Pillar of fire

Grade	Length	Rating
6b	225.	2★
8 pitches. Gear: 2 x 60m ropes; a full trad rack (nuts, Friends, slings); helmets. Some bolts at the belay stances and on the harder parts of the route. All anchors were re-equipped with two bolts, and it is possible to return by rappel. A historic route on the prominent pillar above Leonidio, this was one of the first routes to be opened on the big face back in 1987. For two days, while the climbers inched their way up the cliff, the locals had dropped everything and gathered to stare at them in astonishment from the main square. They had always believed their cliff was insurmountable, so the making of PILLAR OF FIRE was the talk of the town for a while after that. Almost 30 years later, in 2014, the route was partially re-equipped and cleaned by Aris Theodoropoulos (one of the two original climbers) and Yiannis Torelli. Pitch 1 (6a 40m, no bolts): A slab and easy crack leads to a well-featured wall. Pitch 2 (6a 20m, 1 piton): A nice clean corner. Belay from a comfortable ledge at the center of the pillar. Pitch 3 (6a+ 40m, 6 bolts): One of the most beautiful pitches, where a thin crack leads to a wider corner/crack. Pitch 4 (6b 35m, 4 bolts + 2 pitons): An enjoyable wall with good pockets, then a very thin, bold crack and demanding finish from the left of the big block. Pitch 5 (6a+ 30m, 3 bolts + 1 piton): Traverse 3m right on this ledge and climb the wall and ramp. Lots of vegetation in springtime. Pitch 6 (5a 15m, 2 bolts): An easy corner/ramp. You can go directly to the next anchor, but you won’t be able to communicate with your partner. Pitch 7 (walk 20m): Through the jungle. Pitch 8 (6a 25m, 2 bolts): The wall and big crack. Finish near the flag and logbook. A Theodoropoulos, D Sotirakis 1987 LEFT VARIATION (245m): A partially bolted variation, possibly by a climbing party that wasn’t aware of PILLAR OF FIRE’s existence. The assumption is that they started to climb from the bottom and stopped when they found the old pitons and bolts of PILLAR. Pitch 1 (6a 40m). Pitch 2 (6b 20m, 5 bolts): A vertical wall climb. Pitch 3 (6b 20m, 1 bolt): From the anchor go right and up (or directly up the corner/crack, no bolts). Unknown equippers