Now, for all of you who don't know what exactly I like, or should I say LOVE to do in my spare time. Here it is, my rock climbing adventures in Turkey. I have to say, this country is blessed with lots and lots of amazing rock formations, alot of it is unknown and unclimbed. I plan on making some first ascents here in Turkey. Yes rock climbing is dangerous, but still not as dangerous as driving a car around here, people are crazy...
We stayed at the fantastic 'hippie' bungalows, Kadir's Tree Houses in Olympos, near Antalya, Turkey. Lot's of dreads and cool Turkish hippie pants, Lily wouldn't let me buy a pair, she said I looked like a fool... Oh well, next time, maybe after she leaves I will buy them, they will be my bouldering pants.
All of the people here were extremely helpful and most important, the friendliest I have encountered, considering they are complete strangers. There weren't alot of climbers there while we were, but the guides and instructors were very excited to see two Americans coming all this way to their little spot on the coast. It is very new, been developed since 2001, as a rock climbing destination. Our specific bungalow was called the Chilli Bin, all of the rooms have there own name, along with a number of course. Wait till you see the view of our backyard. Well, not really a view, but what is IN our backyard.
Here is me carrying EVERYTHING,
And this is of course, guess who, Lily carrying nothing but her camera and a towel I think...The is the coolest place I have ever stayed at, check out the solar panels on the roof, it's what they use to heat the hot water, pretty cool and relatively inexpensive they are all over Turkey. The mountains in the backround surrounding us aren't bad either, huh?
Now on to the real reason we came here, the rock climbing...
Lily on the left here, just having climbed her first ever outdoor route, and it was a 5.7, not bad for a first timer, a little frightened but she made it. Me on the right leading a 5.9 I believe, I will not die if I were to fall, note the carabiners attached the rope which are attached to bolted anchors in the rock face.
Not a bad place to spend your evenings after a long hard day of climbing, there are cute little huts with cushions it's so comfortable to lay around in, and the temperature out here couldn't be better. 
I love all the old carriage wheels they have nail/strapped to EVERYTHING they can.
Lily, getting ready for her next big climb, and yes another 5.7 she is going to tear it up!!!
This is me at the top of the 5.7 I lead so Lily could take a whack at it! This route is of the 'slab' type, which means the rock face is positive and not slanting out, pretty much a very very steep hill, then there is vertical, after that is inverted then when you completely go upside down it's either a cave or just a roof on part of the route.
Here I am having just climbed a short (23m) 5.10a route, this was my previous best in the US. For those that may find this of interest, I onsighted my first ever 5.10d, hopefully I will break into my first 5.11a. For those of you that don't know how the grading system works, here it is:5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9 all don't have letter grades with them, 5.5-5.7 is more for beginners there is also lower down to 5.0. 5.8 & 5.9 is a bit more advanced, but once you have climbed for a year it's pretty easy.
Then you get into the 5.10 thru to 5.15a (being the highest rated climb known today, set by Chris Sharma of America) These grades have letters to further break them down, 5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c & 5.10d etc. a jump between letter grades is equivalent to jump between the lower numbers below 5.10. So I am climbing 4 grades above what I thought was my best, pretty cool huh...
This is what goes down right on the beach, a little bouldering to make those muscles pump and finish off the day of climbing. I tried to get Lily bouldering, unsuccessful, maybe next time.
Here is the Olympos Beach!!! The mountains are very cool, there is no sand, just pebbles, but the Mediterranean Sea is quite warm, and very clear. Lots of yachts chilling in the bay.
It's a long road back to the bungalows... and it is beginning to rain.
Lily: "oooooo, look a tortoise!!!me: "that is so not a tortuise, what about it anyway????
Lily: "It's soooooo cuuuute!!!! I want a pic of it!
me: "no way, it's a dirty thing, stay away, grooossssss!!!"
Lily: "pleeeeaasssseee, it's cuuuuuuuute, pleeeaaaaaaaaae!!"
me: "FINE! but don't touch it."
Man's best friend, this guy followed me for awhile... Lily found it to be absolutely adorable. The cat liked her the dog like me, I guess we know what kind of people we are...
This is Lily's cat friend, chilled with her during lunch, I had a burger!!!
This is also the same spot I was bouldering in, very cool.
There is much more unexplored territory for me... Look forward to more, much more updates of me climbing in Turkey.
5 comments:
Chris, congratulations onsighting, very brave there, but I always know you had it in ya. Can't wait to see/ hear more routes set up by you.I will have to add Olympos in my list of places to climb..i want to seriously conquer that boulder you did with or without a crashpad!!. Keep climbing those rocks! and i can't wait to see more.
duuuuude!!! first of all, i did my share of the carrying things! two, if u asked me to hold more things, i would have been glad to do so. i wont whine about it like u do. remember? i offered to carry the things on ur back. just because u didnt want to give it to me, that doesnt make me at fault.
the dog was soo cute, but trust me, the cat was cuter! u dont see the dog walking all over ur lap and then snuggling up with you. infact, the dog looked like it wanted to sniff ur crotch. lol. he probably thinks that u were one of them. =D the place was awesome and i had a great time! u better rock this coming competition this weekend. especially since u bailed out on going to the northeastern competition this weekend with me. kick ur arse!
remember, bring me some sand! u promised! u'll find it, u will. just look! =) ttyl.
Make sure you update this with your next climbing trek, its so exciting to hear you describe it and seeing the photos of these great rock formations..Definitely not like New York...and its time to get you a crashpad when you get back to NY..boulder all the way!
Hi Chris!
This is Linda -- Lily's friend. Wow, it seems like you and Lil had quite the adventure. What's the difference between bouldering and rock climbing? Anyway, I LOVE THE DOG AND CAT! Sooo cuteee! Actually, the landscape really reminds me of the mountains in Brazil. I went to Rio a few summers ago and it's absolutely gorgeous there! And I'm sure you can find some good rocks to climb. :) Cheers.
Well, rock climbing generally involves a rope but not always as there is solo climbing which is crazy. but R.C. *for short* is when u either use bolts or personal mechanical devices to protect u in case of a fall as you ascend. bouldering is when u don't really go that high, maybe 12ft, some are higher but those are scary, and its a different kind of climbing, its more reliant on the strength of the individual and very good technique, often involves jumping at holds from far away, stuff like that. and if you fall u land on a pad on the ground.
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