Area & Style of Climbing
Kalymnos - Sport Climbing.

Location
Greece – South-Eastern Aegean Sea.

Overview
Superb sport climbing venue with all the niceties of being on a Greek Island holiday. Much of the climbing is on dramatic stalactite/tufa formations on often steep terrain. The easier climbing (grade 6b and below) tends to be edgey slab/wall climbs.

Mostly single pitch climbs, although there’s potential for shed loads of multi-pitch climbs.

With the demise of its historical industry of sponge collection/production, rock climbing came to Kalymnos at just the right time, and the island's economy is now significantly dependent on visiting rock climbers. Consequently the whole place is geared towards making life easier for you; the crag approaches are often marked and the routes have their name and grades painted on the bottom. Also the local bolting practice shuns long run-outs and bad anchors.

Image: The Grande Grotte cave and sector Panorama visible with Masouri in the foreground



Best Time To Go & Conditions
Spring and autumn are best for reliable conditions, summer will be very hot (too hot). Winter never gets very cold but you may have to plan around which accommodation, restaurants and amenities are open. December and January are the rainiest months, although rain rarely lasts much more than a day or two. Arhi and its neighboring crags are the most suitable venues in winter, as they are sheltered from the prevailing northerly winds and get sun from midday onward. For the same reasons these crags can get very warm in spring and summer.

Getting There
Several options:
1. Take a charter flight to the nearby Island of Kos (or Rhodes) and take a ferry to Kalymnos. Charter flights are available from various airports around UK although you'll have to check the flight companies individual websites as the schedules change throughout the year - this is generally the cheapest option.
2. Fly to Athens and then fly to Kalymnos. Direct flights are available to Athens from Gatwick and Luton with Easyjet. The Greek national airline Olympic airline does flights to Kalymnos.
3. As above, fly to Athens but take a ferry to Kalymnos.

Ferries - The standard ferry from Kos takes around 45mins and costs €3.50. The fast ferry (Kalymnos Star) takes 25mins and costs a similar amount, but has a lower capacity (20). Timetables can change throughout the season so checking this website is recommended: www.kalymnos.gr

Image: Ken Ode on Aegialis (F7c), The Grande Grotte



Once you’ve arrived at Kalymnos airport or sea port, it’s a short taxi ride to the main areas; Armeos, Masouri, and Myrties. A fare to Masouri costs around €10, if there are no Taxi's available at the ranks you can call: +3022430-29430 or 29125.

Accessibility
The majority of the developed crags lie within a 20-30 minute walk from Masouri. You don’t need a car to get about once you are based in Masouri, although renting a scooter is a fun way of escaping the crowds and getting about to the crags further afield (7-10 Euros a day). You’ll need a European driving license to rent one but that’s about it: Mikes Bikes Scooter Hire

Accommodation & Provisions
There are plenty of places to stay around Masouri, most for very reasonable prices. For May and October, I would recommend pre-booking accommodation in advance. The climbing guide offers numerous options here are a few of the recommendations...
Meltemi Apartments (Armeos): meltemi_sevasti@yahoo.gr
Stefanos Gerakios' Climbing House (Panormos): www.kalymnos-stefanos.gr
Tatsis Apartments: (Masouri): tatsisapts@klm.forthnet.gr
Tony's Studios: (Panormos): georghatzismalis@hotmail.com
Mikes Bikes Studios: www.kalymnos-info.com/mikes-bikes/

Image: Sector Palace


As eating out is very reasonably priced and numerous in options, there is little point in cooking as it’s quite a hassle getting anything more than very basic provisions. For the persistent chiefs out there, there is a fairly extensive store in Myrties - Stalas Supermarket.

Guide Book/s
Kalymnos – Rock Climbing Guide (2010 edition), by Aris Theodoropolous.
The development on Kalymnos has been so fast that the previous guides (2006 and 2008) have already been replaced. This guidebook is very comprehensive with good route information and photo topos. It also serves as an excellent travel guide to the island, giving further details on how to get there, accommodation etc. Purchase the guide here.

Grade Spread
Grades range from F3 to F9a, with the majority (400+) of the routes being in the F6a+ to F7a+ spectrum. Although with nearly 200 F5 or below routes and nearly 150 F7b+ upward lines, this is an ideal destination for most climbers.

General Tip
A 60m single rope is the minimum requirement and some of the modern classics require a 70m cord. It goes without saying to take plenty of quickdraws (min 15).

Useful Links
Flights to Kalymnos from Athens - www.olympicairlines.com
Kalymnos Island Website - www.kalymnos-isl.gr
Scooter Hire - www.kalymnos-info.com/mikes-bikes
Greek Climbing Website - www.oreivatein.com

Current Local Weather Conditions




This X-File was authored by Ken Ode.
Ken is a Japanese climber (and Doctor) based in the UK, he has traveled extensively worldwide and is accomplished throughout most disciplines of the sport.