Hardwear Sessions

By Mountain Hardwear Climber, Dawn Glanc

A few days ago we chattered a boat to go water soloing. We headed to the town of Vathi to catch our water taxi. The boat driver spoke no English, so we brought along the guidebook. We could then simply point to the destination that we had in mind. After a short boat ride, we arrived at a small cave with huge hueco pockets and tufas. Pat, Tim, James, Julia and I were all totally psyched. We had the place to ourselves and it seemed too good to be true.

We each took turns climbing, so that the others could heckle from the boat. We would dive in the crystal clear blue water with our shoes on and swim over to the routes. Finding a good hold to pull you out of the water and onto the rock was not a problem. Once on the rock, the movement felt very free, there was no rope or quick draws to deal with. You could climb as the spirit moved you, or until you could not hold on any more.

It was hard at times to convince myself that it was safe to fall. At the top of each route, I found myself on a giant jug, over gripping and fighting my fear of dropping into the water. I would get incredibly nervous and then my fingers would simply fail. I would drop the 15-20 feet into the water screaming loudly all the way until I was submersed in the warm water. After clearing the salt water from my sinuses, I would laugh and smile as I swam back to the boat. The heckling would continue as I climbing into the boat on how the fear of falling had paralyzed me, stopping me from advancing any higher.

When fingers fail there is a 15-20 foot drop into the warm, blue water. | Photo by James Q Martin

Being on the water was beautiful. The sea is crystal clear, allowing us to view the marine life below. It was great to explore and see the island from a new perspective. Now that the day has passed, I find myself longing for that experience again. I now have to be cautious to not let all this island living spoil me for the upcoming ice season. It may be to late.