though, so we got up early. I seem to remember 6 or 7am starts, as we tried to get to the crags and into the shade before we literally melted (being British). With so much rock there were plenty of options for climbing in the shade.

photo Michael Bamford

Most days consisted of an early start, climbing until mid-afternoon, then a sweaty trek down to the ice-cream shop where we hung out until we found enough energy to wander home, grab the snorkels and head to the beach. Heaven.

Feeling a bit out of practice on real rock I eventually plucked up the courage to get on something a bit trickier starting with King Tufa Pumped (7b+). After red-pointing this route I was well and truly psyched for tufas and the next stop was Grande Grotta.

King Tufa Pumped (photo Michael Bamford)

 Grande Grotta is featured on most of the postcards and this place didn’t disappoint. My highlight from the cave has to be Zawindul Syndicate (7c/+). The climbing on this route is so different to anything I have done before. Really gymnastic climbing, you find yourself using all body parts possible to negotiate the giant tufas (which also give some essential hands-free rests). I worked the moves and then came back on our penultimate day for a successful red-point.

Zawindul Syndicate (photo Michael Bamford)

Zawindul Syndicate (photo Michael Bamford)

 

Kalymnos seems to offer a perfect combination of great climbing, sun and sea and I definitely hope to return. This set me up for a move to Liverpool where I started work as a doctor in August. The first few months have been a bit of a rollercoaster but I will blog more soon about how climbing has been keeping me sane.

Grande Grotta (photo Michael Bamford)

photo Laurie Kearsey