Greece Sept 2007 Write Up

So, just got back from Greece about five hours ago and thought id update you guys with what went on. Everyone had a great time and got plenty of climbing done as well as the occasional drinking session in Club Loca where Richard found out that him and Ouzo don't mix to well him. Ha ha. At least it only took him THREE days to recover from the hangover. Lightweight!!!!

Dave and Rob roping up in Kastelli.

Anyway back to the climbing after a mix up with transport which resulted in a few laughs the highlight of which was when Rob crashed the scooter into a wall why trying to prove to the bloke he could drive it. the guy then resulted in taking out his anger on me as if i was Rob's dad. First class effort by Rob. Nice one. This meant i had a scooter (oh yes) and others shared a car and we headed down to Kastelli to kick off the week with some easy to mid grade climbing. Unfortunately i went into holiday with pulled muscles in my hand so took the first day easy with a few easy climbs which also meant i was able to tick off the whole of that sector which was pretty neat. I also managed to a couple of 6a's which i had not done before. Richard and myself suffered in the heat the first day and found out the hard way that climbing in 40c wasn't much fun. meanwhile Dave and Rob had headed round the corner to a cave to try out a couple of 7b overhanging routes which looked pretty neat. we hooked up with them looking very burnt about an hour into there session. They had met a German guy who had just soloed one of the routes and spent the afternoon climbing with him. we managed to get the saying of the holiday off this guy because every time he made a move and liked it he told us "We must taste it". Brilliant. Li stern out for it at Rev as its quite catchy really.

Next day we decided on a bit of multi pitch climbing and headed to Sector School for a competition. Two routes which run next to each other at the same grade of 5c at a lenght of 125m meant we could split into teams and race up the two lines losing team buying the beers tonight. So Dave and Myself where one team and Rob and Rich the other. Dave and myself got the route called Platon and the other team got kalymnos 2000. Me and rob went first for each team and raced up joining the first and second pitch together and after a little cheating on there side by stealing my line meaning i had to wait for a bit we reached the chains and brought up our partners. Dave and rich led the next two pitches and as i followed i broke off a hold which i still have which scared the hell out of me. If its slightly harder now you can blame me!!!! The race ended with Dave and myself clear winners sitting onto before Rich and Rob. The view was amazing.

Rob and Myself at the top of the multi pitch climb.
Just gotta get back down now!

The next few days were spent climbing at various sectors with Rob and Dave really turning up the heat with some amazing climbing of 6c+ and 7a's. Dave gets the award for the biggest fall at Sector Ghost kitchen with an impressive 8m lob whilst trying to work the moves on an 6c+. Good effort mate. Finally he managed to clip the chains just before night fall. grades kept falling as Dave and Rob tore apart various sectors climbing up to 7a with Rob managing the highest redpoint of 7a. Fantastic work.

Days went past and more sectors were visited with various results and always plenty of laughs out of rich. We were able to hook up with Neil Gresham, one day at sector Oddesy were we had a cool chat and watched him breeze up a 7c. Amazing climbing. We all visited club loca one night with rich getting plastered and riding the back of some guys scooter home and then deciding it was to hot so jumped in the pool!!! We also got introduced to the crazy ways of the local taxi drivers when one decided to crash into the side of our hire car and then laughed, waved at us and drove off. Oh well!!. After eating like kings for the week in every restaurant in town and tearing apart some of the local crags it was time to say goodbye for another few months. Everyone made some great climbs and personal bests were broke.

there are some more photos and videos on the Right of this page. Nice one guys and thanks for a brilliant holiday. Laters.

Off to Greece!!!

Tonight sees rob. Rich, Dave and myself flying out to Kalymnos one of the Greek islands for a week of sports climbing. Rich and Dave are way in the lead at the moment being full of confidence as they only got back from a weeks climbing in Sardinia under a week ago. They will be fully pumped and ready for the stamina testing routes. We will be getting back Wednesday next week and i will update the blog then with pictures and trip report. Fingers crossed it all goes well.
laters.

Glad we did not go.

So as you know due to bad health we were unable to get over to mount blanc for the week we had intended. This turned out however to be quite a blessing in disguise. It has been reported that the week we were due to bew on the mountain was one of the worst weeks for weather and in fact our summit day push would of been in near white out conditions. Not to much fun. The following report is from Alpinist.com

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"In one month, a series of tragedies in the Swiss and French Alps took the lives of about thirty people.

At the end of July eight climbers were surprised by incoming bad weather while climbing Mont Blanc (4808m) from Chamonix. Lost halfway up the French Normal Route, heavy snowstorms kept the party from finding a way out. Rescue workers from the PGHM (high mountain police) tried to find them in horrible conditions, and were forced down by thunderstorms. Finally there was a small window of clear weather when a helicopter was able to pick up a group of four from the Italian side of the mountain. The other four (one Frenchman and three women from Great Britain, Chile and New Zealand) were found dead the next day.

hat same day six German climbers got in trouble on the Italian side of Monte Rosa (4634 m) and were forced to spend the night, without bivy gear, outside in a storm. The next day one woman was found dead and another seriously incapacitated due to hypothermia. At the Grand Combin (4314m) a Polish climber fell to his death, and in the Swiss Bernese Oberland rescue workers saved the lives of six climbers who were stuck near the summit of the Monch. Through a storm they climbed the mountain to find all six shivering in the snow. The helicopter winched some of them; the others descended by foot. The chief of the Grindelwald rescue station said it was one of the most strenuous rescue operations in recent years.

In the week following, two climbers died on the Matterhorn. Both fell to their death while descending via the Hornli Ridge. The same week Air Zermatt, the helicopter rescue service in the Swiss mountains of Wallis, was extremely busy. Many times they successfully brought help, but for some climbers it was too late. At least three fell to their death after stumbling on hiking paths, and two Polish climbers fell several hundred meters from the Allalinhorn mountain near the Swiss village of Saas Fee. In two other accidents, three young Swiss died by falling from the Obergabelhorn, and a tragic accident on the Aletschgletjser took the life of Claude Rey, President of the International Guides Association (IFMGA). He was, early in the morning on July 28, walking from the Konkordiahut towards the glacier, when he fell through a snow bridge on the moraines. Air Zermatt was able to recover his body, but he died later that day in the Hospital of Sitten.

A Chamonix-based PGHM (high mountain police) rescue chopper. The PGHM has been working overtime to accomodate the large volume of rescue calls this summer. [Photo] Menno Boermans

Another accident occurred on Mont Blanc, taking the lives of a French man and his son. They fell through the cornice of the Arete de Bionassay. Some days later a climber was descending through the Grand Couloir of Mont Blanc when he lost his balance and fell about 100 meters. Also dead.

On August 2 another cold front hit the Alps. Two German climbers at the Weismies, above Saas Grund, got in trouble when lightning struck and seriously injured one of them. Air Zermatt rescued them after his partner called for help. Last weekend also was busy for the rescue services. Air Zermatt answered--in two days--more than twenty calls from mountain travellers in trouble, most of them with "only" light injuries. A remarkable number of alpinists were evacuated because they couldn't or wouldn't climb further. The PGHM of Chamonix for example winched "stuck" people from hard routes on the Dru and the Grandes Jorasses. Mont Blanc took again three lives last Saturday. The German woman and men were missing for two days when they were found dead near the Grands Mulets. They had tried to take a more difficult variant of the Standard Route. Finally, today, three climbers were hit by falling ice at the Dome des Ecrins, also in the French Alps.

2007 has become one of the darkest summers in the past half-century. Only in 1997 did so many climbers lose their lives in such a short period. The reason is generally unclear. It is known that in some cases, climbers were not well prepared. The group of four who died on Mont Blanc, for example, did not have proper clothing to protect from the elements, and they did not attempt to dig a shelter in the snow. Bruno Jelk, Chief of the Zermatt Rescue Service, confirmed that many climbers this season have entered the mountains without proper equipment and training. He also adds that everyone--even those prepared--must be more careful in the mountains, which are becoming less stable every year due to the changing climate. "

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so i guess in all it was good we did not go but at the end of the day this is the game that we play...........!