Telendos South Face (right of the Sleeping Princess cave) · Kalymnos & Telendos · Greece
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
The first route on the wall (Odermatt and Keller, 2008), climbing a long, exposed line on sharp, grippy rock right of the huge roof. The lower pitches are easy for the grade. The two 6a cruxes are a short odd corner over a small roof and a traverse high up, and they come with big exposure. Pitches are short, so you can link them with long draws.
The route
The first route on the south face of Telendos: eleven short pitches up a ridge and then the wall above the Crescendo cave. Most of it is easy, well-featured climbing on very rough, sharp limestone, with the difficulty concentrated in two short 6a passages on pitches 7 and 9. The bolting is as close as a single-pitch crag, so it feels safe, but the top three pitches hang over the cave and are very exposed. You have to top out and walk back round the island, which makes it a full half-day or more. Some parties find it less sustained and less good than its neighbours Wild Country and Eterna.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5a | 20 m | Start of the ridge. Like all of pitches 1 to 6, easy for the grade. |
| P2 | 5b | 30 m | Continues up the ridge. |
| P3 | 5b | 10 m | Very short pitch on the ridge. |
| P4 | 4b | 30 m | Easy ground. The line wanders left and back right around here, which creates rope drag if you link. |
| P5 | 4c | 20 m | Easy ridge climbing. |
| P6 | 5b | 20 m | Leads to the foot of the steeper wall. Hanging belay. |
| P7 | 6a | 30 m | First crux: a short, odd, physical corner of about 3 m pulling over a small roof. More intimidating than technical, but one 2021 party thought the move nearer 6b. It can be pulled through on the bolts. Planetmountain grades this pitch 5c. |
| P8 | 5b | 20 m | More technical wall climbing. Hanging belay. |
| P9 | 6a | 20 m | Second crux, a traverse. Fairly graded, and also possible with a pull on a bolt. Hanging belay. Planetmountain grades this pitch 5c. |
| P10 | 5b | 20 m | Very exposed above the Crescendo cave. The climbing eases but the rock gets sharper. Hanging belay. |
| P11 | 5a | 30 m | Easy finish on superb sharp rock to the plateau. |
Getting there
Base yourself in Masouri or Myrties on Kalymnos. Small ferries cross from Myrties to Telendos about every half hour until around midnight (camptocamp). Mountain Project (2013 note) put the first boat at 07:00. You can also arrange a direct boat drop below the south face: Mountain Project quoted about 10 euros a head in 2013, a 2023 camptocamp party paid 20 euros each. Agree the price and the pick-up with the boatman beforehand.
From Telendos harbour follow the seafront for about 100 m, then before the end of the village take an alley that climbs away from the shore and crosses towards Hochlakas beach. Above the beach take the obvious path on the right, go through a gate (Mountain Project calls it the goat gate) and follow the blue-marked path along the coast. Continue until you are below the Crescendo cave, then leave the path and walk up as for the Crescendo sector. The route starts just right of Crescendo, taking the ridge on the right at the first opportunity (Mountain Project). Planetmountain places it about 250 m right of Wild Country. Allow 45 min to 1 h from the harbour (camptocamp gives 1 h for the neighbouring route; a 2021 party took 45 min; planetmountain's longer walk-in via the Crystal Cave trail is quoted at 1.5 h). From a boat drop below the face it is about 20 min uphill, with marks on the stones (2014 report).
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Point from Mountain Project area 107264272 (Multipitch routes)
Contains the route point. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 37.00697, 26.90213 (crag)
Getting down
Walk off. From the top head north across the plateau, following cairns, to the white chapel of St Constantine (Agios Konstantinos). From the chapel follow the path, marked with small blue dots, down the north side to the coastal path and follow that back round to Telendos village. It is the same descent as Wild Country, for which camptocamp gives 1.5 to 2 h. Planetmountain warns that it can take anything from 1 h to an all-night epic if you lose the line, so do not top out late. The belays have rings and camptocamp says abseiling from them is possible, but no source gives abseil lengths and the lower part wanders, so treat that as a retreat option only.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
Abseiling off is possible but nobody describes doing it. Camptocamp says the belays are two bolts with rings and that abseiling from them is possible, and the pitches are short. The lower ridge wanders, the top pitches include a traverse and hang over the Crescendo cave, and no source gives abseil lengths. Treat it as an emergency option and expect to top out.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-facing and in full sun for most of the day. The neighbouring Wild Country is reported in shade until about 10:30 to 11:00, and thecrag gives 11:00 for the face, so start early. Spring and autumn are the sensible seasons; a September party on the same face found it extremely hot. A late-November ascent was reported in good conditions. Expect other parties.
Sun on the wall · S-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Greek time), for the 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Kalymnos & Telendos are not available yet
What to carry
Single 60 m rope. Planetmountain lists 15 quickdraws and slings. Bring several long draws or slings if you plan to link pitches. Helmet.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Wings for Life.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
A sustained, varied line on sculpted limestone. It starts with an easy slab and builds to slightly overhanging jugs with huge exposure on the top pitch. Mountain Project and camptocamp grade the crux 6a+ (Rockfax says 6a). With a 70 m rope you can link several pairs of pitches.
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Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
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Committing
Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
Thin moves over small bulges, stemming and big jugs on 'cauliflower' limestone. The crux is P6, which ends at a hanging belay. Mountain Project gives the pitches in YDS only (5.8–5.10b), so French pitch grades are not listed; the overall grade is 5.10b (6a+), and some listings give 6b. You can link P3–P4 and P5–P6.
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Read the cautions
Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
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Around 6a · about 11 pitches
Switzerland · Grimsel
Glacier-polished slabs straight above the Räterichsboden dam. Four warm-up pitches lead to sustained 5b–5c slab and a short fissured roof (6a or A0).
6a11 pitches220 m
Read the cautions
Switzerland · Ticino
Slab pitches give way to a vertical wall threaded with quartz veins, which gives the route its name. It is shady in the morning, and the pitches are short (about 35 m), so 11 go quickly.
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Italy · Aosta Valley
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6a10 pitches290 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Val d'Ossola
Twelve long pitches of sunny gneiss slab above Oira, mostly 4c to 5b+ with two 6a pitches: a thin slab at the start and an athletic corner on pitch 10. Pitches are up to 55 m. A winter-sun route with a summit book and plaques at both ends.
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Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.