Woosh......

That's that then - Colin and Mark dropped off at the high speed ferry this evening and a strange calm descends - we are on our own for the first time in five weeks. Whilst they were here Colin cracked of 155 routes and Mark 135 - all in all impressive numbers.
It hammered it down last night and piled up some impressive debris round the appartments. By dawn the sun was out so we finished of with a gentle five at Noufaro this morning (trundling a huge loose flake in the process) then had tea on the terrace as the sun set into the Aegean - they both went a bit pensive!

Time for a Change

The apartments (and island) have really started to clear out and we have moved 'upstairs' into out winter residence - a bigger apartment previously occupied by four Frenchies. It is a year to the day since we left Kalymnos heading for home so it was quite fitting to get up on Ghost Kitchen, one of the few major cliffs I hadn't climbed on. Joy in the Garden (6b) was the highlight for me and Colin steamed up the superb Resistor (6c+) - I managed to follow to in one push so was well pleased. He also made short work of Totenhausen (7a) up an amazing set of tufas.

On top of that Lofoten Rock won the Outdoor Writer and Photographers Guide Book of the Year award - marvellous stuff!

.. and the North Wind doth Blow.

Dave and Pat slipped away on a bright sunny day to catch the ferry only to face a 10 hour delay at Kos airport - what a grim way to end a great trip. They eventually got home early the next day having been up all night!
Colin and Mark are still rocking like there is no tomorrow - Mark has even had to buy some new boots as he has trashed the ones he brought with him. A damp morning gave us the chance to go and explore the cave in the crag called Cave. We still had time to do six routes after that though.
There has been a change in the weather with a cool northerly kicking up the waves - Steve at the Glaros Bar reckons 90% of the climbers will have gone by tomorrow - bring it on!

New Arrivals

After a night in Manchester airport Colin and Mark zoomed in - they made the ferry with five minutes to spare, so rather than slob around we nipped out and cracked of a quick four at Sea Breeze to celebrate. Thursday was a bit breezy so we visited the sheltered cliffs at Dolphin Bay. Myself and Dave did a pleasant six - Colin and Mark excelled themselves with a round dozen!
A celebratory meal over on Telendos was very pleasant and the ferry ride back through the dark, with Pink Floyd pumping out on the stereo - pure magic.

Paradise Regained

A gentle week and 20 odd routes has reinforced my feelings from last year - this place is a kind of climbing Nirvana. Sure it is pretty busy at the moment and hot too - but despite that there is so much to go at, plus the whole place is set up to make life easy for the climbers and where else in the World can you say that.
Today we caught the ferry to Telendos and then a fishing boat round to Irox (€5 saves a 1hr 30min walk) where we did six great routes - another place I had never climbed before.
Another couple of weeks and the crowds and heat should have gone - then we might have paradise to ourselves!

Many Happy Returns

A year and a week ago for us and something like eight years for Spenny and Pat and we were all made it back again at the paradise island. Again the travel was a breeze, after an early start we landed ahead of schedule and only had a 10 min wait for the ferry. We booked into the Babis Bar in Myrties, and a had a beer whilst watching the sun sink towards a the blue Aegean. After a march into Masouri - and bumping intio Nigel Baker - we collected the car (another teeny Panda) the had very Greek tea and more beers on the terrace.

A couple of gentle days climbing was what the doctor ordered - so we did just that - four cliffs, nine routes up to 6b - it is great to be back!
We have only been here two days and already Sherri has persuaded the owner of the bar to install a wifi network - that is what you call a fast mover!

Winter Migrants

So was up to Stanage for one last Sunday on the grit. It was cool and blowy out beyond High Neb, with the odd spit of rain in the air but there was a jolly team assembled and a good time was had by all.
With autumn in the air its time to think about heading south again for a little bolt clipping in the sunshine, so Thursday (the day after Sherri's 50 birthday) we have a flight to Kalymnos booked. We were so impressed with the place last year that we haven't sorted a return this time round - we will see how the weather and the mood take us.