More than 300 climbers from around the world participated (84 Greeks, 50 Germans, 28 Swedes, 28 Swiss, 26 Austrians, 16 Italians, 13 Spaniards, 12 Americans and individuals from 15 more countries).

Sponsors

The event’s main sponsors were the Greek Tourism Organisation and the Greek company POLO The Kalymnian hotels “Oasis” and “Philoxenia”, also offered the Festival’s official guests complimentary accommodation and   “AVIS” offered transport.  Winners of the bouldering, dyno and Free Ride Rally competitions were awarded prizes by POLO and the local climbing shop WILD SPORTS.

Organisation

The 4th International Kalymnos Climbing Festival was organized for the Municipality of Kalymnos by  Katerina Klonari and George Chatzismalis.
Participants received the official Festival t-shirt, posters and other gifts by POLO and the Municipality, as well as a DVD on climbing in Kalymnos, produced by the Dodecanese Chamber of Commerce and pebbles painted especially for the Fest, as a souvenir from the young pupils of three Primary Schools of the island.
Congratulations and thanks to everyone, primarily the Municipality’s Climbing Advisor and firm supporter Aris Theodoropoulos, whose invaluable contribution is greatly appreciated!
Thanks to the local Mountaineering Club, to the employees and volunteers working around the clock to make this Festival happen and to all those who offered so much of their free time. Last but not least, many thanks for his presence and helpful suggestions to the Chairman of the Greek Federation for Mountaineering and Climbing Mr Dimitris Georgoulis.

Guests and coverage

The mega-talented, 16 year-old Czech climber Adam Ondra was the Festival’s star guest. Also invited was the inexhaustible Swiss couple of equippers Christine and Claude Remy; with his brothers Yves Remy and Boris Girardin, Claude has opened more than 250 sport routes on Kalymnos in the past few years.
Last but not least, the 22 year-old Slovenian climbing champion Maja Vidmar and her partner Anze Stremfelj were there.

Other festival guests included the renowned Australian photographer Simon Carter (www.onsight.com.au) and publisher of the award-winning photography books “Rock Climbing in Australia” and “World Climbing: Images from the Edge”, accompanied by his wife Monique Forestier, a leading Aussie climber, and their 5 month-old daughter Coco. From Sweden,

Jens Larssen was there; Jens is the owner of www.8a.nu, a most popular climbing site, and the former coach of Sweden’s junior climbing team. After this visit to Kalymnos he enthusiastically stated on 8a’s homepage that “Kalymnos is the best climbing destination in the world. If you have not been here, book your ticket for this autumn or next spring. Nothing beats the package: Climbing, beauty, hospitality, beaches, food, soft grades J, and in fact the rock is just getting better by time. Loose and polished rock is almost non-existing!”  

The event was filmed by the award-winning Greek mountaineer / director Pavlos Tsiantos and his assistant Christos Tsoutsias. Also filming was the Italian Editor of the website 9b (www.novebi.ning.com), who is making a film about Adam Ondra. Finally, the event was covered by two major Greek TV channels as well as the local channel.
POLO, the outdoor gear manufacturers and Fest sponsors, were represented by the active and ingenious Giorgos Toumpanakis and Christos Makris.

Climbing and other events

The festival opened officially on Friday night, 22 May, with a dinner on the terrace of Plaza hotel and the fabulous sunset of Kalymnos in the background. The opening dinner featured welcoming addresses by the mayor and local authorities, and a presentation by the modest and very likeable Adam Ondra, who was warmly applauded.
On following days, the program included climbing during the day and various events in the evening.
An Open Bouldering and Dyno competition was organized on Saturday evening, May 23rd, at the main square of Pothia port. The problems were created by George Kopalides and Zafiris Kamaropoulos. The enthusiastic audience consisted mostly of young Kalymnians, whose cheers went up a notch when the local climbers Antonis Kokkinos and Lucas Dourdourekas competed, or when pretty girls walked by. Winners by category were:

Boudering / Men: Dave Garden (UK)
Bouldering / Women: Charlotte Garden (UK)
Dyno / Men: Christos Tsoutsias (GR)
Dyno / Women: Charlotte Garden (UK)

On Sunday evening, May 24th, Claude Remy presented a very interesting photo archive from all his years on the island in his clever, humorous style. He and his brothers were given an honorary plaque and other memorabilia by the mayor as thanks for their extensive contribution in developing Kalymnos climbing. On Monday evening, May 25th, the Festival’s closing party was hosted by club LOCA; the winning climbing party of the Free Ride Rally, Konstantinos Vrochidis and Dimitris Sparis, was awarded. 11 parties participated in the Free Ride Rally, where all day Sunday they climbed as many routes as possible. Each route was credited certain points depending on grade, with the winning party being the one accumulating the most points. 
But the pure soul of the Festival was the phenomenal Adam Ondra. Despite his 16 years of age, he has already taken sport climbing to a new dimension. In Kalymnos we were awestruck by his ability, speed and deep passion for climbing.  Adam seems to have this effect even on the specialists, as Dani Andrada and Chris Sharma speechlessly watched him breeze through the 9a’s in Spain last spring, prompting Chris to declare that he now feels “like an amateur!”.