Kalymnos

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KALYMNOS ROCK COURSE – Information & Accommodation

Set deep in the heart of the Aegean Sea, lies the quaint and homely island of Kalymnos, just a few miles off of the Turkish coast and close to the well known holiday island of Kos.

Alpine Energy Guiding is very pleased to be offering the KALYMNOS ROCK CLIMBING COURSE trip from the 17th – 24th October 2020 where you can learn to be a safe, independent rock climber.

Firstly, where is Kalymnos?

Kalymnos

Kalymnos Greece is located close to the Turkish coast, at the southeastern Aegean Sea and belongs to the Dodecanese group of islands. Kalymnos is famous for one thing in particular: its rocky landscape – fortunate for us!

Where will we be staying?

Our accommodation is in the village of Masouri, situated just 9 kms from the island capital of Pothia, along the west coast of Kalymnos. Compact, scenic and surrounded by rock, Masouri provides an excellent base for the week.

AccommodationElena Apartments

Elena apartments consist of an open balcony landscape facing the ocean which offers fantastic sunset views and a sociable friendly environment.

For more information, please visit: https://elenahotels.com/elena-apartments/

Brief History of Kalymnos

At 109 km² Kalymnos is the fifth largest amongst the Dodecanese Islands, with a population of nearly 14,000 people. On the east coast is the capital of Kalymnos, Pothia. Lively and picturesque, it is built around the port and combines strict traditions with the hustle and bustle of a modern town. The small and attractive “climbing” villages of PanormosMyrtiesMasouriArginontaSkalia and Emporios are to the west and north; VothiniVlychadia and Vathy are to the south and east.

In the past, Kalymnos was known as Isola Umbrosa, the “island of shade” (oh, the irony). If you’ve been to Kalymnos before, you know that this is no longer the case. The Kalymnos we know and love today is dotted with low vegetation (woody herbs and shrubs), but it is virtually free of trees. The terrain is mountainous with a major rock escarpment all along the west coast. In the past, this barrenness drove the locals to sea for a living. The men of Kalymnos became sponge-divers, a traditional and dangerous occupation; they excelled to such an extent that their island went on to be the most celebrated sponge trade center in the Mediterranean, until the sponge trade began to decline in the 1980s. Nevertheless, the history of Kalymnos will forever be linked to that ubiquitous little creature, the sea sponge. When rock climbing was discovered on Kalymnos in the late 1990s, the island found its place back onto the map, so to speak.

So there you have it! If you are interested in coming along or have any questions, please contact us here.

Kalymnos, Rock Climbing Course, Mountaineering course, Mountain Guide, Chamonix ski guide, Rock guide

A typical day of climbing in Kalymnos

Kalymnos / Greece

A day of climbing in Kalymnos starts with enjoying some breakfast looking out over the Aegean sea and the Island of Telendos. Then meet your climbing partners and walk up the slopes between the sparce semi-arid vegetation with the occasional goat on the path, normally keen on getting it’s nose into your lunch…

One of the local inhabitants on the way to the crag.

The choice of crag for the day is maybe the hardest part of climbing on Kalymnos. For slab climbing lovers, there’s Poets, Afternoon, Olympic Wall, Julian, Arhi or Ghost Kitchen. For sculpted vertical climbs there are endless amazing sectors like Arginonta, Summertime, Dolphin Bay or Symplegades to name just a few. For well equipped multi-pitching, School sector and Telendos have excellent routes like Wild Country 6a+ and Platon 5c. For those who’ve been training in the gym and enjoy overhanging stalactites and tufas, sectors like the famous Grande Grotto, Panorama, Sikati Cave or Jurassic Park are world class.

Great multi-pitching above Massouri.
Me taking a tea break on a stalactite.
Great slabby to vertical route.

Choose your routes and climb until your arms are tired, belay your friends, chat, encourage the others at the crag, take photos or chill and take in the view until it’s time to go down to Massouri again.

Having too much fun, climbing until sunset at Panorama sector.

Head down to town for dinner at one of the friendly Greek restaurants on the Massouri main street. Before heading for shower and bed before doing it all again the next day!

Small traditional harbour on the way home from climbing.