Travels in Greece

OK, so I just returned from yet another exotic climbing location...Meteora in central Greece. This is perhaps the most idyllic location I have had the privilege to visit. It has all the elements of a perfect setting...beautiful camping in a small Greek town with yummy outdoor taverns, perfect weather, large sandstone towers up to 9 pitches, perfect rock, goats and sheep with bells around their necks that sound like wind chimes, friendly locals, and it's really cheap. The only problem is that everyone speaks Greek, and the guide books is German/Greek. Can't have everything.

The rock is much like that of Pinnacles of California -- compact dirt with pebbles glued onto the surface. From a distance, they are dark colored and resemble the granite towers of Brazil, but up close it looks and feels like concrete. The well traveled routes are safe, as all the pebbles that could possibly pull out have long since been pulled out. Less traveled routes, like the first route I did, are falling apart. Two of these pebbles pulled out in my hands while a foot hold disintegrated into powder (I quickly learned not to trust the glue into which these pebbles are embedded). After that, I stuck to the more traveled routes. Many routes follow water courses, which are more like groves that vary from shallow groves perfect for stemming to full body chimneys. I guess the water has picked away all the lose crap in these grooves leaving only the most solid of the pebbles embedded in the tuff.

There are tons of these towers. Some of them have Monasteries on top, but you can't climb on those. Regardless, there are hundreds of routes (perhaps thousands...our guide book was old). We could easily have spent a month there without getting bored.

Nearly all the routes are multi-pitch, with hanging belays, so a comfortable harness and shoes are an absolute necessity (I didn't have either and I suffered). The protection is, for the most part, bolts mixed with gear depending on the route. The bolts are bomber -- giant 1/2" suckers with metal rings. The routes are graded using the UIAA system (also used in Germany), so the sweet spot is between VI and VII. Nikos and I got off route once, ended up on a VIII-, which was a bit too hard (like hard 5.11).

The best route I did was called "Corner of Madness" -- a 7 pitch route with a 4-pitch continuous corner, which varied from finger/hand size to chimney. Graded at VII (or about 5.10d/5.11a), it was a real workout, especially in the midday heat...we topped out after 6 hours with cotton in our mouths and absolutely no energy. Like with all the towers, we made our way to the top and signed the summit register, then rapped down in the afternoon sun. Some other noteworthy routes were "The Line of the Fallen Drop" -- a 6-pitch face route, and "Pillar of Dreams" -- a 9-pitch face/ridge...each of these routes was mostly fact climbing in a sea of pebbles. Totally awesome.

Nikos was the ultimate climbing host. He and his friends (Aris, Fondas, Manos, and Vag) were gracious and accommodating, notwithstanding their insane desire to climb. Thanks Nikos. I was definitely the old man, though...it was hard to keep up with their 18-year athleticism...it was like climbing with a bunch of little Jims. Now I know how it feels.

I didn't learn a word of greek. Typical.