Griffig (Kalymnos) the most popular new crag on 8a

Urs Odermatt and Peter Keller established Griffig in Kalymnos during two very hectic weeks this spring. Amazingly, the 31 routes have been logged 1 042 times since 26/6 and Pestalozzi 7a (6c) is actually the second most logged route on 8a in 2022. Previously, the Swiss mountain guides, have put up around 100 routes including some multi-pitches on Telendos as well. Here is an interview made by ClimbKalymnos.

Urs: "Markus Leippold, was the first who mentioned this cliff. I have no doubt that many many climbers already were there to visit this sector before. And nobody started the work because it was very obvious that there is a lot of cleaning to do. But as I spend my summer holidays in Kalymnos, I was really desperate in finding new shady sectors. Every year I was walking to the cliff and dreamed about this sector. The exposition is just perfect. In 2021, Cecile Niederer, a Swiss climber, found the perfect argument to start the work: sponsoring!

(Peter: The sponsoring was organised from Urs, Cécile and a climbing gym named Griffig. They started crowdfunding where the customers could pay for a route. )

First, we get in touch with Aris to make sure that this was not private land. We want to be sure that it is ok to climb there. Secondly was to check again with Aris, which material we should use for safe and durable bolting. Are gave us great support from the organization. After the equipment was ready, we started to work like crazy in a very tight time frame. Peter and I have a lot of experience with developing new crags. Our focus was to create a climbing area, suitable for beginners, courses, and everybody who just want to have fun. We don't say that this is the best or the right way, but we placed the bolts super close so that everybody can lead without fear and we want to minimalize the risk of a bad fall.

We always work independently on the wall. We define sectors and everybody takes care of his sector. First, we do a rough cleaning from big blocks and check the rock if everything is safe. After that, we climb the route in Top Rope and mark the placements for the bolts. If that works, we drill the bolts and do another cleaning. After that, we do a third cleaning with a strong leaf blower to minimize dirt in the route. We started the daily work with the first daylight and finished at sunset. There was absolutely no time for any beer or fun during the work. We were focused like two crazy guys and I was still suffering 3 weeks after we finished the job."

What about the gradings often said to be very "soft"?
That's because there was not so much time to try the routes. When I came back in July I realized that the grades for 7a and harder were far too soft. The crazy thing is, that many people have confirmed the grades anyway…….

So what about Kalymnos grades: First of all, the Kalymnos style is easy to read and if you're physically in a good shape, the routes can feel a bit soft in places. But I also would talk about Kalymnos Climbers' attitude. They check on the internet which routes are easy for the grade. Go there, tick it on 8a.nu and write in the comments «soft». The same people who blamed us for the grades in Griffig were climbing there, again and again, to tick as many hard routes as possible because they already knew that the correct topo will be published in next spring. When «Orion» in Odyssey or «Marmonei» in Irox were 8a, these routes were always crowded. After a downgrading to 7c+ you see very rare traffic there. When we bolted Sector Claros, we were superfit and I believe that the grades there are correct. «Glaros» is one of the absolute best 8a+ in Kalymnos. Not many people go there. So the impression of the soft Kalymnos grades is also because people pick the soft routes and talk about them.