Sticking to their yearly routine, the Remy brothers have just left Kalymnos after a month spent equipping new routes. Some are at established sectors such as Panorama, Iannis and Iliada, while most of their new routes comprise mini-sectors, namely Ovoland (a subsector of Arginonta Skyline), Emilio (a subsector of Iliada), Gerakios Upper Cave, and Kryptos, an entirely un-Kalymnos like sector with a distinct alpine touch in the high cliffs above Palionisos Bay, where the rock is ‘strange, scary conglomerate’ and climbing is for very experienced climbers only. All info below was provided by the Remy brothers and has been edited only slightly for clarity. As always, a very warm thanks to Claude, Yves and Christine Remy for the love, hard work and dedication they bring to Kalymnos year after year.

 

Kalymnos: new routes from Claude and Yves Remy, March-April 2012

 

Take care with this info because some of these new routes are still dirty or need traffic to confirm or change the grade; for the quality it is up to you. Routes are listed from left to right.

 

The easiest routes are usually very well-protected. For routes longer than 35m take more than 15 quickdraws (QD). Some second Extensions go to 55m and need 22 QD.

 

 

OVOLAND
Above the Red Wall of Arginonta you can see a very long cliff, the Upper Wall or Little Verdon (or Sarkozyland). One path mainly follows all the base of the cliff.

 

Approach: at Arginonta take the road to Vathy for 2 km; park at a concrete little wall with red marks and the letter ‘K’. Go up following the red marks left of the little gully. After 10 min, walk up at the base of the cliff, then later on the good path (this way starts near the pass of the road to Vathy and goes to Panaghia Galatiani chapel and the top of Galatiani). Soon after you are near Little Verdon sector. The grey slab Ovoland (Ovomaltine is a famous specific Swiss chocolate) is left of the big orange overhang, 30 min.

 

This new mini-sector, looking south-west, is comfortable, flat, with trees for shade. The rock is sharp, full of holds and multiples great deformations, the longest routes to the top are 35m long.

 

We have not finished developing Ovoland yet; we will make more routes, so thanks for waiting.

 

1. ? Not finished
2. 6a+ Bora Einai 28 m Massif rock with many holds
3. 6b Tha Perasi 28 m Touch the left side of the orange hole
4. 6a+ Epimetheus 35 m Go via the right side of the orange hole to the top
5. 6a Hero of the Day 35 m A great route straight up the middle of the steep slab
6. 5b Mnemosyne 20 m A nice climb to try on sight or to warm up
6′. 6a Mnemosyne Extension 20 m Not finished, will go to Petradaki Extension lower-off
7. 4c+ Petradaki 20 m A very pleasant climb
7′. 6a Petradaki Extension 28 m A bit steep and a bit harder

 

 

ILIADA
Right of Ifigenia
6b+ Lampetia 20m Wall, same lower-off as Tefkros

 

 

EMILIO
New mini-sector right of Iliada (right of the route Thyme, a nice 5b)
Christine and Claude Remy, November 2011, except Kapou Kapou made in March 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Unfinished FGB Fat Grumpy Bastard (everybody know and love him…)
2. Unfinished
3. 5b+ To Kati Alo ‘Something else’, 25 m
4. 5b Kapou Kapou or ‘Sometimes’
5. 6b+ Kapou Kapou Extension 36m, 15 QD, longest route of this sector
6. 5b+ Ta Leme or ‘See You’ because it is a superb route, 25 m
7. 6a Ta Leme Extension 30m
8. 5c+ Emilio to Emilio Bollini, 1957-2011, 30m
9. 6a Marathon 30m
10. 6c Feideippides Yes the famous man!
11. 6c Nenikikamen ‘We won!’ says Feideippides. Same lower-off for routes 10-11, 30 m
12. 6c 1pa (?) Zoei One artificial move or a hard move at the roof
13. 6c Panda Hilti A bit expo, left side of the tufa
14. 6b+ Glyka Maniak Right side of the tufa, same lower-off for routes 12-13-14, 28m

 

 

PANORAMA
Right of Mind Boggle

7c The Call of the Ktulu 40m, 18 QD. After an easy start a short crux, then a long great climb…
To make the route homogeneous start by Lulu/Aeolia, then go left, so it is a nice 7b/+ with Metallica.

 

Right of Bye-Bye Félix
6c Taka 30m. Slab, then wall
5c Arno 35m. A not-steep little pillar with a nice finish

 

 

IANNIS
Right of Kalyne
6b+ Yaka 35m. After the start the technical wall is nice

 

 

GERAKIOS
Approach: take the upper Myrties-Masouri road and park before the first big turn on the right. The cairn (white marker) on the left of the houses is not the good start anymore; go via the right side of the houses, follow the red marks and cairns of the via ferrata, after the little cliff go to the right cave of the Gerakios upper wall, 30 min.

 

The first route was made in 2005 by unknown equipper(s).

 

1. 7a Losing my religion 40m, route made in 2005 by unknown equipper(s)
2. 6a+ Axa 30m, nice “gouttes d’eau” with crack and flakes
3. 7a Emi 35m, “gouttes d’eau”, crack and flakes
4. 6b Tatoo 15m, short wall with nice holds
5. 7b+ Amra 25m, steep wall than a big overhang to go to the B
6. 7b+ Ergo 25m, the lower-off is above the lip of the overhang of the cave
7. 5b Native 15m, short but nice for warm up
8. 7a+ Lola 35m, technical wall getting steeper
9. 7a Voltric 33m, steep wall technical and great forms of rock
10. 6a+ Super Mami 33m, great wall with great forms of rock

 

 

KRYPTOS
Lets’go for something completely different at Kalymnos.

 

This new sector is lost in the upper part of the north-east side of Galatiani, 590m, the high mountain above Skalia-Arginonta. The wall of Kryptos, far above Palionisos Bay, is nearly 100m high. Its base is large with overhangs, but the summit is a narrow scramble slab. Kryptos offers an ambiance, a rock and style of climbs not at all typical for Kalymnos: this wall is far away and isolated, the foot of the cliff is not cosy (steep-narrow ledges above long slopes), the rock is mainly conglomerate (so really nothing to do with usual Kalymnos rock), at the end of the approach you must go down a couloir then you need to climb a bit. So the austere Kryptos has a kind of “alpine touch style”, which means this sector is only for very experienced climbers, including climbing on strange scary conglomerate. On all these routes, follow the bolts; don’t go out of the line.

 

Approach: at Arginonta take the road to Vathy for 2 km; park at a concrete little wall with red marks and the letter ‘K’. Go up following the red marks left of the little gully. After 10 min, walk up at the base of the cliff, then later on the good path (this way starts near the pass of the road to Vathy and goes to Panaghia Galatiani chapel and the top of Galatiani). Soon after you are under Little Verdon sector; keep going on the path to the long flat pass (at about 450m, you can see a part of Kryptos; take care, sometimes at the pass the wind can be very strong whereas there might be nearly no wind on the cliff). At the end of the pass see a letter ‘K’ on the rock. Go down the couloir on your right for about 40m, then follow a ledge (fixed rope) and climb up an easy short pillar, 2b, to arrive at the left side of the cliff (fixed rope), 1 h 15.

 

1. 6a+ Born to be Wild wall, go up to the big corner
2. 6c Chiona massif wall, super, 25m
3. 7b Pumuky with a great view on scary conglomerate sector…

 

Next routes, 4 to 13, are mainly on conglomerate.

 

4. 6a Lady Ka-Ka trav, take back the QD on the way up during the last climb
5. 6b+ Dust and Stones steep overhang then go to the left side of the red pillar
5′. 6b Dust and Stones Extension de-equipped, goes left of a big moving flake
6. 6b+ Mort Subite steep overhang then go up to the middle of the red pillar
6′. 7a Mort Subite Extension go up to the red pillar
7. ? Sugarland unfinished
8. 6a+ Russan Plaquette the first hanger is moving but not the bolt, don’t worry all is solid
8′. 7a Russan Plaquette Extension de-equipped, not nice
9. 5c+ Sponge Rock overhang with big holds
10. 6a G3 band of best rock guitarists: Satriani, Vai, Petrucci.
10′. 6c G3 Extension 1 crux below 2nd lower-off, 36m
10”. 7a G3 Extension 2 55m
11. 5c Dark Desir follow the grey slab

 

Go up to the cave via a short fixed rope
12. 6b+ Slide of Life boat of Dexter
12′. 6c Slide of Life Extension crux below 2nd lower-off, 55m
13. 6b+ Boneshaker right side of this red wall
13′. 6c+ Boneshaker Extension crux: a couple of finger moves above 1st lower-off

 

From the bottom of the main cliff go down a bit, then walk up the couloir and the big ramp on the right of the wall (short fixed rope).
14. 6a Katharos left side of the big ramp-slab, 20m
15. 5b+ Lost World right side of the big ramp-slab, 30m
15′. 6a+ Lost World Extension cross the big roof above the big ramp-slab by the left, 45m
16. ? Not finished on the red wall
17. 7a+ Master of Puppets the obvious great overhang line, crux at the start and listen to Metallica!

 

 

Corrections of 2011 routes
Sector Styx, Emporios Portal
6a+ No exit 35m is wrong in fact it is 40m
6a+ Metro 38m is wrong in fact it is 45m

 

A big thanks for the great help to:

 

*Stefanos & Anna Gerakios (rooms/scooters), Kantouni-Kalymnos
*Glaros snack bar, Massouri-Kalymnos, Steve and Sue; for the boltsssssssssss
*Claude Idoux, Massouri-Kalymnos, for the gear and his great advice
*Mammut Equipment, Switzerland, Bernard Bollinger.

 

 

 

Claude and Yves Remy
CH – 1864 Vers-l’Eglise, Switzerland, 0041 24 492 26 73