UKC

evening people

does anyone know of any good hard(ish) slab climbing on kaylmnos or telendos?

something from 6B to 7B would be great

cheers

Simon

In reply to simonfilson:

Your starter for ten has to be Bye Bye Doc

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=17753

Soft 6c, especially for the tall


...and then you could try My Long Holiday

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=17759

...which <cough> is not soft 6c!!

In reply to simonfilson:

Not really the speciality subject of the island, but...

Bye Bye Doc is excellent and standard F6c for 5'8"

2046 at Ghost Kitchen is also excellent and quite intricate.

Poseidon and Mofeta at Arhi have good slabby bits.

Calliope at Iliada is a good intense wee pitch with fierce slab/wall climbing to finish.

In reply to simonfilson:

You could also try Grau Zone (might be Grey Zone) at Sea Breaze and Kathryn Island at Noufaro both 6c/+

Why on earth would you go to kalymnos in search of slab climbs?!

In reply to GDes:

Exactly what I thought.

In reply to simonfilson:

There's good climbing there of all angles, so I'm not sure why you would want to restrict yourself to slabs but my advice would be to check out Panorama (ie the walls to the right of the Grande Grotte) and Kalydna. Here's a selection of some around 7a ish which i've done:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApETGNtMK0HFdGFQTFR0WHRLX2ZRbX...

the good thing about these areas is they tend to be a bit less busy than the main areas eg Odessy. You'll get a few slabs here but most will be steep, quality wall climbs without being massively overhung.

In reply to simonfilson:

cheers guys for the help, all ive heard about is amazing overhanging tufas and thought that's great but not great everyday, i love a technical slab just as much as the overhanging stuff but it did seem that obvious as to where there are any

cheers again

In reply to Morgan Woods:

especial thanks to your self moran woods, great work and giving me lots of psyche

There are lots of new grey-slab routes these days between 6a-7b, courtesy of Claude Idoux and friends Try for example the left side of the newly developed Prophitis Andreas (the obvious big crag at top of the mountain above Skalia Pillar).

However if you can stretch your definition of 'slabby' a little then you might also try the routes at the left side of Spartan Wall...

Here for example are:

- Tales of Greek Heroes 6b+ for a long intro (and the more technical Nabuchodonosor 6c, to its left)
- the improbable and seemingly blank white wall of Lucifer's Hammer 6c
- Dave Musgrove's brilliant-but-not-too-steep Leonides 7b which may be the best and most varied 7b on the island
- the adjacent and very technical The Shield 7b+.

In reply to simonfilson:

There are hundreds of slab climbs in Kalymnos in the lower grades but if you want testing ones at 6b and above try these locations:

Poets has several great sustained slabs on its right hand side, O Brothers 6b+; Alcman 6c; and Solomos 6c+ are good examples.

Boomerang 6c+ and Mecki Messer 7a+ on Panorama fit the bill well and are particularly memorable, the former for its 3 distinct and different cruxes and the later for its sustained and subtle sidesteps.

Kalydna has steep slab and wall climbs of a completely different character but its best examples at the slabby end of the spectrum are Theodora 6c+; Tassir 7a: and Sickle 7a+.

On Stankill there is Gunpowder Plot and its extension which gives 40 metres of superb and sustained grey-slab climbing of the highest quality which would be a complete anathema to the burly jug-jockeys swinging around on the tufas in the Grande Grotte. I thought it probably the most satisfying lead of my trip last May. But its 6c guidebook grade is on the rather mean side; think 6c+/7a but do it in one pitch for maximum enjoyment.

If any of you think that slabs on Kaly are all the same then try ET for a bit of a change. This is the nearest thing on Kaly to a bolted High Tor in Derbyshire. Very English style white limestone with several superb but toughly graded 6s from Claude Idoux. Try the innocuously named Lily and Rose both allegedly 6b but amongst the best (and probably hardest!) of that style and grade on the islands.

Back on Spartan Walls thanks very much to Carl for his endorsement of my route Leonides which certainly needs slab climbing credentials for the exit moves left from the top of the yellow groove. However, another and only slightly harder route hereabouts is Yanap 7b+ which involves several superb slabby sections and is a massive 50metres long. Can you keep concentrating that long?

In reply to simonfilson:


Well, what I really thought was missing at Kalymnos was easy(ish) steep climbing. Spent 10 days climbing there last September at 5 - 6b and got ever so slightly bored with the endless grey slabs. Constantly eyeing up the fantastic tufa climbs all around but all a bit out of my grade range (save for a classic 6a+ at the right end of the Grande Grotta - I've forgotten most of the names - and a couple of offerings at Symplegades).

Just got to get better I guess.

In reply to simonfilson: There's some good stuff on Olympic Wall... it's a serious trek up there, but you get away from the crowds.

If you're at Stankill for Gunpowder Plot, then just to the right is the shorter but also excellent steep grey slab of Justice Is Its Own Reward. Upgraded to 6b+ in recent guides, and no give away at this. A bit sportingly bolted, but great climbing.