Climbing Mount Olympus - Visiting the Gods

After our relatively long stay in Thessaloniki, we had picked out another highlight in Greece: the ascent of the country's highest mountain, Mount Olympus, with its 2918m.

So after saying goodbye to Floh's parents at the airport and with a new battery, we drove from Thessaloniki for almost 1-2 hours to the Olympus massif and spent a night in the car by the beach (there is really almost nothing better, especially if you have a beach shower!)

In Litochoro, the small village on the mountain's edge, we wanted to get some information from the tourist office so that we wouldn't freeze again like in Bulgaria... and we had also read in advance that the hike is not easy. We arrived in the village around 1pm and quickly found the tourist office. The only problem was that it was only open from 9am to 12pm during the off-season. Great. But no big deal, since the various souvenir shops also advertised that they had information about Mount Olympus and sold maps... So we bought a reasonably useful hiking map and informed ourselves thoroughly about the upcoming ascent. The nice souvenir saleswoman even called the mountain hut where we planned to stay overnight and asked if there was still a place for us... The answer was that the hut was actually already full, but we could sleep in the common room. It was best to bring our own sleeping bags and mattress. The souvenir saleswoman said that it was still quite a long way to the hut and that we wouldn't make it there on that day. 30 minutes by car to the parking lot at 1000m and 3 hours ascent to the hut, it gets dark at 7pm... We did the math again and decided that we should be able to make it, as we are fast hikers and could walk the last part with a headlamp if necessary. (But we didn't need to.)

So we drove up to the Prionia parking lot, quickly packed our backpacks with provisions and all the necessary gear, and off we went. The first ascent was steep in some parts and therefore sweaty, but the trail was in good condition and the evening sun in the mountains was simply incredibly beautiful. The trees, which clearly indicated the approaching autumn, gleamed in all colors. So we reached the hut at around 2000m altitude just before it got dark: Refugio A Spilios Agapitos, run by Maria and her German-speaking husband. It was Saturday evening and also the last weekend of the year before the refuges closed, so it was incredibly crowded. Everyone was sitting at dinner (cooking is not allowed - instead, there was spaghetti Bolognese or rice and great Mount Olympus tea for cheap), when we joined them. In the evening, we talked to some people, but we were quite tired and actually wanted to take a shower - but since there was only ICE-COLD mountain water from the tap, I (Anne) preferred to skip it, while Floh bravely took a shower...

Before we could finally go to bed, it took a bit longer, as the dining room had to empty first... Around 10pm, the last ones were sent to bed and we could roll out our air mattresses and sleeping bags right in front of the open fireplace and spend the short night in the common room with 2 girls from Berlin and an Australian girl (Laura). We were woken up by the hut owners at around 5:30am and could admire the sunrise in the mountains.

At around 8am, when the sun was shining, we set off, as we still had a lot of ascent ahead of us. Mount Olympus consists of several peaks and we naturally wanted to reach the highest one: Mytikas, which is also the most challenging to reach. There are two routes up to Mytikas: one via the Plateau of the Muses, which is extremely steep and difficult, and another one, via the Skala summit, which is supposed to be easier (at least according to the souvenir saleswoman or our travel guide about the most beautiful hikes in the world, who describes the final passage as 'an easy climbing passage'...o.O but more on that later.)

So we set off again, this time with lighter backpacks, as we could leave the big backpack at the refuge. The trail was somewhat steeper and more rocky than the previous ascent, but still easily passable until the Skala summit at an altitude of 2866m. We needed just under 2 hours from the refuge to the Skala summit. After that (at the 'easy' climbing passage), things got really adventurous. And we say this as hikers and mountaineers who are quite experienced by now... We had to climb quite a bit, which wasn't necessarily physically difficult, but always very close to the edge, so you definitely had to be sure-footed and would have been best off wearing a helmet, as Mount Olympus consists of a lot of loose rocks, which naturally come crashing down from time to time when as many people are on the mountain as on this weekend. The motto was: Don't make a wrong step and above all: Keep calm. We climbed for another good 2 hours until we reached Mytikas and were incredibly happy when we finally made it to the top. The view was truly breathtaking, as we could see all the way to the sea and even the Chalkidiki Peninsula with its 3 fingers and Mount Athos (the monastic republic without access for women - see our other posts) were recognizable.

We immortalized ourselves in the summit book, took photos and chatted with the other summit climbers and then started our descent again. It was just as adventurous, but at least we knew what to expect here. Along the way, we met Laura (the Australian girl) who still had to do the ascent and hoped to be at the top soon.

When we finally had solid ground under our feet again at the Skala summit, we were incredibly relieved. It was a real challenge. And we are glad that we mastered it.

We walked back quite quickly, as we still wanted to reach the car. We made a short stop at the refuge, grabbed the rest of our luggage, and continued downhill.

But I still have a funny anecdote to tell: On the way back, we met a nice gentleman who first spoke to us in English, but Floh quickly noticed his Saxon accent... And it turned out that he was from Dresden and became interested when we mentioned that we were from near Leipzig... In the end, it turned out that his grandmother (and still his uncle today) lived in Großpösna, where he often spent his holidays. (Just for those who don't know: that's the neighboring village about 3 km from our village) The world is so small, and you climb Mount Olympus to learn something like that :)

Totally exhausted, we finally arrived back at the car. Tired and exhausted, but happy. But I don't need to go up there again. :)