Fun de Chichunne (8a) (c) Andre Masseran

Recently I´ve been to Kalymnos (a Greek island) with my girlfriend Camille Masseran and her parents. Kalymnos is well known for its great limestone climbing on tufas and the “North Face Climbing Festival” which takes place there every year. The Island is special for its dry but beautiful landscape and small villages from where you always have a great view of the clear sea and the cliffs above. Climbing in Kalymnos is possible even in the summer because I’ve experienced that in the big caves the conditions are good in the shade in the morning.

At the sector ”North Cape” near the climber’s village Masouri I tried a beautiful line called “Inshallah” (8c+) which I could closely send. The route characterizes a steep and bouldery climbing style on pockets and small tufas. For me the crux was to stick the last hold right before the anchor to a slopy edge. I was always pumped there after approx. 35 moves in the roof.

Unfortunately I became ill because of the air conditioner in our apartment and felt too tired to send Inshallah. Instead I decided to do some onsights just the day before we had to leave, so I did two 8a and an 8a+ route. All of them hosted at the sector “Grande Grotta” which is a gigantic cave above Masouri. There you mainly climb on big tufas and long routes up to 60 meters.

My second trip to Kalymnos was worth our visit but I was a bit unlucky with the illness I’ve got to deal with but I want to return to finish the unfinished business like Inshallah and several other good lines I’ve left there. You can also check out my previous article about my first trip to Kalymnos with Swiss friends this year’s spring and nice pictures by Reiner Eder!

Cheers Ruben