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09/14/08. Sudwestkante (VI-, 6P) on Heiliggeistwachter
Sudwestkante route.
Though we were planning on Traumpfeiler route, the approach trail brought us right past the base of this obvious line. Two pitches of scrambling, one pitch of steeper but very positive knob pulling and one “VI-“ move to set the grade and we were on the summit. We found the rap ring – the fact that it was a single piece of hardware no longer seemed to bother us; the fact that it was on a flat slab made it a pain to lower the knot and later pull down the ropes. The weather turned stifling hot and so we called it a day.
Unfortunately, the next day we woke up to rain. Rain!? In Greece in Spetember?! WTF – just our Pacific Northwest luck. Did a sightseeing drive tour all the way out west to the Ionian Sea via the scenic towns of Metsovo and Ioannina.
09/16/08. Via Scorpion (V- A0, 2P) on Spindel & Nordostweg (V+, 4P) on Heiliggeistwachter
Scorpion on Spindel Tower.
Unsettled weather continued in the morning – we slept in and decided to scope out some approaches. By the time we got to the base of the very-much-phallic-shaped-Spindel, rained stopped and blue sky was showing. Decided to give the aid line a go. Free to first belay followed by a bolt ladder to the summit. Nice views of the surrounding formations and a cool rappel from the top of the very-much-phallic-shaped-Spindel. Some on/off drizzle rolled through and we took it as a sign to do more approach scoping. We checked out the start of Traumpfeiler but again once we were there the sky looked promising. We went for the “other” route on the Heiliggeistwachter Tower just next door. Though the first two pitches are not too hard, the moist lichen made them quite thought provoking. The whole line had the ambiance of a Columbia Gorge climb back home though the rock was solid. As we topped out, the skies opened up and it started pouring. Despite having lowered the knot, the wet ropes made the pulling job into an afternoon project in the pouring rain. Finally we collected our junk and were tossing down dolmas and two liters of table wine at a taverna a short while later.
More rain next day and so again we took another driving trip, this time SE to the scenic Pelion Peninsula on the Aegean Sea.
Photos
Sudwestkante (VI-, 6P) on Heiliggeistwachter
Leading a pitch (1 or 2 or 3??) on Sudwestkante (6 pitch, VI-) route on Heiliggeistwachter (Sept. 2008).
Shirley on pitch 2 or 3 of Sudwestkante route (Sept. 2008).
Shirley on pitch 4 of Sudwestkante (6 pitch VI-; Sept. 2008).
Shirley on the short crux of the Sudwestkante route – a short VI- bulge on pitch 5 (Sept. 2008).
Shirley topping out on Sudwestkante route on Heiliggeistwachter’s summit. Kastraki is below and Holy Ghost formation is on the left (Sept. 2008).
Doupianifels from the summit of Heiliggeistwachter formation (Sept. 2008).
Shirley on the summit of Heiliggeistwachter formation after our climb of Sudwestkante route (Sept. 2008).
Views northwest from the summit of Heiliggeistwachter. On the left is The Kelch and another 14th century monastery is at the center (Sept. 2008).
This is the start of the rappels off of Heiliggeistwachter Tower (Sept. 2008).
Unknown party atop pitch 2 of Sudwestkante on Heiliggeistwachter Tower (Sept. 2008).
Shirley hiking out after our climb of Sudwestkante on Heiliggeistwachter Tower. There’s a party at the 2nd belay and a suspicious jackass watching us (Sept. 2008).
Monk hermitages on Pixari. A functioning monastery built into the rockface is on the right & provides scale (Sept. 2008).
Looking for road trip ideas on another rainy day in Kastraki (Sept. 2008).
One of the key activities we engaged in while in Greece (esp. on rainy days) – drinking many Greek coffees. This I think is on a road trip out wast & the town of Metsovo (Sept. 2008).
A canopy of grape vines above an outdoor coffee shop in Metsovo (Sept. 2008).
Another rainy day road trip. This is I think a street in the town of Ioannina in western Greece (Sept. 2008).
Via Scorpion (V- A0, 2P) on Spindel
The view of Kastraki village (Sept. 2008).
Shirley at the Grand Meteora Monastery & sporting a required skirt (rented out at the entrance; Sept. 2008).
Shirley & a very friendly kitten in a monastery in Meteora (Sept. 2008).
Like my knobs? Pitch 1 of Via Scorpion on Spindel Tower….don’t look at my rack – you don’t need any gear (Sept. 2008).
Shirley topping out on pitch 1 of Via Scorpion on the Spindel (Sept. 2008).
Pretty village of Kastraki framed by Pixari (left) and Spindel from which the photo was taken. Pindos Mountains are on the horizon (Sept. 2008).
Pitch 2 bolt ladder of Via Scorpion on Spindel Tower (Sept. 2008).
Pitch 2 bolt ladder on Via Scorpion on the Spindel Tower (Sept. 2008).
Shirley topping out on Via Scorpion’s pitch 2 and the summit of the Spindel (Sept. 2008).
“Is it one or two ‘Ls’ in phallic??” Shirley working feverishly on our summit register entry…..OK, I joke: we adhered to the strict formatting guidelines as called for by the guidebooks when signing these things! Early Sept. 2008.
Summit register atop the Spindel. Multi-language and with descriptions of established routes on the formation as well as the rappels and a highly structured entry form for signing in…typical of Meteora summits (Sept. 2008).
Shirley on the summit of the Spindel with Sourloti providing the backdrop (Sept. 2008).
Shirley getting ready to rap off the summit of the Spindel with Sourloti in the background (Sept. 2008).
Shirley rapping off the Spindel with the beautiful south face of Sourloti in the background (Sept. 2008).
…more Spindel rapping action (Sept. 2008).
Scrambly traverse along the base of the south face of Sourloti formation. Face above is home to a few classic Meteora moderates (Sept. 2008).
The southeast aspect of Sourloti formation (Sept. 2008).
Shirley hiking through the village of Kastraki (Sept. 2008).
Nordostweg (V+, 4P) on Heiliggeistwachter
Unknown party on pitch 3 of Nordostweg route on Heiliggeistwachter Tower (Sept. 2008).
Starting the lead of pitch 1 of Nordostweg (4 pitch, V+ route) Heiliggeistwachter formation. We were reminded of some Columbia Gorge climbs back home (but on much more solid rock of course; Sept. 2008).
Leading pitch 2 of Nordostweg (Sept. 2008).
Pitch 2 of Nordostweg route (4 pitch V+) on Heiliggeistwachter formation (Sept. 2008).
Shirley topping out on pitch 3 of Nordostweg route (Sept. 2008).
Starting the lead of the 4th (& final) pitch of Nordostweg route (Sept. 2008).
Shirley atop the pitch 3 belay on Nordostweg route (Sept. 2008).
Shirley topping out on the Nordostweg route (pitch 4) on Heiliggeistwachter’s summit (Sept. 2008).
Shirley hiking down a mossy gully after our climb & descent off of the summit of Heiliggeistwachter (Sept. 2008).
Pelion Peninsula Road Trip
Shirley in an olive orchard somewhere on the Pelion Peninsula on the east coast of Greece (Sept. 2008).
Olives (Sept. 2008).
Driving through the scenic Pelion Peninsula on the Aegean Sea (east coast of Greece) with an unconcerned village resident taking a nap in the middle of the highway (Sept. 2008).
A tiger killing time in some coffee shop (Sept. 2008).
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