After a drizzly interlude, normal service has been resumed in Leonidio.

Conditions, for a few days at least, are in the Goldilocks zone where it’s sunny enough to bask in but cool enough to still climb (what fussy creatures we climbers are!) The perfect opportunity to visit Acropolis (the sector not the ancient monument) and Loupas.

On our 2019 visit we’d bumped into Gary and Hazel Gibson amongst a succession of happy but unplanned meetings – Leonidio really was THE PLACE to be that Spring. We enjoyed numerous evenings of good company, beer and banter, touring most of the local eateries, but didn’t spend much time climbing together as Gary was on a mission (situation normal for the self-confessed obsessive!) to develop a new sector high above the valley road. Working title: Acropolis. After a huge amount of toil he finally reported on a dozen or so outstanding routes, but recommended leaving our visit for a year or two for the rock to settle down and particularly for the path to get bedded in. “One or two” turned into five, so we had some lost time to make up for!

It’s a magnificent stretch of rock, clearly visible to any would-be new-routers…

… but it’s quite a long way up the hill!

There is indeed now what looks to be a decent path of red blobs, slanting up from a farmhouse accessed via a dirt track. Unfortunately this was heavily occupied by what must have been an audition for a remake of Lady and the Tramp. A dozen dogs of all shapes and sizes were having a barking competition, and whilst they may have just been being friendly it didn’t seem worth chancing it! Instead we took the path to Giggerl and then free-styled up to join the red blob path (marked on Open Street Maps – see below).

There’s a sign to watch out for at the key junction.

The 35mins guidebook time is certainly no under-estimate for the first routes (on Loupas – subsequently developed by the Remy brothers) and a bit more of a scree bash to reach Gary’s routes. It’s a stunning bit of rock though!

We started with Gary’s routes on Acropolis. Helen and I did Plato’s Academy and I managed Wall of Kimono, before getting shut down on micro gout d’eaux on Valerian. The grading in the two guides is all over the place (especially Pangika) so we messaged Gary for a real time update on the grades he originally gave them. He kindly responded as follows (and who am I to argue!)

Socrates 6c
Plato’s academy 6c
Pausinius 6a
extension 6c+
Caryatid 6b+
Mneesicles 6b+
Man on the moon 6b+
Wall of kimono 7a
Valerian 7a+
Hemlock 7a+
Attalus 6b+
Dead Sea scopes 7a
and one further left 7a+

Good climbing, with Wall of Kimono being particularly memorable, with the crux where I didn’t expect it and more holds on the upper wall than I’d feared. It’s definitely worthy of more traffic – get up there! Goes into the shade around 2pm.

Further left, the bulk of the Loupas sector is made up of tall, vertical 6b-7b routes, but this had also lost the sun, so we finished off on the far left end which has a more southerly aspect. This is a two-tiered affair, with a band of easier angled grey slabs topped off with prickly orange extensions. Here’s Helen on Nicole, 5c.

I tried one of the extensions but even my appetite for broccoli has its limits! Anyway, a fine crag in a stupendous position – huge kudos to Gary and Hazel for putting in the days of effort to get the ball rolling with the first routes up there – I can only imagine the toil involved in getting the kit up there, let alone equipping the routes! Thank you!

Dornröschen is a more travelled crag, and we’d been rained off on our previous visit so were up for a re-match. Vertical routes with flakey holds…

… and another jaw-dropping outlook.

Königin Elisabeth, 6a+, is a great pitch and no push-over. Helen did Three Holy Kings and Es War Einmal, both 5c and highly recommended.

I struggled on Glücksgriff, 6c, so binned my ambitions for the 7as either side, and instead persuaded Helen to belay me on a last route on King of Thrones, “just around the corner”. Both the 5mins additional walk and the promise of sun from 4pm proved to be sandbags, and I felt considerable extra pressure to make her discomfort worthwhile by prevailing on Expect the Unexpert, 7a. Made it by the skin of my teeth!

Here’s the view of the two sectors from Hospital the following day (centre of left hand lump) with King of Thrones still stubbornly in the shade at 4pm:

Miti seems to be a relatively unfashionable sector, but has a lot to recommend it – not least a sunny aspect, 5mins approach (albeit up a tricky via ferrata)…

… and yet another stunning outlook.

Despite the proximity to the road the only sound is the crashing of the waves below, and fittingly…

… makes for a brilliant 6b warm up.

I was a bit put off by the sparse bolting on the adjacent Hongy, 7a, so instead turned my attention to Seeblic on the far right of the crag. Aris warns of “Dangerous rock” and gives it 7a+, but don’t be put off – it’s steady, solid and fun and rewards an eye for an intricate line.

Tempora Mutantur, 7a, is even better (and significantly tougher) with three distinct sections (crimpy wall, techy corner and steep crescendo) split by a couple of hands-off rests.

Route of the trip so far!

Not a bad spot for an apres-climb chillax 🙂

With temps in the mid teens, but forecast to rise further, we took our last chance for a while to bask on the sun-drenched Kokkinovrachos, on Red Rocks – the far right hand sector of this huge wall of rock which forms the backdrop to the town. Just beyond Sector Hospital.

As we arrived I spotted this well-decked-out climber. Perfect colour scheme to contrast the rock – The Italians are in town!

I was planning a belay-bunny rest day, so clipped in above the somewhat vertiginous drop and attentively admired Helen’s mileage.

These are l-oooo-ng routes, many with extensions to 40m.

She cruised her way up Distimo, Madri extension, and Kounelaki extension; around 100m of 6a.