Hi there,

We spent most of July and August on Kalymnos in 2010 and had a really good time. For most crags, you had to get there in the morning and then climbing was perfectly possible. People were climbing up to 8a on-sight at Arhi (the winter crag!) and I saw people working 8b at Odyssey. So much for the myth that you can’t climb on Kaly in summer! And if you want a lie-in, there’s now quite a few crags that you can climb on throughout the day (check out the new guidebook).

As for other climbers, I was surprised how many climbers there were in the island in August… mainly Italian and Greek but also a few French and English. So you didn’t feel you were lost in a mass of non-climbing tourists! Actually, there weren’t that many ‘normal’ tourists…. of course, there were some, especially at the weekends when the main beach at Masouri was pretty full (mainly Greeks), but it wasn’t difficult to find more secluded spots if you wanted them. And the swimming/snorkeling in the afternoons was fantastic! We’re back again for the summer of 2011.

Ruth and Carl

On the east coast, at Vathy, there’s a cave with a mixture of problems, above deep water. Usually you hire a local boat to get you there (about a kilometre down the inlet/’fjord’. More easy to get to is the opposite (south) side of the Vathy inlet where you can start from the swimming ‘pool’ at the harbour and traverse out for about half a kilometre. Mainly it’s easy scrambling interspersed with interesting 5+/6a+ sections (but you’re very close to the water) until the final section where you turn a steep corner and…. well, you’ll find out when you get there! Non-serious and great fun, with a nice cafe waiting to greet you on your return.

I gather there’s other deep water soloing venues on the west coast, near to the main climbing areas, near Kantouni and, less accessible, near North Cape. But I’ve not tried these… yet!

All-day climbing venues, old and new, are suitable for summer: Afternoon, Summertime and Local Freezer being quite close to Masouri. The new sector, ET, in the Vathy valley can be surprisingly cool on some summer days. To be quite honest though, most of the usual nearby crags can be climbed on ’til early afternoon as west is the predominent aspect.

Hi,

Just a note about temperature: the official figures give an average and are taken at the airport up in Argos. The hottest 14 days are 24th July to 7th August – expect 40 degrees in the shade. Guaranteed. Bettr to sit in the sea with a cold drink n.x