Tag 106-114 - "Is it winter yet?"

The last few days have been eventful in the idyllic town of Leonidio. The entire climbing community seemed to have succumbed to the temptation of the 1700 sport climbing routes and spring-like temperatures. As a result, many new faces, temporary visitors, full parking lots at the crags, and occupied seats in the Panjika followed. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to seriously complain, as we have also received visitors and contributed to the overcrowding of the sectors.

We were honored to have a whole delegation from Berlin - Annie, Eik, Falk, Fiffi, and Trung - visiting us. We were eager to share this place, which has been our home for almost two months, with them. The sector selection was a bit difficult due to the popularity of walls like Twin Caves, which were incredibly crowded with short-term holidaymakers, and also because of the bad weather luck we had. It was terribly cold, even below freezing, and the sun mostly hid behind clouds, making it even more unpleasant. In addition, it rained more than ever before, leaving many routes and sectors wet. From a reliable source, we know that higher walls like Skiadhianiko even had snow! In short, winter has arrived, and according to the locals, it is as cold and rainy as rarely before. But it didn't matter, we wanted to climb and were willing to make some sacrifices for it. So in the end, we managed to have many climbing days in familiar and new sectors.

We (Trung again) spent our first day together at the Théos Cave in glorious sunshine. Perfect conditions for our Berlin friends to get acquainted with climbing in Leonidio. And it was a success, as Annie, Eik, and I flashed "Dali" (6c+), and Falk checked out "Zeus" (7a) - there was clearly still enough potential to achieve all our goals.

On the second day, we met up with Johanna and Pablo at the Dornröschen sector, much to my and Johanna's delight, as we had been eager to try out the routes there from the beginning. Those who know us shouldn't be surprised, as Dornröschen offers 20 routes in the French sixth grade, all with slab to vertical climbing on small holds. Three minutes away is the wall King of Thrones, which perfectly complements Dornröschen with medium to hard routes up to 7c in overhanging terrain. The combination of these two sectors will surely satisfy everyone.

Our hopes for a relaxed climbing day in Dornröschen with many completed routes were unfortunately not fully met. On the one hand, the lines were sometimes really hard for their respective grades, and on the other hand, Christian was drilling a new route, which meant that large parts of the sector were in the danger zone and could not be climbed. Nevertheless, it was very cool to watch the drilling, and we are grateful for every new line on this amazing rock.

During the day, we gradually moved to King of Thrones, where Annie, Falk, Eik, and Jan attempted "Song of Ice and Fire" (7b). In the end, only Jan was able to send the route on his second go, partially due to the approaching dusk.

On the third day, we headed to Bella Vista, a sector with varied climbing ranging from 5b to 7b+. Although we really liked the routes, it should be mentioned that many of them are easier than their grade suggests. We could consider "Killmist Onsight" (7b+) as a 7a+ with goodwill and "Caprisi" (7a) at most as a 6c+. But regardless, the most important thing was that it was fun to climb them. Kudos to Eik, Jan, Annie, Falk, and Trung for sending "Killmist Onsight".

By the way, the view from Bella Vista is truly as beautiful as the name of the sector promises. Jan and I couldn't resist climbing the route with the same name (6a) and enjoying the view from the top.

On this day, the sunny times in Leonidio came to an end. While we were still sweating in T-shirts for the past two days, rain and cold set in. Luckily, some routes remained dry enough to be climbed.

Thanks to the persistent rain and an extensive New Year's Eve party, we had two days of rest afterwards. Only Jan and Falk managed to go to H.A.D.A. on New Year's Day, where many climbers sought refuge from the bad weather, creating a feeling of being in a crowded climbing gym. Nevertheless, Falk climbed "Tout est relatif'" (his first 7a), as we all know, according to unwritten climbing law, that deserves a cake. Okay, let's say half a cake, because he already has a 7a+ under his belt.

Despite the icy temperatures, Eik managed to drag all of us out of bed at the crack of dawn the next day to spend the day at the shaded sector Sábaton. Thankfully, due to the declared "positive day" the evening before, no one was allowed to complain about the cold. After all, it was worth the early morning start because we had a few sunny hours, and it wasn't too crowded in the beginning. We realized that during the rainy days, "Oyk" (7a+) had lost a huge flake, which reportedly made the route a lot harder. Unfortunately, we only noticed this after poor Falk had struggled in the route for a while. Despite parts of the wall still being wet, there was still enough to choose from. Fiffi flashed "Kurz Ext." (6c+), his first in the 6c grade. Johanna also ticked off an open route with "Kairos" (6c+).

Since we started so early, there was even time for some group photos at the end. Everyone left their fingerprints on our canvas, and Gretchen's front side was artistically decorated with finger paints. It looked so beautiful that we are now considering giving Gretchen a "real" graffiti, even if it would be much more noticeable while bouldering.

On the last climbing day, when the sun finally shone again, we split up. Falk, Fiffi, and Trung spent a relaxed sunny day at Théos, while the rest of us had a cold but successful day working on projects at Sábaton. I ticked off "Fun and Fuck" (6c+), and Jan sent "Murder One" (7b+). Fortunately, it was decided that Annie wanted to give "Roro" (7b) another try and finally sent it - a great achievement!

Unfortunately, Eik didn't quite manage to send his project "Torrellis Toys" (7b+) in the end, despite some really good attempts. Nevertheless, it was very impressive to watch (and hear) him giving it his all. Next time!

All in all, we were able to withstand the unpredictable weather quite well and learned a lot about projecting in the cold and climbing in the rain. The changing conditions are what make climbing on real rock so much more beautiful and exciting than monkeying around on plastic in a covered gym. With the right equipment (gloves and a thermos with tea) and various tips and tricks, fingers can get warm enough to give it your all without getting injured.

In any case, we had a lot of fun being a larger group at the crag, projecting together, facing our Falkangst, and helping each other with motivation and beta.

We also had a great time with our visitors outside of climbing. On New Year's Eve, thanks to 36 hours of rain, we spent a cozy evening in the vacation rental, entertaining ourselves by cooking curry, making homemade punch, and playing PowerPoint karaoke. We also took the opportunity to refresh our knowledge of the relationship between climbing and sex, video games, and the arms industry, and to discuss social media addiction (thanks to Falk and Gentle-Fiffi for their input). Later, we went to the party at Panjika, where the techno beats attracted more people than ever before, and some of us didn't find our way back to bed until 6 in the morning. With many familiar faces, the music and drug selection, and yes, two really badly drugged individuals, an unexpected Berlin vibe emerged. But that's nothing new because here in "Berlinidio," you can't go anywhere without running into friends and ending up spending half an hour discussing sectors between the supermarket's refrigerators.

Except for Falk and Jan, we spent New Year's Day at the beach by principle and built cairns under gray clouds. Annie, Fiffi, and Eik were even brave enough to go for a swim, which was rewarded by the somewhat wilder waves.

Jan and I enjoyed having a bit more space and a warm shower, and we sneaked into the vacation rental for the evenings. We had fierce chess duels, came up with conspiracy theories, launched political careers, and made cats explode. There was also plenty of beer, Greek wine, and so many stupid jokes that we had to introduce the Mobbingtaler as a new currency.

Thank you all for making the long journey to Leonidio to spend New Year's with us (and the presumably more decisive mountains). Fooling around with you and braving the bad weather makes the thought of soon being back in cold Germany far more bearable. The next group vacation will definitely come!

Not only did "Team Berlin" have to leave, but also more and more friends from Leonidio said goodbye in the last few days. For us, too, a time is approaching when the return date is getting closer and closer. It's hard to believe that we have already been on the road for four months! We are determined to make the most of the last remaining month here in Greece. This includes reluctantly saying goodbye to Leonidio and its currently lousy weather, as we still have several cities and climbing areas on our list. We'll keep you updated!

Until then, alpinist on!

P.S.: We absolutely have to share this poetic masterpiece by Fiffi about our little beach adventure with you!

Breaking waves,

A colorful ballet,

Dancing stones,

HUUUUÄÄÄÄRRRHHHH