We left the last episode with a realisation that the balmy beach weather we had envisaged for our time in Greece may not be a reality. With that in mind we ducked into a town to grab SIM cards (before the 4 hour long afternoon siesta) and changed our itinerary with a more inland approach. The first inland attraction we found on our way west was a stark contrast to relaxing on the beach in the sunshine, and that is a trek up Mt Olympus. Mt Olympus is not only the famed ‘Mountain of the God’s though also the highest peak in Greece, and Europe in terms of prominence. Up for a challenge we researched different hiking routes and road access and eventually found a little known track which leads the majority of the way up the peak. Sure maybe a little lazy though the weather window was tight and our schedule was short so this fitted perfectly! Making it to the base of the mountain at dusk we found a nice camp in a field where we unpacked all our hiking and winter gear in the shadow of the massif. Awaking to an incredible sunrise lighting up our day’s challenge we set off after a quick breakfast. Making our way through the farm lands we begun our ascent up the bumpy dirt track, from the lush lower greenery to sharp arid terrain, through the clouds, to a small unmanned unpowered refuge at 2500m. Nestled at the foot of a steep narrow valley the refuge and surrounding area provides a perfect protected camp spot. There were several other Greek teams there who had made the summit earlier that day. We got talking to one of the groups who were staying in the refuge for the night, although they had just met, coincidently all their names were Kostas (easy to remember), evidently a common Greek name. After dinner in the field watching the sunset we retreated into the warmth of the open fire in the unlit refuge. The younger ‘Kostas’ had come prepared with a full mixed spread of cheese, biscuits, and of course grappa. We shared stories, sipping the strong Greek liquor in the firelight for hours, before retiring for an early night. One result from talking to ‘the Kostos’ and their experience with Mt Olympus is that the last stretch of the hike to the summit was quite shaley and loose. With this in mind we altered our sunrise plan for a summit at a lower point leaving the more demanding section for when the sun had risen.
We left the Troopy in the dark at 6, the temps were just below zero, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The first stretch of the climb is a relatively straight forward hike up a single width track to the first ridge. We haven’t hiked in a long time so the altitude and thin cold morning air took a a few steps to adjust to. The sun peaked over the clouds on the horizon and lit up the sky in an array of pastels just as we climbed out of the valley - perfect timing. With the sun now rising the temp were too so, ditching a few layers, we continued on. The Mt Olympus massif actually has 52 peaks though the 3 highest are the ones of note differing by no greater than 40ms. Our path takes us past the second highest peak Skolio (2905m) though the ascent is no more difficult that than this current path so we skipped this one and pressed on comfortably reaching Skala at 2882m. The highest peak Mytikas (2917m) is apparently the home of the Greek Gods and evidently they’re quite well protected by a steep incline of loose shaley rock and cliffs on all directions. The traverse from Skala crosses a narrow ridge which drops off the back of the mountain vertically around 1000 feet before climbing a steep narrow loose couloir. When we looked out from Skala to the summit and assessed the route we now realised that we had fallen for an illusion and we were actually climbing a middle peak disguised by the similar coloured rock against the backdrop. The scramble up the couloir is a ‘Class III Rock Scramble’ which, in it’s description, states - “falls could easily be fatal”. Assessing the routes this is no exaggeration so we took our time navigating good footing and handholds. From the middle peak the summit is now clearly in sight, to get there though requires a vertical climb down and around a shelf with the assistance of a fixed rope before another scramble. With one final push we were there, standing on the quite busy 2917m summit.
The decision to leave later, although the much safer/smarter option allowed time for the hikers climbing from the other more popular side to summit and resultantly when we arrived at the peak there were a lot of people.
Taking some time to take in the view (and for Jolie to contain her emotions) we then made the trek back down to the Troopy. All done in time for lunch and celebratory beer.
From here we head to Central Greek and the monasteries of Meateora.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
J&M