We began this year looking for a new hot rock destination. I've seen a lot of Spain, and Kalymnos, as good as it is, has been the source of so many great days, it would feel like we were repeating old memories by going back there any time soon.
I bought the Aris Theodoropoulos' "Climb Greece" on a bit of a whim, and after hearing some good things about Leonidio. However, my attention was instantly drawn to Kyparissi, brand new, lacking infrastructure, lacking full information, and requiring a little more adventure than your average destination, it looked perfect.
Since this blog seems to get a fair bit of external traffic when I cover a specific destination, and given that there's not too much info out there on Kyparissi, I wanted to write this partly as a blog and partly as a destination guide, for others thinking of climbing here.
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| Sunset over the bay from Cavo Kortia |
Accommodation:
Turned out to be very easy. Unlike Kalymnos where all the good stuff is booked up 6 months in advance, one gets the impression that Kyparissi used to see a lot more tourism than it sees today, and there is a lot of accommodation about at good prices. We visited twice this year, staying at Cavo Kortia, which is a bit more upmarket at 20-30eur pppn, and is well worth it, brand new rooms, serviced every day, a great restaurant and a lively atmosphere with a mix of Climbers and older German couples here to walk.
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| Rooms in Cavo Kortia |
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| Not a bad bedroom view! |
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| Greek-eating |
Weather:
In both early May and early October, it was hot (30 deg C). I typically don't like climbing when it's too hot, but I personally would avoid Kyparissi in the cold, almost all the crags are in the shade after 12.00-13.00, those by the sea get windy, and those up high see mountain temperatures. So early May and early Oct was perfect.
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| Clear waters and nippy fish |
Getting there:
It takes about 5 hours from Athens airport by car. You also need a car to get around. The roads are slow going with various hazards including rocks and goats in the road, but it's very pretty if you take your time. The main thing to remember is to get fuel on the way in, since the nearest station is 1 hour away in Molaoi, and despite everything being close once you are there, with the mountains and windy roads it is pretty easy to burn through a tank of fuel in a week.
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| An unbolted valley south of Balogeri |
Location & Stuff in the Village:
Is absolutely perfect, if you like the quiet life. Empty clean beaches, clear water, great for snorkeling, friendly locals, walking trails, a handful of cafe's and restaurants serving local food, and a shop that has most of what you might need (it's a bit expensive, but it's pretty well stocked, the only exception being fresh vegetables).
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| After climb chilling |
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| Cavo Kortia night walk |
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| Kyparissi by night |
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| Who said the beaches in Greece are full? |
Climbing:
In general it's (very) well bolted, sport climbing, on good rock made up of tufas, blobs, pocketed walls, and grey slab. Some of the climbing is absolutely world class. A standard sport rack with a 70m rope and 16-18 draws do most routes. It's worth packing a helmet, at least for the belayer, as some of the rock is still a little fresh.
It was pretty clear to me as soon as we turned up in Kyparissi that what is bolted (as of 2019) only scratches the surface. The massif which houses the Watermill and Babala has a lot of further potential, and the sea-level gorges of Vlychada and Balogeri seem to stretch on forever with potential. I have the dream, and I am sure those that have bolted so far do, that in 10 years this place will house 1000's of quality routes.
In the Climb Greece book, it gives a short story as to who and how this area has been bolted. It's important to recognise just how much work has gone in to making the area accessible and with such good quality; bolting, lower-offs, paths and signage. My suggestion if you visit is buy the guidebook or/and find another way to donate to this project.
It is also worth checking the https://climbgreece.com website, as this includes up to date information including the newest crags Balogeri and Hideout.
Despite being quite limited on crags, it's been pretty quiet on our visits. The classics at Watermill and Kapsala see action most days, but we also had days where we were totally alone at the crags.
For each climb I have included the Climb Greece given grade + (my view of grade & stars in brackets).
Playground:
This fun little crag is a great place to start. Tucked away between Watermill and Babala, this little smooth pocketed grey slab is easy to get to and offers a great introduction. It would also be good with families. We came here on day 1 on both visits, cleaning the center of the crag each time. The rock is super solid and not sharp.
F6b () - Lizard - A bit eliminate, not the best here
F5 (**) - Maricela - Nice finish
F5 (*) - Monkey Bars
F5 (*) - Wizard
F5 (*) - Anketi
F5 (*) - Aristos
F5 (**) - Cookie Monster - very pleasant
F5+ (*) - Crocus
Watermill:
Ok time for the serious stuff! Watermill is undoubtedly one of the best looking crags I have ever seen. Perfect tufas with an unobstructed view over the bay. It's worth saying that the crag has seen a number of different bolters and there is still quite some inconsistency on the grades and route quality. The tufa routes through the main face between Thanks George and Stelios House are world class.
One slightly odd thing at Watermill (and a couple of other crags) is super high belay chains, like you get to the glory jug and then have to either stretch really far, or do some horrid move of sharp crozzle to clip the chain. It frustrated me a bit to begin with, but everyone has the same struggle, so one gets used to it.
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| What a crag! |
F7c - Vryl (**) - dogged, quite powerful but one to come back to
F7a+ (7b?) - Kalimeralex - dogged, seemed quite hard for the grade
F7a+ (7b?) - Pita 4 Eva - dogged, seemed quite hard for the grade
F7a (***) - Thanks George - absolutely world class tufa climbing, belay is too high
F7b (***) - Myros - dogged, another amazing tufa once you find a way around the low crux
F6c+ (F7a ***) Kyparissi - Jen Flash, great tufa climb
F7b+ (**) - Stelios House - dogged, hard, long cruxy move, needs some power
F7b+ (F7b **) - Kyfanta - cool slab and wall climbing, still quite crumbly but nothing dangerous and should clear up quite nicely. Seemed easy at the given grade.
F6a (F6a+/b **) - Tetoros
F6b+ (***) - Smoke on the Water - dogged!, quite a hard last move
F6a (*) - Skourkos - better than it looks
F6c+ (*) - Drop - hard very technical top slab
F6a (*) - No Name - brand new, quite pleasant
F7a+ (*) - Trypes (Jen only) - slab and wall, less bolts than others
F6c (**) - Koumara - difficult at the very end
Psilovrachos
We a made an afternoon visit to this crag, the walls on the left look very long and potentially a good adventure. We stuck to the caves on the right and tried Blue 7a (7b?), which turned out to be harder than we were expecting. I also wasn't happy about the quality of the rock for the higher bolts, and met another couple who had a similar experience. I feel this place has got a lot of potential but hasn't seen much action yet, so do take it easy.
Jerome's House:
Old-skool grey wall climbing, and a bit more spaced bolting (only by Kyparissi standards) compared to other crags in the area. Unfortunately the walk in involves walking through an avalanche of fly-tipped rubbish, which given how clean the rest of the environment is, really put me off. The crag itself is clean and has a great view out to Jerome's house and the bay.
F6b+ (*) - Pinkerton, hard first 2 meters and not easy above
F6b+ Choco Heaven - Loose on the bottom half
Kapsala:
A huge hidden cave halfway down the steep cliff between road and sea. This place is a bit intimidating on first arrival, it looks massive and potentially loose. However, it is worth getting roped up as the routes in the main cave are amazing, long enduro lines on jugs in solid red rock and tufas. Out of all the crags this is where I had most fun. The 7's on the right, although a lot shorter are also worth a look. We avoided the 6's on the far left as these looked loose.
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| Lowering off Born to Lose |
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| Whiplash |
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| View from Kapsala |
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| Jen on Whiplash |
F7a (**) - Bolton Celtics, not quite the quality of it's neighbours, but still a very good route and well worth doing
F7a (F7a+ ***) - Born to Lose, amazing overhung wall on jugs, except the bit where there are no jugs! Pretty hard to onsight at F7a, a must
F7b+ (***) - Sunburst, dogged, one to come back to
F7a (**) - Whiplash, a bit shorter than it's neighbors but every move is amazing! classic small tufas with a powerful finish
F7a+ (***) - Nobel Bolt, amazing tufa climb followed by technical vertical crack and juggy wall. Quite run out at the very end, could do with an extra bolt. (Jen Flash)
F7a+ (F7a *) - Pearl Jump, not a bad little route, but all over after the 2nd bolt. Much easier than the 7a's on the main face!
F7a (F6c+ **) - Red Wine, really nice climb with a sequency start section and some interest above
F6a (*) - Ravani
F6a+ (*) - Lukumades
Vlychada:
Is well worth visiting, even without the climbing. An 800m drop in altitude through hairpins (via car) leads you to a beautifully clean, abandoned beach. It feels like at some point long ago this saw many more tourists, but these days it just sees old German couples in their campers and a handful of climbers. The climbing is really good. Tufa Tango gets the fame, but it's worth exploring the whole crag as there are many good lines from 6c upwards.
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| The bolted crag at Vlychada |
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| New potential? |
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| Hanging out at the beautiful beach |
F6c+ (***) Myrtoan - awesome "frankejura style" pocket sequence and easier finish
F7a (**) Artemis - well worth doing with a weird technical crux
F6c (***) C'a L' Envers - great wall climb with layback and steep finish
F6c+ (*) - Katsikos - hard, thin crux (Jen flash)
F7b (F7a *) - Freedom - a fun line, but much easier than F7b if you go left at the crux, going direct would be possible but felt a bit forced
F7b (**) - Tufa Tango - dogged, impressive for photos, but hard to clip at the crux with big fall potential
F7a+ (**) - Mare Nostrum - nice short crux sequence (Jen flash)
F6b () - Tandalo, awkward!
F6a (F6a+ *) - Into the Groove
F6a (*) - Laloudi
F5b - Mura Rossa
Kastraki:
When it got really hot in early October, we decided to adapt the "Kaly Approach", by this I mean get up early 0630, hit the crag that gets the morning shade, and spend the afternoon chilling on the beach. As well as giving us a great opportunity to relax in the afternoon sunshine, it allowed us to check out this crag, which located right by the village. It doesn't look like much, but we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of routes on the right hand cave. There were some further 6c's we never got to try that would also be worth coming back for.
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| Kastraki crag (bottom left) |
F5 (*) - Pipis, quite fun!
F5 (*) - Koles
F6a+ (F6b *) - Kolios, pretty thin hard slab at the end
F6a (**) - Kakaras
F6a (**) - Kastraki Extension, we avoided the top pillar as it looked a bit hollow, probably OK but we did't see it worth the risk
F6a (F6a+?) - Bouras, did I miss all the "hidden holds"???
F6b (*) - Pontikos, brutal mid section!, but worth doing
F6c (***) Frydias - really good, but not easy through the pockets especially when greasy, dogged
F7a (**) Tzambas - a few independent cruxes, which requires keeping it together
F6c+ (F6c ***) Jumping Fish - very nice classic overhang jugs and pockets
F6c (**) Krinos - much better than guide suggests, no sharp holds, and cool pocketed wall climbing
F6a+ (*) - Tantra
F5+ (*) - Panotsys
The Newest Crags!
On our 2nd visit we decided to visit two brand new crags. Actually, these were bolted in time for the climbing festival in May (which we missed by one day!), but we hadn't seen the topo's at this point. The topos for both crags can be found here. It's worth saying, new crags require some adventure, and these are no exception, so take your time in the approach and take care on the rock.
New Crag: The Hideout
Located right by Kapsala, the Hideout boasts more tufa lines in the 6's. The approach is written up as very exposed and this is no understatement. It's not exactly like the sea cliff approaches on some of the trad routes in the Lizard, Cornwall UK, but it's getting that way! We didn't have helments with us and wished we had. Expect loose rock scrambing and metal rungs. The approach is given 15-20mins, but I would give it 45mins first time.
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| Parking for Kapsala (and hideout) |
The crag itself is quite impressive once you are down there. And we started up Lenga 6a+. Unfortunately, it was too loose for our liking, with me pulling off two fist size bits of tufa by bolt 5, and it was not looking better above. In general, I do have my concerns about the overall rock quality of this crag, the rock and tufas are a really deep red in colour and I wonder if it will ever get to a really solid point. The other issue is that unlike most tufa crags, the belayer is right in the rockfall zone, making the consequences of pulling something off much more serious.
I am not saying don't visit this crag, just that I will personally wait a couple of years before coming back, and I'm keen to see what it looks like after each of the routes have seen some traffic. On the way back out we did Swordfish 6a-c (6a+ *), which was more solid, up a grey wall and small tufa.
New Crag: Balogeri
From the Climb Greece description, Balogeri seems to open up another paradise bay combining beach and climbing, indeed it's close to Vlychada and has a very similar feel. The beach is perfect and clean, and the cliff is just a 10min walk above it. The main thing that struck me here is just how much more potential exists in the Balogeri gorge, and also on the next gorge over. What is currently bolted just seems to scratch the surface, and while it's mostly grey slab, it's certainly worthwhile.
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| Balogeri beach and climbing |
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| Can't complain about the bolting!!! |
The rock here is generally solid. In a couple of years it will be bulletproof. It is sharp though. The hammer debate is always an interesting one. Personally, I would have taken more of a hammering to most of these routes and softened them up, but others don't always like this. It's a fine balance. Anyway, as long as one is selective where they fall off, and picks good footwork over cranking hard, it's not too much of an issue.
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| Sex Bomb (that's the climb!) |
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| The new Poema de Roca? |
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| New Chulilla? |
Combined with some time on the beach, I would certainly recommend seeking this crag out.
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| Balogeri Snorkelling |
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| Way in |
About that.... we got lost getting here first time. The GPS coordinates: 36.841556, 23.050528 are correct, but in our TomTom, it took us down the "red road" below, which although is very close as the crow flys, is 35mins drive from Balogeri. If you have been to Vlychada before, it's very easy, just head to Vlychada down the huge set of hairpins from Richea, and at the bottom, where there are a couple of buildings and scrappy fields, take the right hand fork on to a dirt road. Putting Damos on Google Maps also works. Once you get to about the marked star, just after a farm building overlooking the bay, it's best to get out and walk. It took us 25mins to reach the crag from the car.
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| Don't get lost! |
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| Parking spot, unless you have a 4x4 |
F7a (F6c/6c+ **) - Richea, a nice slab sequence which is less sharp than it's neighbours. I onsighted the comfortably, probably easier than F7a
F6b (**) Iris- could be good but was unfortunately very sharp. Personally I would take a hammer to this and knock the edges off. Also a bit loose at the top still.
F5+ (**) Kotero Cove - a nice, easy wall with interesting moves the whole way
F6b+ (F6b ***) Sex Bombs Ext. - the top tufa is very cool!! the bottom section was a bit weird though and both Jen and I agreed harder than the tufa itself
F6a+ (***) Kolokithokeftes - a very interesting and long wall climb with laybacks towards the top
Overall:
We have had so much fun in Kyparissi. The atmosphere and the locals make this a really special place. It's quiet, and the beaches are clean and clear. There is some adventure to be had seeking out newly bolted lines, and much more adventure for those wanting to bolt more. Some of the climbs are real gems that would hold their own anywhere, and others are well bolted really fun climbs in interesting rock. We've tried much of what it has to offer in the mid 7's, but I am sure we will be back in a year or two as the charm of this place is irresistible.
