Tag: Mountaineering

Mount Tymfi (Pindos) North Side Thru-Hike Part 2 – Sadi Migas – Karteros Pass – Astraka Refuge

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Hiking & Trekking, Winter Mountaineering26 Comments

Following a rather good night of sleep in the “secret” log cabin, we woke up with a unique and mesmerising morning view. The early morning sun beams were gently hitting the high peaks of Mt. Tymfi and specifically Gamila peak. The contrast of the rock and the clear blue sky was great and there was clearly visible a line, which happens to be one of the most repeated trad-climbing routes of Gamila, Tsekouri.

Although this second day we had to cover quite some distance and to climb up Karteros’ pass, we took it rather easy with our breakfast. We enjoyed our morning coffee and talked about past mountaineering activities and climbing routes. 

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Our morning view from the log cabin
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Mount Tymfi (Pindos) North Side Thru-Hike Part 1 – Konitsa – Moni Stomiou – Sadi Migas

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Hiking & Trekking25 Comments

Few years ago, I have visited the magnificent Mt. Tymfi from the south side and I was amazed by the beautiful landscape, villages and hiking routes had to offer. The past winter, Greece was under strict lockdown and it was rather difficult -and illegal- to visit Mt. Tymfi from another area. Though, nowadays, it is possible again to travel within Greece and therefore we have decided to visit again this magnificent mountain, but this time to reach the high peaks via the north side hiking routes.

Specifically, we decided to start from Konitsa, then hike towards Moni Panagias Stomiou, Sadi Mygas, Karteros Pass,  Loutsa Robozi, Xeroloutsa Tsoumani, Astraka Refuge, Davalista and return back to Konitsa.

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Souzaki Mouzaki V- UIAA 50 m. | Trad Climbing in Kouverta Beach – Ermioni

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Mountaineering general18 Comments
It has been about a month since our last trad climbing adventure and this time we have decided to go to explore one more easy going and hassle free ridge.
 
Our previous climbing adventure, took place to the magnificent Thermisia Lagoon, and this time, again we climbed next to the seaside, though at a beautiful beach near Ermioni, named Kouverta.
 
This ridge was spotted quite some time ago, during our last visit to the region, and this time we decided to go to explore and eventually to climb it. And this is what we have actually done.
 
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View towards Kouverta beach
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Lizard V UIAA 90 m. | Trad Climbing on top of Thermisia Lagoon

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Mountaineering general33 Comments

Due to the fact in Greece there is a national lockdown (covid-19), the opportunities to visit high mountains are very limited and therefore the past 6 months we did not have the chance to go for any winter mountaineering activity. Though, our passion and pleasure for outdoor activities, lead us to explore previous unexplored areas, and this is what we have done this time.

In the Argolis region, there is a magnificent Biotope with the name Thermisia Lagoon. Thermisia lagoon is an important habitat of rare migratory birds. It is a serene and unique lagoon surrounded by a breathtaking landscape.

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Thermisia Lagoon and Gulf of Hydra
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A Trad Climbing Guidebook of Profitis Elias – Asini, Argolis (Greece)

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Climbing, Mountaineering general15 Comments

In the past years we have been climbing in various areas, mountains and crags and therefore we gained experience in the various forms of climbing. With this post, we would like to share with you a free climbing guidebook from the first established routes in Profitis Elias of Asini, which is located nearby Nafplio.

The rock climbing around Argolis region is all on excellent solid grey limestone. The majority of the routes are single pitch sport climbing routes, though there are some trad climbing routes as well. The Argolis area claims to receive over 3,000 hours of sunshine per year and is a popular holiday destination.  It also means that it is possible to rock climb virtually all year round in the Argolis region.

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Download FREE Guidebook
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The Long Run IV+/V- UIAA 900 m.| Climbing the South-East Ridge of Mount Ortholithi

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Mountaineering general26 Comments

The first time I visited mount Ortholithi was in 2015 and I was really fascinated by this mountain. Although, in that first ascent I hiked up to the chapel of Saint Elias, I particularly liked to be on the top of mount Ortholithi. Since then, I have been a couple of more times either hiking or climbing. Last year, February 2020, just before the first lockdown in Greece (covid-19), I had the chance to go and first ascent the South-West ridge via a route that I named as “Monsters of the Wind“.  

A year later, once again, mount Ortholithi “invited” me again, but this time, I climbed to the top via the South-East ridge, via a route that was firstly ascent by Jim Titt and Hans Weninger.

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Black Diamond Zone Climbing Shoes Review

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Gear Review7 Comments

In the last few years, the market has been flooded with many new climbing shoes models, and actually many new brands too. In fact, Black Diamond, in the last year developed new series of climbing shoes and amongst others, also developed the Black Diamond Zone.

The Black Diamond Zone are climbing shoes that combine the strengths of the Momentum, comfortable shoes for beginners, to those of the Shadow, the most aggressive shoes of the entire Black Diamond line.

It is therefore an excellent intermediate shoe, with the upper made with Engineered Knit technology: a highly breathable fabric and coated in the places where it is needed. You will therefore have a perfect shoe for prolonged use in the gym but also excellent for the crag: thanks to this technology, in fact, the shirt is thicker in certain points and less in others. In this way, its shape will be very long lasting.

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Black Diamond Zone Climbing Shoes
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Camp Mach Express Dyneema Quickdraw Review

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Gear Review, Mountaineering Gear Review25 Comments

In the past years, I have been advancing in terms of mountaineering skills and climbing abilities and I have constantly been progressing to climb tougher routes. In order to do so, one needs to be physically and mentally trained, but most of the times needs to be equipped with the most adequate gear in order to have a safe and pleasant outdoor adventure.

One of the most important items for mountaineering activities is the quickdraw, and specifically the alpine quickdraw.

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The Ultimate Guide of Climbing in Ermionida, Argolis – Greece

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Climbing20 Comments

Ermionida  is a municipality in the Argolis regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Kranidi.

Ermioni is a small fishing town of Ermionida (Argolis) at the east of Peloponnese. The traditional taverns, the cafes, the paved streets, the beautiful houses and the crystal clear beaches around this area are some of the reasons this town is an interesting summer destination of Peloponnese. While travelling around this area you will have the chance to admire the olive and the pine trees and plenty of bays with turquoise water but also plenty of climbing crags.

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Tsirio To Proto | Trad Multipitch Climbing on Mount Onia (Oneia) | V 170 m.

On By Olympus MountaineeringIn Mountaineering general9 Comments

It has been quite some time I was driving through the area where Mt. Onia (Oneia) is located and I was always wondering if I could go for some multipitch trad climbing there. I did the research and I figured out there are three established routes on this part of Mt. Onia and last June, just after the Covid-19 lockdown, I decided to visit the area and give it a try. 

Though, in June the weather was way too hot and the sun was right above the north face of Mt. Onia (Mt. Oneia) and therefore we decided to not do the climb. Few months passed since the first try and in the beginning of October we decided to visit again the area and give it a try. We decided to climb “Tsirio to Proto” which is a maximum V UIIA degree of 170 meters of total climb. The 170 meters are divided in five (5) pitches.

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