Giorgos on Himeea 6b+

Giorgos on the desperate crux moves of the Hemeea (Chemistry) slab.

Thanks for looking!

Greetings Giorgos (Happy New Year); Interesting photo, did you photoshop out the ropes, or is he free climbing up this sheer wall with you above (at the top) or on a rope also? The picture almost makes this look like an impossible climb. That and it almost looks like the climber is wearing some form of strap on sandles? So is the climber actually going up the wall the way it looks or is it a trick picture?

Hi Edward.

He is topropping. That means he is climbing with a rope from above which I cloned out as it interfered badly with the action. I intentionally left the loop in the harness of the climber as this is how the photo would look if he would be leading the route (climbing with the rope from below which would not be visible). This is also why I left the belayer (he can barely be seen siting on a yellow mat on the bottom of the climb. Other than that the climber is free climbing the route (which means climbing without assistance of gear/rope - the rope is there only to avert injury in case of a fall). This is a tricky balance route which provides perfect shooting opportiunites exactly because it looks so hard. I was shooting tied on the belay anchors after having climbed the route myself. The sandal looking shoes are climbing-specific shoes that provide better friction and allows stepping on very small ledges.

So to answer your question the climber is going up the wall the way it looks, using only skill and power.

Thanks for your questions and your interest!