Summertime

Kalymnos, GR

Hot summer afternoon? Desperate for a shady crag? Look no further. Sector Summertime is a north-facing band of scattered cliffs extending roughly from Kasteli to Arginonta and including a varied assortment of smaller crags: Local Freezer, Magoulias, Summer Wine, Summertime Main, Nikoleta, and Big Shadow. Two additional sub-sectors, Highlands and Springtime, are app-only crags. The narrow bay of Arginonta, with its copper-red cliffs and blue green waters, transforms at dusk into a magical landscape that rivals even Telendos sunsets. Pleasant climbing on gentle slabs and vertical faces, steep cave climbing, and more—all in afternoon shade and cool conditions. __Busy__ 3/3 __Climbing__ Everything: gentle slabs, vertical faces, insanely overhanging athletic routes, and perfect well-protected climbs for beginners. __Conditions__ Shady and cool. One of the best crags for climbing on summer afternoons, as long as there is a light breeze. __Shade (Exposure: NE)__ Local Freezer, Nikoleta, and Big Shadow: after 11:00. Everywhere else, after 13:00. __Kids__ So-so. Steep path and limited space around the cliffs. __Local Freezer__ is a very steep cave with stalactites and (rare for Kalymnos) some huge stalagmites. It is ideal for climbing between May–October (but not good on humid days, especially the smooth crimpy wall on the left). Climbing at Local Freezer is athletic and hard, despite some possibilities for easier routes. __Magoulias__ features many different climbing styles (sometimes on the same route) on good quality, highly featured red rock, a vertical grey wall, and a small cave on the far left (7 à L’Envers). __Summer Wine__ is an important addition between Magoulias and the main sector, and it is already quite popular. It features a variety of styles from slabs and overhangs to juggy climbs and a few crack features. Most grades hover between 6a–6c, but there’s a handful of harder climbs, too. Unless otherwise noted, routes were bolted by Claude Idoux and Aris Theodoropoulos in 2017. __Nikoleta__ is a small roadside crag in two steep caves. From the road it doesn’t look special, but there are overhanging climbs on Kalymnos-quality tufas in select sections of both caves. Unless otherwise noted, routes were bolted by Giovanni Bettoschi (2015–17). __Big Shadow__ is the oversized crag high above the road from Kasteli to Arginonta. Routes are on an impeccable big wall, steep slabs, and some tufa caves. The first routes were established here by the Remy Brothers in 2011. The following year, a team from The North Face bolted another handful of routes to be introduced during that year’s festival. Ultimately Big Shadow was not used as a festival venue, and those routes never got published until the previous edition (2019) of this guidebook. In 2021, routes at Big Shadow were rebolted and cleaned by Fred Leconte and Jozen Ley, who also improved the approach path.
CRAG STATISTICS
113
Routes
142715
meters climbed
6045
Zlags
6c+
average grade

J F M A M J J A S O N D

Very safe
Parking
Slabs
Vertical
Overhanging
Exposition
36 m.
45 min.

GALLERY