17 Jul CLASSIC ROUTES – LISTIA
Grade 6c
Route Listia (The robbery)
Crag Davelis Cave, Penteli
-…and why call it Listia?
-Because it robs you of your strength, mate, it drains you. Plus, this is a bandit’s cave after all…
That was pretty much how the ever-witty Kores replied to Agnoglou back in that distant summer of 1985, right after opening the most iconic crack of the ancient Penteli quarry, located right next to the infamous Davelis Cave. It’s hard to find another climber with such spot-on route names—names that lock in time the effort, the fear, the laughter, or the state of mind at the moment of the “first ascent.” They say a route’s name is like an artist’s signature on their canvas, and Kores was (and is) a great artist. I can only imagine the awe and euphoria they must have felt at that moment, staring up at their masterpiece from below: the sleek marble, the perfect crack—one of a kind in Attica—and… the mere 4 fixed pieces of gear they left behind.
Listia was originally opened in two pitches, but nowadays it is climbed as one. The first part contains the crux in the middle and the only 3 permanent bolts. The second part goes over the roof and follows the deep crack all the way to the top.
The anxious first meters, the rock-over to grab the thin crack on the left, the undercling on the triangular nose that follows—better to use your left hand there so you can reach a comfortable crack on your right… and then the lock-off, with your left hand blindly searching for the good jug high up… feels a bit soft for 6c, though. A final layback on a block—which you’d better gear up quickly with a #1 Cam—to reach the belay (2 hangers).
Then comes the crack… you match on the arête, approach with a high step on your right foot, and protect the entry with a large nut (a #10 or, even better, hexes).
Remember: keep your body to the left and your feet inside the crack! It protects well and thickly with medium-to-large nuts and cams if you can pump it out.
After 5 meters, however, a perfect thread (usually with a permanent sling) awaits you, followed by the little cave for a rest. In the “bathtub” above, you will place the most perfect #10 nut of your life, so to speak… and then, right hand first in the pocket, left hand on a sloping block and a gaston in a small crack for the left, a medium nut in a right block, and further up, the anchors!
Without a doubt, this route is the most unique 6c you can find around here. With its hybrid style—half sport, half trad—it challenges even the less skilled, even if the first bolt feels a bit high up. A status that “Commando” tried to change some years ago by repeatedly adding a bolt in the first meters (exactly where it takes a good medium nut) in his maniacal struggle to “conquer” the crack and plant the national flag at the top.
His efforts failed and his traces vanished—which is luckily the case, because what can a top-rope commando tell us when Nikolakis “the barefoot” had soloed this route, casually, without shoes and without a rope..
This was perhaps the most bizarre free solo that has ever taken place on our crags: a barefoot, on-sight free solo by Nikolakis, a raw, natural talent who passed by (somewhere in the mid-90s) and got lost in some rather complex paths of the mind.
It is worth mentioning, however, that the first to solo it (ropeless), indeed twice, was Antonis Skevofylakas. This route, and the entire crag for that matter, has over the years been linked to bizarre stories, some of which did not end so well.
Because in the end, this is “Listia”. A piece of living history of Greek climbing, written on Pentelic marble. A line that was never “ironed out,” that withstood the sacrileges, and that continues to demand respect, grit, and a clear mind.
If you ever find yourself in Penteli and look at it from below, don’t just think about the meters or the grade. Think of Kores’ laughter, Skevofylakas’ courage, Nikolakis’ freedom.
Grab your nuts and go. Listia is waiting for you there, unrepentant and beautiful, to steal your breath away—in the most captivating way.
George Voutiropoulos