I'm just back from a climbing trip to Kalymnos that
was very productive. I managed to climb 10 out of 12 days, opting to climb low
grades and low volume in order to get as much as possible out of the trip. The
strategy worked and progressively I better and better at climbing the Kalymnos type of climbing. The interesting question is if I got any stronger during the trip?
We had fantastic conditions even if I think I was the only one who were truly happy about the cold and windy conditions. It was actually freezing cold and perfect friction, making even some of the well-travelled routes I would normally avoid pleasant to climb.
Much can be said about the climbing on Kalymnos and it’s so much talk about the grades and I have come to the conclusion that the climbing is easy. Its well featured with plenty of rests. Very few routes are exposed and few routes are truly committing or demanding. Nothing bad with that. It's user friendly Disneyland climbing.
We had fantastic conditions even if I think I was the only one who were truly happy about the cold and windy conditions. It was actually freezing cold and perfect friction, making even some of the well-travelled routes I would normally avoid pleasant to climb.
Much can be said about the climbing on Kalymnos and it’s so much talk about the grades and I have come to the conclusion that the climbing is easy. Its well featured with plenty of rests. Very few routes are exposed and few routes are truly committing or demanding. Nothing bad with that. It's user friendly Disneyland climbing.
Coming back home I'm psyched for more climbing.
But Jesus what is wrong? I'm fit and have plenty of meters in me and still I
climb quite shitty. Well its reality! Climbing
on the local crags is a very different proposition to the relaxed days at
Kalymnos.
Climbing a 7c at the home crag feels harder than trying
an 8a on Kalymnos. Its not only the grades as such I think are different its
the style of climbing that is very different. It’s actually good to be back on
the more demanding home crags. Its fun to climb on Kalymnos and its rewarding
for the ego, but its hardly a destination worth going to if you want to improve
your skills and become a better climber. The only way to improve as a
climber is the hard way. The way to improve is all about doing meters and
meters outside of the comfort zone and that is some what hard to do on Kalymnos. But having said that, I will be back!
Looking forward to a great climbing summer!
Pretty obvious its a holiday spot!
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