UKC

Afternoon people,

I'm heading off to Kalymnos in May, I went in 2010 and never had the chance to climb the much talked about "Wings for Life" over on Telendos.

This time however, its on my "must do if its the last thing I do wishlist". What I really want to know is what to expect, i've never tackled a multipitch before, am I biting off more than I can chew?

I've climbed plenty of sport routes up to F7a+ but mainly just fumble around the F6b. In other words I dont think i'll find the climb difficult.

Just leaves me with a few questions...

Is the climb steep, as in overhanging at any stage?

What are the belays like?

We will have a 70m rope and a 50m rope. Which one would be best suited?

Anything else that I might need to know first?

I will be leading alternative pitches with my partner. I'm pretty sure what to do at the belay points but thought I would run it past you guys first for some advice....

Climber A leads first pitch, climbs past belay to the first bolt on the next pitch, clips this and then lowers down to the belay. Climber A then secures himself to belay using daisy chain and karabiner etc. Climber A then pulls through slack until climber B is ready to second the route. Climber B climbs past climber A and then on to lead the second pitch, then repeats as per above.

Thanks

In reply to R8JimBob88:
Don´t use a daisy chain. Use a sling, the rope or a PAS for the belay.

In reply to R8JimBob88:

assuming this is not a wind up ....

look at the logbook page on here to get some comment and details.

with regards multi-pitching my suggestion is talk to someone who knows
and make sure you are switched on. Make sure you are happy and competent
at setting up abseils (http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=2642)

the sequence is 1st leader climbs upto belay stance. Secures themselves to the
belay (assume bolts on this) with rope and screwgate[s] (equalising anchors is good)
then brings up the 2nd who leads the next pitch. Dont climb past the belay to the next bolt (thats a tadd odd)

I Suggest you get a copy of Libby's book and read it !

In reply to lithos: Why is it odd to climb past the belay, clip the next bolt, set up as you describe and then belay thru the above bolt? Surely this then protects the belay, belayer and new leader from a factor 2 fall if they fall off before clipping the first bolt?

In reply to andyb211:

im off to wet wales, ye it does but what if the the bolt is 10m away, off to one ide etc
I know about redirecting the belay etc,
but at this level (ie no idea) i wouldn't suggest it as a std method to learn

In reply to R8JimBob88:
Go back to school until you've learnt how to climb !!!

Well go to school anyway - http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=2433

The routes on the right hand side like Kalymnos 2000 aren't great, but they are easy and have big ledges for the belays, so good for working out what you are doing.

Further to the left this is one of the best routes on the island and is an excellant test for wings - shorter, but harder and with similar exposure
http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=39183

In reply to lithos:

You're making that common forum assumption that the person who asked the question has no common sense.

Whatever, clipping the next bolt just sounds unecessary based on the OP's climbing standard.

In reply to R8JimBob88:

The first 6a pitch is a slightly overhanging thrutchy corner, but not overhanging by 7a+ standards. The rest is ridgy and slabby.


Well bolted. Apart from one, they're all comfortably big, and even that one is a standing stance rather than hanging belay.


We only had a 70m so used that. 50m would be enough unless you had to abseil off. I'd take the 70.


Yes. Your suggested belay method sounds unnecessarily complicated! Don't worry about protecting belays, factor 2 falls etc. The belays are all good, and the bolts are closely spaced, deliberately so in order to reduce the potential for epics (there's no mountain rescue on the island).

In reply to R8JimBob88:

If you feel confident enough to climb through, clip the first bolt and then lower back down to the belay i would do so.

It's not much of a faff, reduces fall factors just in case and for me the biggest benefit is the belay device and rope are ready to go for the 2nd to become leader, if that's what you're going to do. I find it also makes belaying the 2nd easier too with no downward pull if they rest - it's also easier to assist them if they need it.

Don't know why more people don't do it on multi pitches. It sounds like this route may be ideal for it with big belays and bolts close to the belay bolts.

In reply to R8JimBob88:

BTW that does sound pretty reasonable - the first bolt may even be within reach on most of the stances. And a daisy chain is pretty useful on routes like this. But I'd still go and have a practice at school if you haven't done multi-pitch before - for one thing the only witnesses to your faffing will be the goats, not the other 10 parties behind you !

In reply to biscuit:

The way I was taught (with the UCPA) was to clove hitch to both bolts with a bit of slack in-between, tie an overhand knot in the middle, and run a semi-direct belay off that. It doesn't reduce the fall factor much, but it does introduce a dynamic element in the event of a leader fall before clipping as you get pulled up, and has the benefits of avoiding the downwards pull from a resting second and allowing the second to carry on straight through without stopping to re-arrange.

In reply to Ciro:

sounds even better as this climb would appear to have good quality belays so the fall factor issue is not so important.

I'll try that next time. One of those obvious things i've never thought of. Cheers.