Crashouts

Area

Kalymnos is one of the youngest climbing areas in Europe, with development only starting in 1997, yet it has quickly turned into a world renowned sport's climber paradise. The local council has been instrumental in developing the islands climbing providing bolt funding and promotion such as the ‘International Kalymnos Climbing Festival’ launched in 2000.

Whether you climb 4a or 9a Kalymnos has a climbing style for you. The iconic massively overhanging routes with giant tufas and stalactites create a unique 3D climbing experience; everything the ultra strong gym climber dreams about. Then there is the less overhanging pocketed limestone which gives mere mortals plenty of great climbing. The final style is the long grey slabs, which provide a completely different technical challenge. The majority of routes are around 20-30m although its worth packing a 70-80m rope to take full advantage of some of the newer 30-40m routes.

Season

With it’s dry climate climbing is possible most of the year. Autumn and Spring are the best times to go. You can expect warm and dry weather and all the islands facilities are open. Climbing in the Summer is possible but you are limited to the morning and evening as temperatures of 40 degrees are typical. Winter is still good for climbing however a lot of the islands shop and restaurants close down.

Amenities

Massouri is the most popular place to stay, providing good access to the climbing, restaurants, accommodation, and shops. Myrtees and Arginonta are also good locations to take advantage of the climbing on the island.

Getting there and away

The island itself does have its own airport however flights don’t run directly from the major European cities. Most will get a flight to another part of Greece and take a ferry to Kalymnos. The preferred method of transport is to fly to Kos (cheap flights available from London) and get the cheap ferry across to Kalymnos. It is also possible to get Ferries from Athens (12h) and Rhodes (3h). Ferry timetables can be found at www.openseas.gr.