CLIMBING
asouri, Kalymnos, scooters constantly buzz by, each fi rmly gripped by four brown, strong arms. Welcome to climbertown, where every last tourist has been replaced by a chalky-fi ngered climber; every car by an erratically- driven rented scooter. No one
notices rock climbers here anymore; they’re part of the scenery, like sponge diving or meze. Unless they’re careering down the café-lined strip in a
campervan, bare chested, with another man in the driving seat. With a huge sparkly banner lashed to the bonnet,
proclaiming JUST MARRIED and long, white ribbons fl uttering in the Aegean breeze. And sitting beside the grinning, bare-chested bridegroom? Me. I was here, at the Kalymnos North Face Festival, being bounced around next to an impressively chiselled James Pearson. My mission: to interview James and his new wife, French ex-World Cup competition climber and teacher Caroline Ciavaldini. James fi rst rose to fame with quick repeats of bold gritstone routes and the creation of his own – such as The Groove at Cratcliffe. Then, in 2008, he climbed The Walk of Life, giving it E12 7a – the hardest grade ever given to a UK route. It was quickly repeated by
58 | 70TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR | FOR BRITISH CLIMBING AND WALKING SINCE 1944
R Caroline Ciavaldini cuts loose for a classic Kalymnos shot of Inshallah, a short and intense F8c+.
LIVINGDREAM
THE
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