Climbing the Ridge of Horned Owl – Mount Pateras (Kopsi Boufou)

On June 29, 2020February 17, 2021 By Olympus MountaineeringIn Mountaineering general6 Comments

I have been seeing and passing by Mount Pateras for several years now, but I never had the chance to pay a visit to this mountain. Pateras is a mountain of West Attica, Greece, with an elevation of 1,131 meters. Its highest peak is named Leontari. It is situated between the plain of Eleusis and the plain of Megara, and stretches between the Gulf of Corinth at Aigosthena and the Saronic Gulf near Eleusis.

It is separated from its northern neighbour Cithaeron by the plain of Vilia. The mountain is covered with woods with Aleppo pine and Mediterranean maquis. In the tops of the mountain, that belong to a CORINE biotope, there are firs, of species Abies cephalonica.

Climbing_HornedOwl_Ridge_Kopsi_Boufou_κοψη_Μπουφου_143839_369_b — View of the Horned Owl Ridge – Kopsi Boufou

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Hiking in Artemisio Mountain – Artemisio Arête – Post Covid-19 Lockdown

On May 11, 2020May 11, 2020 By Olympus MountaineeringIn Hiking & Trekking9 Comments

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.

Artemisio_Mountain_Hiking_171010_256 — Pyramid of Artemisio mountain

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Climbing the South-West Ridge of Mount Ortholithi

On March 2, 2020July 6, 2020 By Olympus MountaineeringIn Mountaineering general1 Comment

It was a lovely winter Sunday morning, with plenty of sunshine and a refreshing northern breeze, when we decided to go for an explorative climb on the South-West ridge of mount Ortholithi.

Ortholithi Mountain is situated in the prefecture of Greece, Argolis. One part of the mountain is in Argolis and the North face is in Troizinia. The highest Peak of Ortholithi is 1.105 meters above sea level. From the top of the mountain the view of the sea side is breathtaking and you can easily see the capital of Greece, Athens.

South-West_Ridge_Ortholithi_Mountain_161033_798_b — View of the South-West ridge of mount Ortholithi

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Dry Tooling in Athens – Rizos’ Cave

On February 12, 2020September 3, 2025 By Olympus MountaineeringIn Climbing, Winter Mountaineering9 Comments

Mountaineering is the set of activities that involves ascending mountains.

Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Sport climbing and Bouldering and even Dry Tooling are also considered mountaineering by some.

Unlike most sports, mountaineering lacks widely-applied formal rules, regulations, and governance; mountaineers adhere to a large variety of techniques and philosophies when climbing mountains. One of the various techniques is Dry Tooling too.

DryTooling_Athens_Epos_Fylis_Rizos_Cave_092853_401 — Petzl Quark for Dry Tooling

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Alpine Climb in Gerontovrachos – Parnassos

On February 10, 2020August 31, 2025 By Olympus MountaineeringIn Winter Mountaineering5 Comments

This winter in Greece, is rather dry so far and therefore we did not have many chances to enjoy winter mountaineering activities like the previous years. Nevertheless, last week there was some snowfall and in combination with low temperatures, we decided to go and climb one of the many couloirs in Gerontovrachos – Parnassos.

Located at the center of Greece, Parnassus (Parnassos) is one of the biggest and most beautiful mountains of the country. Its highest part is Liakoura peak at 2.457 m. and Tsarkos (2.415 m.) and Gerontovrahos (2.389 m.) peaks follow.

Alpine_Climb_Parnassos_Gerontovrachos_080759_634 — View from Gerontovrachos peak

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A mixed climbing attempt on Profitis Elias 2.257 | Mount Kyllini (Ziria)

On January 13, 2020September 3, 2025 By Olympus MountaineeringIn Winter Mountaineering3 Comments

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.).

Hiking_Climbing_Kyllini_Ziria_Profitis_Elias_Peak_103200_166 — Mount Kyllini – Megali Ziria as seen from St. Nicholas chappel

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Nordisk Mos Down Slipper Review

On November 25, 2019August 23, 2025 By Olympus MountaineeringIn footwear, Gear Review3 Comments

Winter mountaineering activities, are in the core of my outdoor activities and this means that many times I need to stay overnight on the mountain, either in a tent or in a mountain hut.

One of my favourite rituals after a long day of hiking or climbing a mountain, is to relax my feet. The most basic way, is to remove boots and replace the socks. Though, if you want to wander around the mountain hut, you need to have a second pair of shoes and/or a pair of slippers.

After an extensive research, I came to the conclusion that the Nordisk Mos Down slipper is the one that I wanted to have and use.

NORDISK_MOS_DOWN_SLIPPERS_153441_383 — **Nordisk Mos Down Slipper**

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Petzl e+Lite Headlamp Review

On November 8, 2019November 5, 2019 By Olympus MountaineeringIn Gear Review3 Comments

Headlamps are essential items for the mountaineering gear list, and a good headlamp is a must for winter mountaineering activities. Even well-planned hikes can end up taking much more time than anticipated (due to bad weather, injuries, blocked trails etc.) and to ensure that you don’t end up being stuck in nature in pitch-black darkness, it is crucial that you bring a headlamp in your backpack. A headlamp also gives you possibility for planning a trip in the dark, taking a run after sunset or simply getting an early before-sunrise start of your hiking trip.

In the market there are many different options and actually, sometimes is a bit tough to select the best possible headlamp. A mountaineering/hiking headlamp should work for a reasonable amount of time without having the batteries recharged/replaced. In addition, a headlamp for hiking, backpacking or mountaineering should provide good brightness and beam distance. Furthermore, as mountaineering/hiking is not limited to dry weather, a hiking headlamp should be waterproof or at least water-resistant. Water resistance is typically measured by the IEC standard 60529 which includes ratings from IPX1 to IPX8.

Petzl_e+Lite_eadlamp_Review_131342_576 — Petzl e+lite Headlamp carry case

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Traverse of Arête of Chelmos/Aroania Mountain Pt. 01 | Lake Doxa – Karavi – Nisi – Madero

On June 24, 2019September 1, 2025 By Olympus MountaineeringIn Hiking & Trekking, Mountaineering general7 Comments

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.

Lake_Doxa_03 — Lake Doxa and Mount Penteleia (Dourdouvana)

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Mountain Leader Seminar on Mount Parnassos

On March 27, 2019July 6, 2020 By Olympus MountaineeringIn Winter MountaineeringLeave a comment

Few weeks ago, on Panachaiko (Vodias) mountain, there was the kick off weekend for the Mountain Leader Seminar that was organised by Patras Mountaineering Club.

As a mountaineer, besides training on the various fields of choice, it is very important to update regularly the skills and to learn new techniques. This is exactly what I have decided to do for the month of March. I will be following a “Mountain Leader” course that will provide all necessary set of skills in order to be a “Mountain Leader”.

For the last part of the seminar, Mount Parnassos was selected and we spent two fully scheduled days going through many different mountaineering subjects.