UKC

Does anyone know of any climbing on Zakynthos. I've just come back from a holiday there and there seems to be a lot of climbable rock on the north coast of the island and at least one biggish limestone crag overlooking Alikes.

I had a boat trip round to the south near Laganas and the rock there seems pretty chossy but the north seems to be very hard white limestone.I didn't have any gear with me so I didn't climb more than a couple of metres but it seemed pretty firm even though it looked like it would fall apart at a touch. I didn't see any bolts or any sign of anyone climbing (too hot at 42 degrees?)

The island is a great place to stay with some of the best swimming and snorkelling you can imagine, might even be the DWS venue to beat all of them!

anyone any thoughts?

In reply to disco leg:

>the north seems to be very hard white limestone....it seemed pretty firm even though it looked like it would fall apart at a touch.

Eh? How does that work then?

JW

In reply to John Ww:

Sorry, bit of brain fade. From distance it looked like a load of crumbly rubbish,its so white you could mistake it for chalk. The cliff at the back of the beach I went to (Smugglers Cove) seemed very hard indeed and very solid. I also noticed that there was nothing like the amount of rubble below the cliff I would have expected to see if the cliff was really crumbly.

In only climbed up about 2 metres but it seemed pretty solid, I dont know what its like further up.

In reply to disco leg:

Most of the 'white' rock in the Ionian is solid where it has been sea-washed but soon deteriorates, believe me I know. There are similarly impressive white cliffs on the W coast of Levkada (Levkas) near the lighthouse at Sappho's Leap, but they give an experience to some of the more esoteric corners of the Culm and N Cornwall coasts; the only difference being that one hopefully dies of dehydration and sunstroke before the whole lot disintegrates.

The best rock in the area lies on the small uninhabited island of Oxhia, About 20 routes so far up to 6a (UK) and 200m high with about 400 to go but you need a boat to get there.

In reply to Iain Peters:

Forgot to say that the potential for DWS in the Ionian is massive, but again an amphibious approach is necessary.