Antalya Trip Report

Post date: Nov 29, 2013 11:47:15 AM

For the last few years I have been organising a winter sun climbing trip for myself and some of my friends, this year as I have joined the Swindon Mountaineering Club I volunteered to organise it on behalf of the club. So this October six intrepid climbers set off from Gatwick (Clive, Petrina, Bernard, Tristan, Berny and Brian) to climb the sunny crags of Turkey, basing ourselves just outside the village of Geyikbayiri near the resort of Antalya in one of several climbing campsites.

We arrived in Antalya at about 22:30 and were met by a smiling man and a people carrier, after about an hour’s drive we were deposited at the top of a dirt track where we were met by Ridvan the owner of Ridocamp who announced that we had arrived on a party night. The Petzl Rocktrip was bolting in the area and as Ridvan knew some of them they decided to descend on his camp for a party! Ridvan is an accomplished climber, climbing F8a+, and he, his girlfriend Sarah and all his staff are all climbers and were really helpful giving advice and telling us about the crags.

Ridvan is on the far right.

The accommodation was basic, advertised as a chalet, it was in fact a cross between a summer house and a shed! Each slept three, they were cosy but comfortable and more importantly cheap! The view from the window was stunning!

The “chalets” at Ridocamp and the stunning view from your door.

The food was brilliant, they did us breakfast every day and pack lunches with the biggest sandwiches you have seen for 3 euros! We eat at Ridocamp most nights and again the food was brilliant and there was plenty of it, we never went hungry! We had a great stay, there facilities are basic but perfect for climber on a budget. There was always cold beer and they even managed to get us a bottle of Raki. I would thoroughly recommend that if you ever decide to climb in the area (and you would be mad not to) you stay there.

The team enjoying dinner with a couple of French climbers

The climbing in Geyikbayiri is awesome! There is virtually no polish (it was only discovered 13 years ago), in fact you will spend most of you time there complaining that the rock is too sharp, the friction is unbelievable. The rock is amazing, fantastic shapes, brilliant lines, tufa’s, cracks and anything else you could wish for and the weather was stunning, not a cloud in the sky for 8 days, the temperature in the shade reached 28°C and 37°C in the sun!

Brian enjoying the climbing on another sunny day in Antalya

The first day we decided to take it easy and headed to sector Kebap, a crag with a wide spread of grades so we could get a feel for the grading, unfortunately we managed to get lost, which is a feat in itself as there is only one road, but once we got underway the climbing was stunning and this continued for the whole trip, every day was the same…….fantastic……we didn’t climb a bad route between the whole time we were there. We climbed in different sectors everyday on grades ranging from F4 to F7a+ and every route irrespective of the grade was worth climbing.

It would take far too many words to do the trip justice but highlights included Clive and Bernard both managing to fight their way up Sairlerin Sultani F7a+, the hardest route climbed on the trip and spending on of our days accompanied by Tendon, Ridvan’s dog who decided to follow us to the crag. We also learnt so very interesting food facts, the Turkish don’t like to mix milk based drinks and tuna because it will poison you, JoSiTo’s café don’t like to serve lunch between 12:00 and 13:00 and Petrina can’t eat biscuits without a cup of because they will try and kill her?????? Bernard kept losing at cards, we were playing a game called s**thead, so he taught us a different game called President that he could win, It helped that he kept trying to change the rules or al least it seemed he did ! Brian managed to convince Ridvan to offer him a job and is looking to return in the new year to work at the campsite for a couple of months and become a climbing bum.

Petrina & Bernard with Tendon and Tristan enjoying getting his hands on some puppies!

Brian and Petrina also benefited from services of Pablo a sports physio and climber that has based himself out of Ridocamp, he is a great guy and was always available for a chat and to advice about injuries and climbing. His blog can be found at http://biomecanicafuncionalescalada.blogspot.com/

Brian being worked on by Pablo after an arm injury and Bernard on the slackline.

There is also a movie called “Raki on the Rocks” by a guy called Klass Willems that you can watch on Vimeo all about climbing in Geyikbayiri which really showcases the area and some very good climbers, it also includes some very dubious acting by Ridvan riding a horse! It can be found by clicking the following link: http://vimeo.com/23838315

We also took a rest day and went to the town of Olympos. Ridvan organised a couple of hire cars for us and armed with some directions we set off with Berny and Petrina at the respective wheels. Tristan navigated and we got there without any fuss. We walked through the village, which mainly consists of restaurants and accommodation until you reach the ancient ruins at the end. They are very extensive and are worth a visit in their own right, Olympus has a checkered history and has been occupied by lots of different people over the years. We paid our entry fee and walked through the ruins and reached the beach at the end.

The beach and some of the ruins at Olympos

We then took a well deserved swim and relaxed on the beach. Bernard, Tristan and Berny swam to a small rocky island and climbed it before launching themselves in to the sea! We also managed to do a bit of souvenir hunting before leaving for the day but not before we chalked up a couple of routes, I know it was opposed to be a rest day but…………

Climbing continued at a pace, every day the same, brilliant climbs, fantastic weather and great company. On our last night we headed to the Climbers Garden for one of their famous steaks, a must if you in the area, I have to rate it as one of the best I had ever had. Our flights weren’t until 22:55 on the last day so we managed to get a full days climbing in before we left.

Clive, Tristan and Berny make out they know what they are doing!

We waved a sad farewell and set off back for England. After a delay at the airport and being robbed by the airport café for instant coffee and dubious cake we finally made it back to Gatwick. Berny and Brian drove off to their homes in Kent, Bernard, Tristan and Petrina had a hotel booked and I got my head down at the airport for a couple of hours until my train arrived to take be back home.

It was a very successful trip, the routes were brilliant, the weather was excellent, the people were really friendly and most importantly everyone had a good time. I managed to clock up 53 routes and most of the other climbed similar amounts and we barely scratched the surface, there hundreds of rotes still to be done and they are putting up new routes all the time. I unfortunately won’t be organising a trip next year as my company have sent me to work in South Africa for the next two years, although there is plenty of climbing out here, now how about a club trip to Rocklands……………

Clive