The North Face Kalymnos Climbing Festival

Kalymnos? Rock! So much rock, more than you can ever imagine. So much so that the eyes of all climbers shine brightly when they hear the name. Yes, this small Greek island really is a paradise on earth for sport climbing and ever since the first route - put up by Italian Andrea Di Bari in 1997 - Kalymnos has become a sought-after destination for all climbers worldwide. We'll stick our neck out: perhaps one of the most-sought after of all!

The reason is simple: apart from the fantastic climbing (more than 1700 routes from 4a to 9a) and the astounding choice of crags and sectors, it's all set in a pure holiday ambient and spirit, where cars are switched for scooters and every-day stress ebbs away at the beach, with the sunsets, the encounters and chats with other climbers. In short, Kalymnos equates to relax and holidays, with climbing and fun foremost.

It's with this in mind that the first The North Face Kalymnos Climbing Festival takes place at the end of September during which everyone, truly everyone, is invited to take part to climb and celebrate this sport. The event isn't any old meeting, but a unique three-day climbing meeting with competitions, prize draw, climbing workshops and parties on the beach. Furthermore, this Kalymnos Festival will host some of the world's most famous climbers, such as Yuji Hirayama from Japan, Hansjörg Auer from Austria, Simone Moro, Hervé Barmasse and Jacopo Larcher from Italy, Caroline Ciavaldini from France, Iker and Eneko Pou from Spain, James Pearson from England... the list could certainly be a lot longer.

The Festival is also an opportunity to test climbing skills in various competitions, such as the particular one which takes place at the completely new crag - word has it that its truly amazing - which has been equipped specifically for this event. This comp, reserved for 12 invited athletes, takes place on four new routes for the men and women with difficulties up to 9a with prize money up to 10,000 euro. "Mere mortals" can take part in two other "auto-certified marathon climbing" events: No-Big (up to 7b circa) and Big (up to 8b circa) in the categories men, women and mixed couples. This is a full immersion into the island's climbing and the possibility to win some of the The North Face products up for grabs. Taking part is easy and registration will be made available online shortly. A click is all you need!

So, if you've never been to the island before, or if you want to rediscover her beauty and experience a unique moment with like-minded climber, then The North Face Kalymnos Climbing Festival is right up your street. The dates which absolutely need to go into your diary are 28, 29 and 30 September but for those who can, our advice is to take things easy and program at least a week's climbing holiday, to relax totally and enjoy the rock climbing on Kalymnos to the max.


The North Face® Kalymnos Climbing Festival
28-29-30 September 2012 Kalymnos - Greece
International sport climbing festival
Masterclasses, beach parties, competitions.

For more information about the festival visit: www.thenorthfacejournal.com/category/kalymnos

To find out more about Kalymnos check out our article: Climbing on Kalymnos

THE NORTH FACE KALYMNOS CLIMBING FESTIVAL 2012
- The North Face Kalymnos Climbing Festival 2012: the program, pre-registration and the video