Top roping during climbing festival with limited equipment

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

I started indoor climbing (top roping) at a gym in San Francisco about 8 months ago and love it. I can climb around 6c. The only equipment I own is a pair of climbing shoes. I recently moved back to Greece and am excited about trying some outdoor climbing for the first time.

Would the Kalymnos climbing festival be a good start? Do people only lead climb, or is it also possible to top rope during the festival? Will I have to find a partner who is capable of leading the route in order to set up a top-rope for me? A good friend of mine is also interested in joining me, but he also has no lead training or experience.

I found the section on the website that lists the recommended equipment. Unfortunately there’s no way I can afford a harness, rope, carabiners, belay device, and 15 quickdraws (which I don’t even know how to use) by May 18th. Is there any way I could top-rope on Kalymnos with less equipment than that, or is that a bare minimum? Perhaps some routes have free ropes set up for top roping as part of the festival? I could probably afford a harness, carabiner, and belay device if that was the case.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Vasili

[Anonymous]

Hi Vasili,

I am glad you asked about this, as climbing outdoors is almost entirely different than gym climbing. This is an extremely important point. If not done properly, outdoor climbing can be very dangerous.

To answer your specific questions about the festival: if you have already planned to be here during the festival (i.e. booked tickets etc) the ONLY safe way for you to climb would be to hire a climbing guide during the days you are here. Besides learning proper outdoor climbing technique (incl. the use of quickdraws) you would also be able to top-rope routes. There will not be any top-roping set up during the festival (lead climbing only), nor could you set up top-ropes yourselves. Also, a climbing guide would provide all the equipment you need during those days.

Beyond that, if you are interested in starting to climb outdoors, the only SAFE way to do so is to attend a proper outdoor climbing course. Upon completion you will be able to access the rocks safely and learn to lead progressively harder routes together with an also experienced belayer. Climbing schools provide all necessary equipment throughout their duration. If you keep climbing outdoors after completing a course, and assuming you have attended the course with a friend (or, as is often the case, have met new potential climbing partners during the course), you would need your own harness but you could share the cost of the other equipment (i.e. buy one rope, one set of quickdraws etc. between the two of you).

If you will be based in Athens try EOS Acharnon for more details:

http://www.eosacharnon.gr/sholianarrihisis.html

They have a good reputation and they also have a large indoor wall.

I hope this has not discouraged you but safety is the most important thing. Any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Aris

P.S. You can find more info on guiding services in Kalymnos here:

http://www.kalymnosclimbingguide.com/

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the extremely useful information!

[Author]

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