Black Diamond has the latest update from Adam Ondra and here is a part of what he says: "“Pitch 16 can be climbed via the dyno or the loop. If I am not wrong, the dyno was given 5.14c (8c+), and the loop is probably easier—I heard something about 5.14a— but due to the crazy character of the climbing, the grade is not relevant. The dyno might be more logical as a line, but the loop pitch climbs the easiest way up the wall, so I consider both equally logical. I tried the dyno a few times in the last weeks, but I thought I would have to invest considerable effort into the dyno with insecure results, and that is why I decided to climb the loop pitch. The loop pitch or dyno pitch is followed by a 5.14a layback. In between, there is no belay, only a no-hands stance. My original goal was to connect the loop pitch into the layback, making a 60-meter mega-pitch at 5.14c at least." Picture from Pavel Blazek who reports that they have already started thinking about trying the Salathe wall and that he also will start working on Adam's new website.

Leonidio, with some 900 routes put up since 2013, is #1 in the 8a trend ranking and probably already one of the best winter destinations in Europe. The limestone is colorful and of great quality with all possible features. Route grades vary between 3a and 9a. There is a potential for at least 1 000 more lines. The Panjika cooperative consisting of Germans and local people was the most active at the beginning. Later the Municipality found fundings for several hundreds lines to be opened and the Remy brothers have put up some 300 routes. The Municipality is working hard to set Leonidio at the climbing map especially for the winter, "ghost-town" season and just recently they organized a climbing festival. In January the average temperature is 12 degrees. Most sectors face south, almost always with a nice view. For the rest days, there is not so much to do but of course you can enjoy some historical places and monasteries high up in the mountains. In a direct comparison with Kalymnos, this is a much better winter destination as it is not as windy and it rains much less in Leonidio. The city is also much bigger than Massouri so you will find a wider range of restaurants, shops, etc. Climbing-wise it is on the same level even if it is not as spectacular. Leonidio's advantage over Kalymnos is also that the approach is generally shorter and the multipitches are clearly better. You can go climbing up to 1 000 meter above see level, too. Next spring, Aris Theodoropoulos aka Mr Kalymnos, will present a new Best of Greece guide including the best and latest also from Leonidio and he will correct some of the old-school gradings in the Panjika topo. All the profit from the current topo goes to bolting.

Pavel Blazek reports on Instagram that Adam Ondra has sent pitch #14 on which he fell seven times yesterday. Later he fell on the last move on pitch #15 but Adam plans to go for one more try even if he is worried about his skin. Gradewise, it is interesting that these two 9a pitches have given him so much trouble and it just confirms that what Jorgesson and Caldwell did was amazing.

Adam Ondra has sent both pitches 14 and 15 during his fifth day on the Dawn Wall. He comments on his Black Diamond blog: “Day 5. As day 4 was a complete disaster, I still felt a lot of pressure, as I knew that sending pitch 14 is almost a must. But today, my mindset was different. I tried to make jokes, being relaxed and focused only just before the climbing. I was lucky enough to be precise and send pitch 14 (5.14d) on my first go after a little warm up.⠀ ⠀ “Pitch 15 (5.14c or d) was next. This pitch is much longer and has a very nice and enjoyable 5.13c intro (with a few normal holds and even footholds) and a heinously sharp boulder problem at the end of the pitch. After chalking up the holds, I had a heartbreaking fall, a few moves below the jug of glory... and I had to face a hard decision. Should I give it one more try and try risk cutting my skin open or wait for tomorrow? It was rather unsure whether my skin would be better the next day. I took the first option. I started climbing again and despite feeling strong, my skin was really soft and sweaty. On the jug below the boulder problem, I almost thought my decision was wrong. I kept going nevertheless and somehow made it through the crux, where I had to improvise with my beta, as I was unable to reach with my foot all the way due to my sliding fingers from the razorblades. Getting to the anchor was emotional of course.⠀ ⠀ “Let's continue tomorrow. Still quite a few exciting pitches, but none of them are as sharp and hard as these two.”⠀ (c) Pavel Blazek

National Geographic in depth interview after the falls on pitch #14. It should be noted that this sentence could be said is misleading as they top roped almost half the pitches. "Finally, over 19 continuous days in January 2015, Caldwell and Jorgeson achieved the first free ascent of the route—meaning they climbed each and every pitch in its entirety without a fall."

Adam Ondra Dawn Wall'daki 5. gününde 14. ve 15. ip boylarını tırmandı. Black Diamond blog: "5. gün. 4. gün bir felaketti, hala baskıyı üzerimde hissediyordum ve emin olduğum tek şey ise 14. İp boyunun çıkılması gerektiğiydi. Fakat bugün kafam biraz daha değişik, tıpkı tırmanış öncesindeki gibi şakalar yapıyorum ve rahatlıyorum. Şanslıydım bugün çünkü 14. İpboyunu ufak bir ısınmadan sonra ilk denememde ve tereddütsüz çıkabildim. ⠀ “15. İp boyu (5.14c veya d) bir sonrakiydi. Bu ip boyu çok daha uzun ve çok eğlenceli bir 5.13c girişi var (birkaç normal tutamak hatta ayak bile var) ve tiksindirici keskin bir kısakaya bölüm en sonda. Tutamakları fırçaladıktan sonra, zaferin o güzel cep tutamağından birkaç hamle önce düştüm... ve zor bir kararla yüzleşmek zorunda kaldım. Bir deneme daha yapıp parmak derimin açılması riskini mi almalıydım yoksa yarını mı beklemeliydim? Derimin yarın daha iyi durumda olacağı da şüpheliydi. Ben de ilk seçeneği seçtim. Yeniden tırmanmaya başladım. Çok güçlü hissetmeme rağmen parmaklarım terli. Cebin altındaki kısakayaya geldiğimde kararımın yanlış olduğunu düşünmeye başlamıştım. Tırmanışa devam ettim ve kilidi geçtim ki kendi doğaçlama çözümümü kullandım. İstasyona gitmek ise elbette duygusal oldu. ⠀ “Yarın devam edelim. Hala birkaç sıkı ip boyu var ancak hiçbiri bu ikisi kadar keskin ve sor değil.”⠀ (c) Pavel Blazek

Leonido, 2013'ten bu yana açılan 900 rota ile 8a trend listesinde 1 numara ve muhtemelen şimdiden Avrupa'daki en iyi kış tırmanış bölgelerinden. Kireçtaşı renkli ve kaliteli. 3a dan 9a ya kadar rota bulmak mümkün ve en az 1000 rotalık daha potansiyel var. The Panjika şirketi Alman ve yerel tırmanışçılardan oluşuyor ve bölgenin ilk boltlanmasında oldukça aktifti. Sonrasında ise belediyenin oluşturduğu fonla Remy kardeşler 300 kadar rota açtılar. Belediye ölü sezon olan kışı tırmanışla canlandırmak için sıkı çalışıyor ve bir de tırmanış festivali düzenlediler. Ocak ayının ortalaması 12 derece. Çoğu sektör Güney'e bakıyor ve manzara müthiş. Dinlenme günleri için çok fazla bir şey yok ancak dağlardaki eski manastırlar ve tarihi yapılar ziyaret edilebilir. Kalymnos ile direkt kıyaslayacak olursak, burası çok daha iyi bir kış bölgesi, orası kadar yağmurlu ve rüzgarlı değil. Şehir ise Massouri'den çok daha büyük, yani alışveriş ve yeme içme imkanı daha geniş Laonidio'nun Kalymnos'tan daha avantajlı olan bir yanıda rotalara ulaşmanın daha kolay olması ve çok ip boylu rotalar daha iyi durumda. Ayrıca denizden 1000 metre yüksekte tırmanışa da gidebilirsiniz. Gelecek kış, Aris Theodoropoulos namı diğer Mr Kalymnos, yeni Best of Greece rehberini tanıtacak ve Leonidio'daki en yeni ve güzel rotalar da bazı eski rotaların derecelerindeki düzeltme ile birlikte rehberde yerini alacak.

Adam Ondra reports on Instagram that he fell seven times on the first 9a pitch during day 4. "Damn! Climbed super poorly, so much pressure, so nervous! Needed 7 tries to make it through the first boulderproblem on pitch 14, a boulderproblem that i never really found very hard before, but somehow felt really hard today. I slipped on my first try, then on my second try, then just freaked out and felt so insecure with my feet trying to climb as carefully as possible but kept slipping nevertheless. Then, on my 7th try, I did the boulderproblem, and fell from the last move. Hard to find some optimism, but I will try it again. Tomorrow and hopefully with better mindset. Thanks everyone for encouragement! I am sorry for today, hopefully there is still the chance!"

The mayor of Leonidio, Lysikatos Haralampos, was elected in 2013 and since then he has given a high priority for climbing and also created space in the budget for buying bolts and improving parkings and paths. During the climbing festival he also tried climbing for the first time. - Safety and quality is very important for us and please feel free to contact us and share your opinion. We plan to set up signs at the sector with important info such as emergency telephone number, general safety and collect your garbage infoetc. Next year we plan to run yet another climbing festival. As we do not have any prior knowledge to climbing we are very glad for everyone that is helping out to develop Leonidio. We do not want just positive feedback. We want everyone to give their honest opinion and advice so we can learn and improve.