Page 37 - 2020 AMA Summer

are also some climbing areas on rock which is rather less than excellent, but you just have to take the rough with the smooth, so to speak.
Most of the crags on the island have now been developed as sports venues, but there are also a number of crags which still have trad routes, in the true sense of the word; they are the traditional climbing spots. Cape Greko is the main one, of which more later. There is however little doubt that the sports routes are much better than the trad ones.
There is no climbing guidebook for Cyprus, but you can read all about it on www.cyprusrocks.eu This is actually a pretty good online guide, lacking route descriptions, but with names and grades, and some reasonable photos of the crags and sectors, as well as Google Maps links to get you there. This lack of descriptions is somewhat made up for by the fact that many [but not all] of the routes have the name painted at the bottom. Can’t see that taking off at Stanage, but somehow it seems OK here. A bit like sports climbing itself in fact.... The bolts on the island are supported by the Cyprus Bolt Fund [link on the CyprusRocks website; worth asking why the Joint Services AT Centre doesn’t contribute to this when they use all the crags..... If you care to, please make a contribution if you climb in Cyprus; the British Military doesn’t have a very good reputation on that front.
as far as climbing goes, the island is mostly a big pile of tottering choss
So, let’s get to the nub; where to go? For ease of reference, I have grouped the crags with reference to the Sovereign Base areas and the holiday town of Paphos. You will need a car to get to all of these crags, less for those in Happy Valley in Episkopi; but then you probably won’t want to go to those anyway....
AROUND PAPHOS
Alikou and Gerakopetra. These two crags, known jointly as Droushia [don’t ask me] are excellent outcrops of meta- morphised sandstone [although it looks like carboniferous limestone...] which offer a really good day out. Alikou is a smallish crag with half a dozen useful easy slab routes [F3+ - F4+]; great for a RSF introduction [go here in the morning, for the shade and then to Gerakopetra in the afternoon], and learning to lead. The harder lines all consist of difficult boulder starts [which are now overgrown] and are then much easier above [F3]; it is simple to traverse in to use the top parts as routes in their own right. And it has a great tree under which you can lounge and cast aspersions at the climbing style of your mates.
Gerakopetra is a different beast; with some 35 routes between F4 and F7a+, including a lot around F5a-6a, it is probably
the best crag on the island. In fact it is probably the best single-pitch venue in the Med [takes cover....]. It also has shade, and fantastic views out across to the West coast. The crag has a really friendly feel, and with its plentiful, well-placed bolts is both great fun climbing and a terrific place to teach climbing. Most climbs have hangers at the top. You won’t be alone at weekends. Try FXXXXXXX F5a, Frixos F5b, G.A.P F5c and Kathodigitis F6a, all great three star climbs, the first on the main slabby wall, the latter two with wildly overhanging climbing on bomber holds. To get there, take the rad marked ‘No Entry’ up to the radar station, then the dirt track off the to the right; don’t go frther than the small parking area unless you have a big 4x4. Anyway, its only a five minute walk to the crag.
There are other crags in the area, Koratgoi, Konefti, Vrachos Korakon and Droushia itself, but I honestly wouldn’t bother with them. They are small and uninteresting, the rock is nowhere near as good, and thus they are [not surprisingly] overgrown. There is however some very good but short [and overhanging] trad climbing at Kokkinovraxos, as long as you can climb at least [quite hard] HVS.
Dhiarizos. Another really excellent crag, this time hard limestone and almost as
ARMY MOUNTAINEER / 37