lukeh Posted November 12, 2014 Posted November 12, 2014 Trip: Sport Climbing Day and Night in Kalymnos, Greece - Various Date: 11/4/2014 Trip Report: Kalymnos ended up being a short, but eventful trip. One highlight included getting a photo of a climber juxtaposed against the night sky in the iconic Grande Grotta cave. I hadn't seen this done before, so wanted to experiment a bit. Audrey has been on a roll lately on-sighting hard routes, including Fun de Chichunne (8a / 5.13b) which ended up being the perfect route for the GG night shots. Props to Audrey for doing it as that climb isn't easy, especially in the dark. Swedish climber Adam Herring also helped out with lighting/belaying/inspiration. Other shots below are from O'Draconian Devil (5.14a) in the Ianis sector (Audrey in pink long-sleeve shirt), DNA (7a / 5.11d) in the Grande Grotta at sunset and in darkness (Audrey in the blue sports bra sunset, green fleece under the stars), and Flood Gates (8a+ / 5.13c) in the Secret Garden sector, where a large Tufa came off during one of her knee bars. Luckily her belayer was well out of the way due to the route's general line out right. I watched from above on a fixed line, stomach in my throat until it was clear no harm was done. I also met and photographed a fellow photographer + strong climber Alexander Rydén (below on Fun de Chichunne at sunset in red pants/no shirt). I wish I could've taken more shots of Said Belhaj, but due to logistics I just have the one below (orange shirt, blue pants, on-sighting a bunch of hard routes at Secret Garden). I didn't know much about him, and if you don't be sure to read the Rock and Ice article The Seeker: Said Belhaj. Really interesting guy + gifted climber. Kalymnos is an amazing place. Audrey and I also did some exploring on a scooter and found a really cool vantage point above the city of Pothia at the St. Savas church (pics below). I kind of struck out on food, but The Sunrise had some pretty good chicken pitas. As I was looking out the plane window leaving Athens at sunrise, I wished I could keep travelling forever. The few people that are able to do so are really fortunate. This year I've been lucky to travel quite a bit: Denali in Alaska, Kenya/Tanzania (Kilmanjaro, the Serengeti, etc), Austria, Slovakia, now Greece, but I wish I could keep going and experience an unencumbered feeling of freedom. Click on any picture for a larger version on Facebook. Check out more pics on my Instagram. iPHONE PICS Quote
JasonG Posted November 13, 2014 Posted November 13, 2014 Excellent images as always Luke! Has Petzl got you on the payroll yet? Quote
lukeh Posted November 13, 2014 Author Posted November 13, 2014 Thanks Jason! Not yet, I think I need more photos of their other athletes to get there . Quote
Eric T Posted November 17, 2014 Posted November 17, 2014 WOW!!! Awesome photos! Great night and sea shots, O the climbing looked pretty good too...;-) Quote
layton Posted November 18, 2014 Posted November 18, 2014 someone's gonna win this year's photo contest!! Quote
lukeh Posted November 18, 2014 Author Posted November 18, 2014 Thanks Eric and layton. layton are you referring to the light-saber penis photo? Quote
layton Posted November 21, 2014 Posted November 21, 2014 didn't notice that till now. I just think those are spectacular pictures! Quote
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