whose hearts are mountains

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Rock climbing is one of the hottest sports lately, leading to its inclusion in the 2020 Olympics. In the US alone in 2017, 43 new indoor climbing gyms opened, which is a 10% growth rate. Chances are good that you know somebody who regularly climbs or you’ve been invited to go climbing.

Why is Greece so popular for rock climbing?

Greece is one of the hottest new places to go rock climbing. More and more serious rock climbers are setting out to spend their vacation in Greece.

Greece, and specifically Crete, is full of limestone, forming stunning cliffs that are perfect for climbing. Crete also offers top-notch beaches, scenery, and weather to go along with a climbing trip. You can finish up a long day with a swim at a beautiful beach and excellent local Greek food.

We went on two separate rock climbing trips in Crete, and I highly recommend both spots.

Voulismeno Aloni

The first one was to Voulismeno Aloni, which is only about 15 minutes from Heraklion. It’s a sinkhole that was formed when a cavern roof collapsed. The walls surround the center like a bowl.

The routes in this area range from beginner-friendly to advanced. I was the only one in our group who had done outdoor climbing before, and it had been years since I’ve gone.

Our guide, Tim, did all the lead climbing for us and taught us the basics. If you’re new to climbing, you should know that it’s essential to have a solid partner to belay you.

One of the biggest misconceptions that I’ve encountered about rock climbing is that it’s a very dangerous sport. This is so far from the truth!

Almost all climbers use high-quality ropes and gear to ensure their safety. Rock climbing ropes are made to specific standards, as well as sport clips, belay devices, and carabiners. They have all been tested to handle the large amounts of force from a falling climber.

Overall, Voulismeno Aloni is a great place to climb. It’s close to Heraklion, there are over 40 routes, and the difficulty ranges from 4c to 8b.

We started on a section of the wall that was closer to the entrance, and it was a good warm-up. There are several easy, beginner-friendly routes next to each other. Just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it isn’t fun!

Then we moved on to a harder route that was further back into the bowl. There was a difficult section towards the top that I had trouble getting over because my arms were toast!

By the way, Europe tends to use the French rating system instead of YDS, which is used in North America. A 4c is roughly equivalent to a 5.7 – this is a route that any beginner should be able to climb fairly easily.

I found this video of a woman climbing at Voulismeno Aloni, if you want to see what one of the more difficult routes looks like. Also, she is a complete badass and someday I would love to be able to create videos like that!

Therisoss

The second place we visited was Therisoss, which is a gorge near the city of Chania. It’s a beautiful drive and this area attracts many tourists.

The cliffs stretch up on either side of the road as you drive up into the gorge. We parked just off the road, and walked about 50ft to our climbing site.

Unfortunately I did not get any good pictures, but you can google for pictures or better information.

Therissos also has routes that range from beginner-friendly to more difficult. It’s very popular among the local climbers who live near Chania due to how close it is. There are numerous sport climbing routes established on these cliffs.

The other cool thing about climbing here is the excellent views you get at the top of the climb. You can’t see much down in the gorge, but climbing higher opens up views of the surrounding mountains!

After several hours and many attempts of each route, we packed up and drove to Therissos, a village in the mountains. There is some history surrounding this village and a statue of a famous Greek politician in the square.

We have learned that the best way to order food at Greek restaurants is to just ask them to cook for your group. This time we ended up with pork chops, Greek salad, traditional greens, bread, and staka.

Staka is a traditional Greek dish (like a roux) made from goat’s milk. It’s common to serve cracked eggs and french fries in the staka, which makes it kinda like poutine. I highly recommend trying it!

Consider making Crete your next climbing destination!

If you are a beginner to climbing, there are several tour companies that offer guided trips. If you have your own gear, there are some excellent resources on the best climbing spots and how to get there. This book has the most up-to-date info on sport climbing in Greece, including a few places in Crete: Greece sport climbing: the best of 2017.

Or if you are just going on a sightseeing trip in Crete, consider adding on a day or two of rock climbing!

What is canyoneering?

It’s only one of the coolest adventures you can take!

Seriously, canyoneering (or canyoning) is defined as “travelling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities such as walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling (rappelling), and swimming.” (from Wikipedia).

Essentially, it’s moving through a canyon, which is already usually an incredible experience, but with some added technical difficulty. When you reach a spot in the canyon that has a steep cliff, you just use ropes to rappel down to the bottom. Sometimes there are waterfalls involved, which make it even more awesome.

In this particular trip, there was no water flowing through the canyon, but it was still pretty awesome. We traveled down a short canyon that opens up to Seitan beach, on the Akrotiri peninsula in Crete.

First Step: Learning the Techniques

Since none of us had been canyoneering before, our guide, Tim, showed us the ropes before setting out (literally!). We had to practice hooking up to the rope and the proper technique for rappelling.

After the intro session, we gathered up all our gear and set off in the van. We had canyoneering harnesses that have a butt protector, multiple ropes, dry bags, Figure 8 descenders, gloves, and plenty of carabiners.

Second Step: The Approach

We started at the top of the road that leads into Seitan Beach, but instead of driving down to the beach, we walked in the opposite direction. I believe this canyon is on private land, but Tim knows the owners and had their permission to use the route.

We got to the beginning of the canyon and started by hiking down. It immediately became obvious that knowing the weather forecast is crucial to this sport: a flash flood would be extremely dangerous while trapped in this narrow space.

Third Step: Practicing on the Short Drops

A few minutes later we reached our first drop-off. This particular route is excellent for beginners because there are a couple of short rappels to boost your confidence. At the end are two 30 meter (100 ft)  cliffs, which give you an adrenaline rush that will keep you coming back!

In canyoneering, it’s very important to always be clipped in to the anchor when you are close to the edge. Sometimes there are multiple anchors to allow you to traverse across particularly tricky sections. At these spots, you want to always keep at least one carabiner from your harness clipped in to the rope.

After a couple of drops, we could begin to see the beach from afar. While most of us had been to this beach before, we had no idea it was possible to rappel the canyon right next to it!

Fourth Step: Stay Calm on the Big Drops!

It wasn’t long before we reached the first of the 30 meter cliffs. It’s a bit nerve wracking to realize that a strong hold of your brake hand is all that’s preventing you from plummeting down a huge cliff! But once you actually get clipped in and start rappelling, it’s a blast!

It’s also a great team-building exercise. All of us are co-workers, and you have to be able to trust your climbing partners with holding the rope that prevents you from falling a hundred feet. I think we definitely felt more closely bonded after this trip!

At the bottom of the last drop, we had a herd of goats pass us by while we were waiting for everyone to get down. These goats are excellent climbers and are a classic sight in the mountains of Crete. The sound of their bells and their braying is unmistakable.

Fifth Step: Celebrate by Swimming at the Beach!

Okay, so this step isn’t really necessary for canyoneering, but it’s still fun! It was a short walk from the last rappel to the beach. It was early enough in the year that the beach was not crowded, although I think the few people there looked at us funny with all our gear. We all swam in the freezing cold water!

We had also brought some food to share as we relaxed at the beach. It was the perfect way to end an awesome trip. I wrote about Seitan Limania beach a bit in my previous post describing 10 amazing beaches in Crete. Just for the record, it is my favorite beach in Crete just because it’s so unique!

Here’s another “secret” about this beach: there is a small church built into a cave that you can access from the road to the beach. We had to walk up the steep switchbacked road to get back to the van at the top. On the way, Tim showed us the path that led to the church and talked about some of the traditions surrounding the Greek Orthodox Church.

Now I really want to get into canyoneering in the future. In the US, it’s very popular in the slot canyons in the Southwest. Someday I’m going to take a trip there and do some rappelling down waterfalls!