Olympics

From: Skopje, F.Y.R.O.M.

This post is about the three days I spent on and around Mount Olympus.

My first stop in Greece was Litohoro, a small town on the Aegean coast and the main base for climbing Mount Olympus. Olympus is Greece's highest mountain; it's probably best known as the home of the gods of ancient Greek mythology. I've always really wanted to climb it, so I figured I'd dedicate a couple of days to the cause.

I didn't do much when I got to Litohoro -- just stocked up on supplies for the climb (water, delicious green olives and some weird cheese crackers) and then went to my campground for the evening. I had planned on staying at this little place with affordable bungalows, so I could spend a restful night in a good bed before starting the climb.

I had forgotten it was high season for tourism in Greece, so all the bungalows had been rented out weeks before. The campground took pity on me and said I could just sleep on the ground for half price, as long as I didn't bother anyone. So much for my good night's sleep! I did, at least, get to swim for a bit in the Aegean. It was warm, beautiful and there were lots of young people hanging out and working on their tans.

The beach:


The next morning, I set off early for Olympus. There are a couple of routes to the top, most of which involve staying at one of the mountain's seven refuges (basically small lodges where you can sleep, warm up, and eat. I decided to hike to the Giosos Apostolidis refuge, the highest lodge (at 2,720 metres), with the best views over the ridge by the summit. I planned on doing a 7-hour hike from the lowest refuge to the highest one on the first day, then climbing to the summit and back down to the Litohoro on the second.

The first part of the climb was great. The forest and path changed several times on the way up as the altitude changed -- first it was lush woods with lots of deciduous trees, then a cooler, rockier pine forest, and then small trees and shrubs as I got closer to the ridge. I stopped a bunch of times and ate little snacks of crackers, olives, salami and bread.

A shot of the lusher forest:

Some evil-looking forest higher up:


I did have a scary moment, though, when I had no water left. I'm actually surprised that I ran out, since I packed almost 4 litres of water for the first day of the climb -- should have been enough. I also looked at a trail map before I started the climb, and it indicated pretty clearly that there was a water fountain halfway up the mountain, near something called the Anathema. I came across a sign for the Anathema after three hours, but there was no water anywhere to be found -- not good. After about five hours, I was thirsty and completely out of water, so I decided to sit down under a bush and let the weather to cool off. After a little while, I saw a Greek couple coming down from the summit. I explained the situation to them, and they gave me half a liter of water, enough to finish the climb and keep hydrated. I'm very grateful to them.

After I ran into the couple, the climb got a lot steeper, with a switchback trail climbing through a tree-less rockfield. After twenty minutes of that, I saw across a steel cable set into the rock. I hauled myself up and found myself on the Plateau of the Muses at the top of the Olympian ridge. The plateau is spectacular, a huge mile-long table next to the Throne of Zeus, with sheer cliffs all around and stunning views of the Aegean.

My refuge was on the far side of the plateau. I devoured my dinner in about fifteen minutes, drank a heavenly Powerade (ambrosia?) and fell asleep. I woke up early the next morning and headed for Mytikas, the highest peak on Olympus at 2,919 metres. From the refuge I stayed at, the approach is just a short walk along the spectacular Plateau of the Muses, then around the back of the Throne of Zeus (the second highest peak). After that, it really gets fun: a 40-minute scramble along a fairly steep rockface (50-60 degrees vertical) to the summit. The rockface has a lot of holes and steps, as well as suggested-path markings, so it's possible to climb without ropes. But it's a workout.

Here, a shot of the rockface (to the left of the center you can see a climber working his way to the top):


Reaching the peak was incredible. The view from Mytikas is amazing, taking in the smaller Olympian peaks, the forested valley, the Plateau of the Muses, and the Aegean coast in the distance. I also took the mandatory holding-the-flag shot:

I stayed at the summit for twenty minutes, mostly because there were other travelers there who had good cheese, beer and chocolate, and they kept offering me some. When the chocolate was finished, I headed back down, doing the rockface in reverse. It actually took longer to go back down because the rocks are slippery and I was trying to be cautious.

After Mytikas, it was all, well, downhill. The main track down to the coast goes through different types of forest, passes by another refuge, and ends up in a place called Prionia. The 'town' of Prionia consists of a public toilet, a water mountain, two very nice cops and a taverna, which makes an incredible feta-stuffed eggplant.

Prionia is a long way from the coast, so I hitchhiked in the back of a truck to Litohoro beach then caught the train Thessaloniki.

Next up: fun in Thessaloniki