Kalymnos Rock Festival report

At the start of October more than 500 climbers from all over the world gathered in Kalymnos for the second Kalymnos Rock Climbing Festival.

PlanetMountain.com

November 2004

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At the start of October more than 500 climbers from all over the world gathered in Kalymnos for the second Kalymnos Rock Climbing Festival. Aris Theodoropoulos, organiser of the event and avid local, described the meeting as "a non-competitive event where climbers get together, hit the crag, have some fun and celebrate our favourite sport." He sent us the following report from the sponge diver's island:

"More than 500 climbers from all over the world took part in the meet, including special guests and slideshow presenters: Dave Graham, Liv Sansoz, Francois Legrand, Daniel Dulac and Andrea Di Bari.

Also with us, during the event, were some of the climbers who have played a major role in developing climbing on Kalymnos and in equipping many routes.Most of them also happen to be very famous in the climbing community:
Manolo Zanolla (Italy)
Simone Moro (Italy)
Michel Piola (Switzerland)
Hans Weninger (Germany)
Guy Abert (France)
Karsten Oelze (Germany)

A very special quest was Philippe Ribiere a climber from France with special needs, who represented the "Handi Grimpe" Association. Also Mammut sent 2 very strong young climbers, Anthony Sapey (9th in the 2004 World Youth Championships ) and Cedric Lachat (Switzerland).

Some famous climbing photographers and reporters were also with us. The long list included Jeff Achey, chief editor of Climbing Magazine (USA), David Munilla (Spain), Sam Bie (France), the chief editor of Klettern Magazine, Volker Leuchsner (Germany) and Dan Hagen, Outdoor Magazine MAGAZINE (Norway). Among our special guests were some of the best Greek climbers today: Pasquale Zafiriadis, Kostas Tsoulkas, Vivian Giouri, Larry Botelis, Tasos Georgitsis, Nikos Gazos, Thomas Michaelidis, and Anthony Skevofylakas.

The first Greek expedition to climb Everest (May 2004), represented by George Voutiropoulos, Anthony Antonopoulos, Pavlos Tsiantos also made a special movie preservation. In fact, Pavlos was commissioned by the Municipality to film the Kalymnos 2004 Festival which we hope will be ready in DVD mode very soon. For the Greek climbing community the reporters and photographers Lenia Mandrou and Vaios Karalaios covered the event for the "Anevainontas" magazine.

Every night we organized lectures and slide-shows with our special guests, and held parties with rock music and inspiring climbing movie-projections! People came from all over the world, and we always had some brave souls who made the journey across one ocean or another to make sure we were truly international.

The event was, once again, free: no admission fee was required from the participants. They just filled out a participation form and they got all their info in a "shoe bag", plus a free Mammut - Kalymnos Fest T-shirt, hat and free admission to all events.

Kalymnos, home of the age-old skill of sponge fishing, is a world-class sport-climbing destination. Transcending the realm of a simple athletic event, the Kalymnos Climbing Fest is a cultural event, with special meaning for a small island like Kalymnos.
The aims of the Fest were the following:
* The promotion of cooperation and friendship ties between climbers.
* The opening of new climbing routes
* The ties that are built up by getting to know the people, the culture and the natural beauties of a place.

"Put up hard routes Project"
A strong, French route setting team, sent by Petzl: Laurent Triay, Gero Fanguin, Antonin Cherbonnier and Romain
Cabessut came 10 days before the event to put up 8a - 9a routes. As a result, many of these routes were actually being opened during the course of the event and our guests set out to redpoint or on-sight routes, which proved to be on a world-class level!

Sector Archi (central cave)
1. 50m 7c+
2. Kalymnostrobe (R1 7c+) or - R1+R2 55m 8b+
3. Takopoulos 40m 8a
4. Los Rocos di cantalos (R1 7c+) - or R1+R2 45m 8a+
5. Giorgio de la Jungle (R1 7c) - or R1+R2 55m 8c+/9a?
6. Mammifere Vibes (R1 8a+) - or R1+R2 40m 8c
7. Ne pas toucher a ma bite 30m 8a (variation to "Eros")

Sector The End Cave
(Between Spartacus and Afternoon)
1. 55m 9a/9a+?
2. Titantrope 65m 8c+/9a?
3. 55m 8b+

Sector Grande Grotta
1. Chkouloukoulouch 50m 8a/a+ (extension to DNA)
2. Papacostopoulos 70m 8a/a+ (extension to Cigarillo)
3. 40m 7b+ (extension to Carpe Diem)
4. 45m 7b+ or 70m 8a+ (extension to Joggel &Toggel)

Sector Sikati cave (NEW!)
Sikati is a huge cave like Grande Grotta situated in the NE of the island, with unbelievable climbing on stalactites.
This is, obviously, the next hot-spot on Kalymnos --- 5 routes for the moment from 50-80m, from 7b to 8a+. A day's climbing with enormous potential! (Details following soon, the team are still climbing the routes, right now!)

All the above long routes, equipped by the Petzl Team have lower offs approximately every 30m. Recommendable rope length 80m!

"PUT UP NEW ROUTES - CLINIC"
Instructors: Laurent Triay, Gero Fanguin, Aris Theodoropoulos (sponsored by Petzl)
Participants: 10 climbers (Greeks, Germans and Englishmen). A four - day clinic with all the info about how to open a new sport-climbing route, how to find an aesthetic line to open, the equipment needed (drills, bolts) and then how to put the bolts on the rock, from the bottom, with rappel etc.! And having been demonstrated all of the above, we put up 3 new routes in a new sector, in the course of the festival with the active participation of the students.

Sector Amphitheatre (NEW!)
At a cave like amphitheatre, on the left of sector Catarina, above Arginonta village. Much more possibilities for new routes.
1. Electra 18m 6c **
2. Lysistrati 30m 7a ***
3. Oresteia 20m 6b

More New routes during the Festival
Michel Piola was very activeonce again! We are looking forward to climb his great, with a special character routes!

Sector Spartacus
(Left of the main routes- All from Michel Piola 10/2004)
1 - Astree -6a 35m (extension of Ziegen Peter )
2 - Chariots of fire - 6c+ 35 m
3 - Vangelis connection 6b+/6c? 35m -if belaying in the cave!
4 - Pygmalion 6a 35 m
For all routes: be careful with the 70m rope (just OK!). All superb routes!

Sector Mystere (NEW!)
Red wall on the left of Ourania and Symbligathes. All routes by Michel Piola, Pascal Strappazzon and friends 10/2004. All the routes opened from the bottom. The routes equipped with resin anchors -rings- accented first with "removable" bolts.
1. Bouc et Mystere 7a+ 27m **
2. katifellx 6c+ 27m ***
3. Mystere et boule de gomme 5c 30m **
4. Klettern Paradise 7b 25m ***
5. Stranger in Paradise 7a+ 25m
6. Paradis artificiel 7a+ 25m
7. Olymbiacos 6c 35m ***
8. Tufa's story 6a+ 25m

Sector Ourania
New sector in the big Cave on the left of Symblegades Petres. Equipped by Michel Piola 7/2004

1. Terra incognita - 7a 25m **
2. Ourania - 8a 20m **
3. Star wars – 7c? **
4. Facatelendos - 6b+ 25m **
5. Sponge beach 7b+ 19m **
6. Sehnsucht 6c *
Last route equipped by Schwarzbart. It is located at Pyramid-like rock opposite Ourania.

Special quests - what they climbed?
Francois Legrand made two first RP ascents. He redpointed the extension of DNA 50m 8a/a+ and Fun de Chichunne 40m 8a/8a+ at Grande Grotta, both on second try due to holds breaking at the OS!
He also onsighted with great ease (!) most of the 7c and 7c+ at Grande Grotta, Odyssey, Archi and Spartacus and the new one " Ne pas toucher a ma bite 30m 8a".
He RP also Takopoulos 8a, Orion 8a, Daniboy 8a and Rendezvous with Platon 8b (2nd try).
He also tried some of the Petzl team projects in Archi and Lucky Luca (8c+?) at Odyssey. He told us that he thoroughly enjoyed Kalymnos! He climbed like a madman (with his perfect dance-style) almost all the days of the event and he is looking forward to coming back soon.
With him was the Dutch climber Mirjam Verbeek. She only tried on-sight because she had already done an 8a+ this summer in France. She did onsight Spartacus 7c and Zawi Nul Syndicate 7c+. This 7c+ OS is a new record for Dutch women climbers!

Dave Graham First of all, he missed 2 flights, one coming to and one on leaving Kalymnos. A record in itself! He also made the first presentation-show in his life with a very personal, flowing style, keeping about 200 climbers glued to the screen till 1 am. What's more, on the final night of the Fest, he was the special DJ guest at the club where the organizers arranged for everyone to let loose!
In between, he OS some 8a's (Takopoulos, Orion, Daniboy) and he made a second effort on Gaia 8b. He worked on Titantrope 65m 8c+/9a? and he came very close to RP it. On his last day, he tried Lucky Luca (8c+?) but he broke a very basic foothold and now the route may just be a little more difficult. However, this wonderful, young climber told us that Titantrope is the best limestone route he has ever climbed! Of course he, too, is looking forward to coming back to send these projects, maybe next February!

Liv Sansoz climbed Daniboy 8a OS, she also onsight Spartacus 7c and Zawi Nul Syndicate 7C+ flash (she belayed Mirjam in the route before).

Daniel Dulac and Guy Abert developed a new sector named "Olympic wall", Olympiakos tihos” in Greek, on the right of Ocean Dream sector. The wall is around 110 meters high and 200 meters large. There is a potential of 40 new routes of high level from 6c to 8c? The approach takes 25min walking from the end of the dirty road at the parking place of Odyssey sector.
They climbed the following:
Sector "Olympic wall", (NEW!)
A. "Galasia Petra" (Rock and Blues) a multi- pitch 110m, 3 pitches 8b+, 8b+?, 7c.
Daniel did not have enough bolts to finish the last pitch. But it's the most obvious line in the wall and very interesting thanks to the quality of the rock. First pitch 8b+, 40 meters, redpointed. The second pitch, he thinks is 8b+?, but he did not have the time to RP it, although he bolted it on lead with the drill!! And the last pitch, may be 7c.
Rock and Blues 8b+, 40m, is the hardest route witch has been climbed during the fest and also the hardest in Kalymnos till now! It's an amazing line! Guy Abert has done great pictures on this route. Millet and Petzl already bought two of these to make posters! Also Vertical Climbing magazine are going to publish these photos!
B. On the right, there is "Yamas" a long 8a+ of 40 meters
C. More on the right, you have "Hellas rodeo", 8a 40 meters.
Daniel put up all the routes in this sector from the ground up leading with the drill. In this route he had only 8 bolts but he put 2 more bolt later to make the route safe.
D. They finished an old project of Guy Abert at Ocean dream. 5 pitches up to 6b. It is very well bolted and also interesting. 170 meters high, 5a, 5b, 6a+, 6b, 6b (lots of ambiance in the last pitch).
It is possible to abseil down the route with a 60 meter rope but the belays are not equipped for that, because you are supposed to go down by foot (trail and rappel of 20m).
From the summit, the view is wonderful: you can see from Archi sector to Mirties!
Finally on the last day on a picture session in Grande Grotta, Daniel on-sighted "Fan de Chichune" 40m 8a/8a+.

Sponsors:
www.petzl.com
www.mammut.ch
Also a lot of Hotels and Pension room owners as well as Restauranteurs in Kalymnos offered their rooms and meals free for our special guests!
We also wish to give special thanks to
Wild Sports www.climbing.gr
Active Point,
Katsikas, typo@klm.forthnet.gr
Kalymna Yachting YACHTING, www.europlanet.com/kalymna
Apollonia www.kalymnos-apollonia.gr .
for their generous gestures of support.

Kalymnos rock climbing Festival
2 - 8 October 2004.

Top: Dave Graham starting Titantrope 65m 8c+/9a? Belaying from Liv Sansoz. Photo by Georgre Koutsoukis
Middle: Francois Legrand "resting" on Eros 7c. Photo by Sam Bie.
Bottom: Laurent Triay onsighting Lysistrati 7a, 30m. Photo by Georgre Koutsoukis

Climbing at Kalymnos
	Odissea
	Grande grotta
	Arhi
	Expo La Sportiva
	Kalymnos Climbing