The Greek Island of Kalymnos; Filled with climbing communities that swarm between the striking cliff bans like honey bees. Mopeds putter about the sea side roads through air pockets filled with the scent of fresh oregano. The climbing here is endless and I can feel my fingers speckle with sweat as I excitingly clench the guide book.
More striking though, is looking up at the walls in real life. Wild stalactites jut out from steep roofs and colorful tufas ripple up towering face climbs. It feels as though you would need binoculars to locate the chains on some 40m climbs, but if you squint hard enough you can catch a metallic glimmer of reflected light.
With only a couple hours of evening sun upon our arrival here, we wandered into a stunning cave with a breathtaking view of the sea. Adjusting to sport climbing from bouldering is quite a difficult transition and something I am still working on to be completely honest.Trusting these rope things can be quite testing mentally, especially on the enormously exposed face climbs! I’m embarrassed to say that I couldn’t muster up the courage to lead anything on day 1... thank goodness day 2 was better! I’m psyched to see how the week progresses :)
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| Wolf modelling on belay in the sunset |
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| Finally getting over my fear of leading, Fouska 7a |
I’ve been here for two days now and already time is flying. Two weeks is definitely not enough time to spend in sport climbing paradise! Being here makes you feel like a climber... it makes you ponder putting all those ‘important’ and ‘responsible’ things in your life on hold... so you can just climb. If you never see me again, I suspect you can guess where I’ll be!
Evolv
Calgary Climbing Center
Flashed
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| Flashing Elies, 7a+ |
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