Ermionida is the southern end of the Argolis peninsula (the “thumb” on the “hand” of the Peloponnese). Blessed by generally good weather and a good combination with the Nafplio crags, the area contains almost a dozen crags, many of which were originally developed by ex-pat Jim Titt. We explored a few of these in 2019, informed by some info in a pdf from Jim and the somewhat quirky Argolis guidebook, but were inspired to revisit by a new free downloadable topo from the nice people at Olympus Mountaineering https://olympusmountaineering.com/2020/11/12/the-ultimate-guide-of-climbing-in-ermionida-argolis-greece/

More information here: https://climbermionida.com/

A glorious sunny day was the ideal excuse to head high (almost 1,000m high) to check out Didyma:

Another example of the debt owed by climbers to telecoms companies, dam-builders and monks, who between them have constructed some stupendous zigzag roads to open up otherwise inaccessible crags. In this case the final 5km of crumbling concrete road…

… ends at parking near a transmitter station, with gobsmacking views over the rest of the peninsula and down to the Med.

The rock is a real contrast to much of what we’ve been climbing for the last month: white/grey and slabby, with occasional flakey holds and often smeary feet. Definitely not my preferred style, though Helen seemed to get on with it better. Here she is on Here Comes the Weekend, 5a.

Generally the grades felt stiff after so much cranking on prickly crimps. The crag bends around towards the left side, keeping the sun a bit longer until around 4pm, and with more textured rock. Helen enjoyed Smile and Thursday’s Child.

Katafiki Gorge couldn’t be more different. Spikey orange rock, hidden out of site on the north east facing side of a steep canyon, almost sea level and roadside. Not much of a view but a very impressive chunk of rock! Here’s Peta (decked out in red), one half of the Australian couple we’d bumped into at Olympus in Leonidio a few weeks before

… on one of the routes towards the right of the crag.

By 10am the righthand end of the crag was already in shade, whereas the left was still catching some rays, and also had the added attraction of some sun loungers.

… plus a handy topo in case you forgot to download the pdf.

We bagged a couple of routes on sector Welcome (including Helen doing the eponymous 5c) while we could enjoy the sunny belay (the gorge does seem to funnel any wind – we’d retreated on our previous visit with numb fingers).

Just right there’s a very attractive line of elongated pockets up some st-eee-p orange rock, taken by Savage Man, 6b+. Stupendous climbing, but SO TOUGH (not my favoured style but even so – felt more like 6c/+). I was really chuffed to make it through the tricky section and was a bit disappointed to find more tricky climbing above. A couple of small pockets, a tough pull on an under cling, only to find crozzles. At this point I lost my sense of humour and pulled on the draw to get the next clip in, cursing: “6b+ my f*@#ing arse!” I finished the route thinking I’ve done significantly easier 7as. A bit of UKC browsing (to see if my grumbles were shared) revealed that Savage Man gets 6c and that I’d strayed onto a new direct finish: Savage Baby, 7b. Sulk over 🙂

We headed over to the right hand end of the crag and sector Handbitter – home to a bunch of 5c to 6a+ pitches topped off with recent 7a-b extensions for a full 40m tick. That’s much more my kind of territory!

Helen made a brilliant job of Lucky, 6a+, so I even had the draws in for the tricky first half of Gates of Hades (given a generous 7a)

… and I returned the favour on Brown Sugar, 5c, when doing the extension Fairytale, 7a+. Another “eyes too big for biceps” moment had me chancing my arm on Hole in the Wall Ext, 7b, and onsighting it clean until a heartbreaking final move out of diagonal cave (top right in the shot below).

Definitely one to come back for.

Rain the following day had us cutting short our Ermionida exploration to make the journey to Manikia (the newly developed area on the island of Evia, NW of Athens) to hopefully coincide with a weather window. This took us through Athens and an opportunity to sample a bit of culture to break the journey. Googling revealed plenty of options – with a dozen or so microbreweries to choose from (though apparently there are other cultural possibilities available) and we settled for the Alea Brewery. Winner!

A rather dowdy exterior…

… revealed an interior of shining stainless steel vessels, a very welcoming and knowledgeable host, and an impressive wall of beer cans of the world.

After being treated to a couple of pints of outstanding and quite strong IPAs we stocked up whilst I was was still able to drive, and headed on our way. Cheers!