Tag 69-77 - Ode to Leonidio

Leonidio, a long cherished destination and highly acclaimed - now we have been here for some time and can judge for ourselves.

Leonidio is a small town with about 3500 inhabitants and many old simply constructed houses. The main street is so narrow in some places that we had to fold Gretchen's mirrors. The valley around Leonidio is a huge plantation where olives, tangerines, oranges, eggplants, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, spinach and much more are cultivated. At the end of November there is a lot of activity here and fruits and vegetables are harvested everywhere. All of this is sold on the market every Monday, which is a wonderful event - the carrots and tomatoes are particularly tasty and cannot be compared to supermarket produce at all!

But it's not only the vegetables that are good, but also the friendliness of the Greeks towards us climbers and other visitors. Strange people in cars are constantly coming towards us, waving and honking wildly. Even at midnight, after visiting the Panjika, we were able to shorten our way home to Gretchen by hitchhiking. The nice older man stopped without hesitation and took us with him. Due to our limited vocabulary in Greek, we could only say thank you and contribute little to the conversation.

The nature in Leonidio seems to be doing better compared to many other places we have seen in Greece. There is hardly any garbage lying around. It's nice to see that something like this can exist in Greece too!

The sport of climbing has fully arrived in this small town, as can be seen, among other things, by the many signs leading to the various sectors. It feels like there are more climbers than locals in Leonidio. Many climbers are active here in winter and spring, as the conditions are particularly good at this time. We have had many days between 15 - 20 degrees and relatively little rain. Many climbers from colder countries, like us, come here to spend the winter. The city is full of climbers and their vans, which is a very nice sight. We have met old acquaintances like Johanna, Nico and Lukas again and made some new friends.

In the city center and by the sea there are even two free parking lots with public toilets and shower facilities, where camping in the car is allowed. Super cool to be able to park right on site legally and have contact with all the other long-term guests! But sleeping in close proximity to the sectors is also not a problem.

No matter what style of climbing you prefer, in Leonidio there is everything from slabs, cracks, overhangs, roofs to multi-pitch routes. All grades are served, sometimes you can even find beginner-friendly routes and hardcore climbing close together in one sector.

There is also no shortage of rainproof areas, with H.A.D.A., Mars and Twin Caves offering good opportunities. It should be mentioned that many of the routes have not been established for very long and the ratings can still vary - especially in the latest guidebook, which has recently been published, some routes have been re-evaluated. Regarding the protection of the routes, it can be said that so far all the routes we have climbed were well to very well bolted and this is likely to apply to all others as well. In some cases, the distances between the bolts are even shorter than in the gym!

We would like to briefly introduce the sectors we have already tested, so that you don't lose track in the flood of cliffs.

We have already been to Sabaton, a wall with many easy to medium difficulty routes. Thanks to the short approach and the shady location near the sea, the sector is usually well visited, but the crowds are surprisingly well spread out on the wide wall. A helmet is highly recommended here (as in most sectors in Leonidio), as the routes are not yet very old and we had a larger hold break off. The routes are mostly short and straight, sometimes also sintered.

Sála is another east-facing wall suitable for warm days. The 25-minute approach through scree seems to deter many people, but is rewarded with long, beautiful lines. We were even all alone here. One highlight, for example, is the beautiful 40 meter long 7a+ "O kalos o kakos o stasimos Ext.", which can even be extended to 60 meters with enough quickdraws.

We spent a wonderful day of climbing at Hot Rock, which is known as the "Feel Good" cliff in Leonidio. And rightly so, because it offers enjoyable climbing on beautiful slabs with (partly) the associated "Feel Good" grades. One of the recommended routes here is the 6c+ Kairos, which compresses everything fine about Leonidio on 25 meters: slab, sinter and a mini overhang.

In Skiadhianiko we were able to climb some nice routes despite constant rain showers. There is a slabby rock with easier routes, an overhanging wall above it with hard routes, and a lower wall with great lines of medium difficulty. We still have a project open on both of them ("Brown Cougar", 7a & "Zacke" 7c+) and will come back despite the omnipresent goat droppings.

Namaste is on the way to the flagship sector Mars and is definitely worth a stop. Here too, vertical walls with edges and sinter structures dominate. Thanks to its southern orientation, this wall is more suitable for colder days, but still has something to offer in the upper French sixth and seventh grade.

Some people have made it their mission to turn Leonidio into what it is now, one of the most beautiful climbing areas we have ever seen. The many, many cliffs offer incredibly great potential and beautiful, long routes.

The Panjika Cooperative, led by former Berliner Michael Schreiber, who moved to Leonidio to devote himself entirely to climbing, coordinates and finances not only the development and maintenance of routes, but also operates a small climbing shop and the Panjika café. The latter is the official meeting point for climbers but also for locals with a Berlin flair. With food and drinks, a strong internet connection, and a weekly jam session, everything is provided that climbers and long-term campers desire. By the way, the organization is also responsible for the excellent Leonidio guidebook, which can be purchased on site as well as in Germany, and finances the drilling of new routes.

For us, all we can say is that everything you've heard about Leonidio is true - it's just incredibly awesome here. We are staying here and you will hear from us when we have explored all the sectors.

Until then, hook on!