During the middle two weeks of September, planetFear ran the very first ´Sun Rock Workshop´, on the Greek island of Kalymnos. The idea was to combine the format of Neil Grehsham´s acclaimed climbing masterclasses with lots of one on one coaching, and a week´s climbing somewhere with dependable weather, and a wide range of great routes. Kalymnos fitted the bill perfectly, the first week sold out so quickly that a second was quickly organised and in turn completely sold out. Now all we had to do was deliver the goods! Whilst Neil and myself were both confident that everyone would improve their climbing over the week, and have a great time, nothing could have prepared us for the massive leaps in standards that were shown across the board. The course was designed to incorporate all the ´tricks of the trade´ including mental preparation, onsight and repoint techniques, warming up and warming down – all the things you can read about in training articles, but never get around to actually doing! Unfortunately Leo Houlding was unable to make it to Kalymnos, after breaking a bone in his foot. Fortunately we were joined by British Team member Adrian Baxter, who added to the coaching team, and put in some superb performances himself with an 8a+ redpoint, an 8a flash, and 7c+ onsights. Week One Summary Just about everyone made gains both in onsighting and redpointing, notably with Pippa leaping through the grades with improve technique and confidence, Nick redpointed his first 7b on his last day (phew!) and moving up four whole grades! And after a few impressive lobs from the crux, Simon finally clipped the chain of a 7b+ (Alfredo Alfredo) moving up four grades from his previous personal best. Such was the explosive atmoshphere, even Neil improved his level with a flash of Orion (8a) – up from 7c+. Week Two Summary Week one was one hell of an act to follow, and was generally a less experienced group, but after only a couple of days the group really got into gear and put in some superb performances on the rock, with Rick and Susan blitzing their previous personal bests with ascents of Aphrodite (7a), and George, who put in some inspiring efforts to raise his redpoint game to 6c+ on the last day. Lastly, our sympathies to Keith who had to return home on the first day, and Richard who put the wrong week in his diary – see you next time! Here´s how everyone did:
| Name | Onsight / Flash | Redpoint | ||
| Before | After | Before | After | |
| Week 1 | ||||
| Darren | 6a | 6b | 6b | 6b+ |
| Bill | 6a | 6b | 6b | 6b+ |
| Nick | 6b | 6c | 6c | 7b (!) |
| Pippa | 5a | 6a+ (!) | 5c | 6b+ |
| Ian | 6a | 6b | 6b | 6b+ |
| Steve | 7a+ | 7b | 7c | 7b+ |
| Klaus | 6b | 6b | 6c | 7a |
| Luke | 6a+ | 6b+ | 6b+ | 7a |
| Roger | 6a+ | 6b | 6b+ | 7a |
| Simon | 6b+ | 7a+ (TR) | 6c+ | 7b+ (!) |
| Week 2 | ||||
| Adam | 5c | 6a+ | – | 6b |
| Susan | 6a+ | 6c (!) | – | 7a (!) |
| Warwick | 5b | 5c+ | – | 6a |
| Janine | 5b | 5c | – | 6a |
| George | 6b | 6b+ | – | 6c+ |
| Jane | 5b | 6a | – | 6b (1 fall) |
| Anna | 6c | 6c | – | 7a |
| Rick | 6b | 6c | 6c (TR) | 7a |
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| Above: Adding up the ´points´ at the end of week one to see who made the biggest improvement, and the week one winner of the Cheesy Kalymnos beach towel is … Nick Smith! | Above: The week 1 team look on as Simon takes the hotseat for some mental preparation prior to redpointing his first 7b+ ´Alfredo Alfredo´ at Odyssey |
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| Our special guest Adrian Baxter on Orion (f8a) which he flashed | Morning briefing and stretch to warm-up at Afternoon Sector |
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| Week 1 Team: Top: Ian, Adrian, Klaus, Neil, Steve Middle: Adrian, Roger, Simon, Darren Bottom: Luke: Pippa, Bill, Nick | Week 2 Team: Top: Rick, Anna, Susan, Adam, Warwick, Adrian Bottom: Jane, George, Neil, Janine |
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| Climbing Aphrodite at Grande Grotta | Sunset over Telendos |
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| Neil on Daniboy 8a+, Spartacus Sector | Susan on her first 7a – Aphrodite at Grande Grotta |
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| Simon warming up on Panselinos f6b at the Grande Grotta | Warming down on moderate slab routes at Sector Afternoon |
Next… Sardinia March 2003 Click for Full Info and Online Booking
