Mavrosouvala

The crag of Mavrosouvala has been one of the most popular destinations for hard climbing around Athens in the recent years. The crag, which was discovered less than a decade ago, has attracted the attention of elite Greek climbers, while climbing celebrities like Chris Sharma and Steve McClure have also paid homage to the place.

Mavrosouvala is a geological marvel sprouting out of nowhere in the least likely of places. The rock quality is excellent and the routes are characteristically steep, with abundant tufas and stalactites. Some routes are up to 35 meters high; and given the fact that the difficulties are also high, the climbing experience can be rather fulfilling. Apart from the existing routes, a lot of route combinations/linkups have been established such that the possibilities for hard climbs have increased significantly.

The history of the crag is relatively recent as it was discovered at the end of 2005. F. Stamoulis and P. Karaberopoulos spread the word about its existence and the route setting started immediately afterwards. In the beginning of 2006, T. Michailidis, G. Aliferis, H. Daniil and A. Skevofilakas open the first route (“Sinergasia” – meaning cooperation) and soon afterwards, K. Roussos joined the effort. The crag was soon to be transformed into the most important hard climbing venue in Athens with the contribution of numerous other climbers including A. Theodoropoulos, A. Asimakopoulos, M. Paraskeva, G. Gerles, V. Kastanias, D. Karalis, A. Thanopoulos, C. Tsoutsias and T. Kefalas.