The past few years, there has been developed numerous new climbing areas such as: Agios Andreas, Agios Petros, Arcadia/Repodina and Voulomeni/Nestani. The most visited area for climbing activities is Leonidio, but certainly paying a visit to Agios Andreas was a great idea.
This new crag was developed near the village of Agios Andreas in Arcadia region, Peloponnese, Greece.
It has been quite some time since the last post here on Olympus Mountaineering, and the reason was the full blown lockdown that was imposed in Greece due to the Covid-19.
Many people that enjoy the outdoor activities were forced to stay indoors, basically in their homes for almost 2 months. Though, since few days, the severe lockdown measures have been partially lifted and therefore I did not loose the chance to go and enjoy the mountains once again. My first choice was Artemisio mountain, which offers stunning landscapes a nice trail to the peak and also some fun if one goes via the Arête of Artemisio.
Artemisio mountain is on the border between Arcadia and Argolis, in the Municipalities of Argos-Mycenae and Tripolis respectively. It forms part of the mountain range that connects the Argolic Gulf with the Corinthian, and as such, it borders with Lyrkeio mountain on the north and with Ktenias mountain on the south. On its west is the plateau of Mantineia. Its tallest peak which is called Malevos is 1,771 metres in height.
Continue reading “Hiking in Artemisio Mountain – Artemisio Arête – Post Covid-19 Lockdown”
First time I have visited Mount Kyllini (Ziria), it was during the first snow-fall of 2016. It was a very exciting day, and since then I have visited this mountain various other times but I was always reaching the highest point of Mount Kyllini (Megali Ziria), Simio.
During the last winter season, I had spotted a very nice alpine route on a lower peak of Mount Kyllini, Profitis Elias Peak (2.257 m.). As I always like to explore new alpine routes, and due to the fact I did not find any relative info for that part of mount Kyllini, I have decided to set up my gear and to go and explore the climbing possibilities of the North-West face of Profitis Elias Peak (2.257 m.).
Continue reading “A mixed climbing attempt on Profitis Elias 2.257 | Mount Kyllini (Ziria)”
It is again this time of the year that winter is about to kick in and one of the best ways to explore and enjoy the outdoors is to go for a nice day-hike. Greece, is a very mountainous country and there are plenty of peaks of about 2.000 meters of altitude.
Although we have already been in Mount Parnon previous times, we have decided to visit again this beautiful mountain, once again from a different route. We hiked a steep but beautiful trail which starts from Sitena (Sitaina) village, passes Russa Petra and via the South-to-North ridge we reached Megali Tourla (1.935 m.) which is the highest peak of mount Parnon.
It was around 5.30 in the morning when I woke up in this beautiful landscape, right bellow Madero and Gardiki peaks. As soon I opened my eyes I enjoyed the stunning rock that was just above us. It was from there we abseiled the night before. The moon was just above that rocky face and from the east I could see the first sun beams of this new day.
See Part 01 of Traverse of Arête of Chelmos here
It was very silent with a lovely morning breeze and while I was enjoying the views, I was thinking our wonderful moments of the previous day.
The previous couple of months I was extremely busy and therefore, besides some rock climbing I was not able to dedicate enough time to new mountaineering adventures.
Though, in my calendar, I had booked a specific date that the Mountaineering Club of Athens (EOS Athinon) would organise the famous long Traverse Arête of Chelmos (Aroania)
Aroania, also known as Helmos or Chelmos, is a mountain range in Achaea, Peloponnese, Greece. At 2,355 m elevation, Aroania is the third highest mountain of the Peloponnese, after Taygetus and Kyllini, and the highest in Achaea. The largest town near the mountain is Kalavryta. The municipal unit Aroania took its name from the mountain.
Mount Mainalo, with almost 2000 m altitude (Ostrakina Peak) is one of the most mysterious mountains of Greece. It dominates the middle of the Peloponnese and is distinguished for its natural wealth and beauty. On its lush green slopes, since the dawn of the world man became a predator, architect, and musician, learned to live in towns, discovered the charms of art, the assistance of divination and met face to face with God.
Last time we have visited Mount Mainalo (or Menalo) was for a winter mountaineering ascent a couple of years ago. Now, a couple of years later on, it was again time to visit Mainalo, wich was named after the mythical Maenalus.
Taygetus, is a mountain range in the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. The highest mountain of the range is Mount Taygetus, also known as the “Profitis Ilias”, or “Prophet Elias”. The name is one of the oldest recorded in Europe, appearing in the Odyssey. In classical mythology, it was associated with the nymph Taygete. During Byzantine times and up until the 19th century, the mountain was also known as Pentadaktylos.
The Taygetus Massif is about 100 km (62 mi) long, extending from the center of the Peloponnese to Cape Matapan, its southernmost extremity. It contains the tallest mountain in the Peloponnese, the Profitis Ilias summit, reaching 2,407 m (7,887 ft); this is probably the classical Mount Taléton mentioned by Pausanias.The summit is an ultra prominent peak.
Artemisio mountain is on the border between Arcadia and Argolis, in the Municipalities of Argos-Mycenae and Tripolis respectively. It forms part of the mountain range that connects the Argolic Gulf with the Corinthian, and as such, it borders with Lyrkeio mountain on the north and with Ktenia mountain on the south. On its west is the plateau of Mantineia. Its tallest peak is 1,771 metres in height.
According to Pausanias, a sanctuary dedicated to goddess Artemis, patron of hunters and wild nature, used to sit on its peak. The Roman traveller mentions the sacred grove of Itamoi, a European Yew that is very toxic, and according to mythology, the goddess used it to poison her arrows; unfortunately, the grove has not survived. Today, very few fir trees survive. The river Inachos has its spring on the mountain, its mouth in the Argolic gulf, and is one of the few springs that can be used for those who decide to climb the mountain.
End of November the first snowfall of this season (2016-2017) took place in Greece and covered almost all Greek mountains with the beautiful white powder. We did not have a second thought and we organised a single day mountaineering ascent on mount Kyllini (Ziria).
Mount Kyllini or Mount Cyllene (or Ziria), is a mountain on the Peloponnesus peninsula in Greece, famous for its association with the god Hermes. It rises to 2,376 m (7,795 ft) above sea level, making it the second highest point on the peninsula. It is located near the border between the historic regions of Arcadia and Achaea—in the northeast of Arcadia, and entirely within modern Corinthia.
Olympus Mountaineering 