Elevated Limestone

Source: https://www.olympus-climbing.gr

Mount Olympus, Greece's highest mountain is located in northern Greece comprising the natural boundary between the prefectures of Macedonia and Thessaly. Mount Olympus' highest point is the summit of Mytikas. Rising to an elevation of 2918m, Mytikas is spaced a mere 18km from the adjacent coastline on the eastern side of the mountain. Due to its proximity to the coastline, and the rough relief characterizing the it's western side Mount Olympus has proved a difficult crossing point for numerous aspiring conquerors of the Greek territory since the ancient times.

Unlike Pindos range on the west which is the natural extension of central Europe's alpine Orogeny, Mount Olympus massif comprises an independent massif, geologically connected to the Pilion and Kissavos mountains. Mount Olympus is a circular massif with an average diameter of 25km, while its perimeter is in the order of 80km.

Access to Mount Olympus is provided either by car, by train and by public bus. The town of Litochoro comprises the eastern gate of Mount Olympus and through the Aegean motorway is spaced 90km from the city of Thessaloniki and 420km from Athens, where the biggest airports of Greece are located. Regular train (www.ose.gr) and but (www.ktel.gr) transport link Litochoro and Kokkinopilos (the western gate of Mount Olympus located close to the city of Elassona) to many popular destinations (Athens, Thessaloniki, Meteora, Delphi, etc).

Ascending Mount Olympus
Mountains allured people since ever. Due to their inaccessibility early civilizations placed their Gods on their peaks. People have always lived in the mountains but during those times there were no certain worries to get on their peaks. The mountain environment proved to be a tough game of survival and natural resource exploitation; Mount Olympus was no exception to that general evolution. As the western civilizations begun to industrialize mountaineering was born and the request for adventure was spread on the steep cliffs and sharp ridges of the worlds high mountains. People dwelling on the mountains soon discovered a different type of game that included a strong dose of adventure as well as a number of objective and subjective hazards. Mount Olympus was no exception to that rule either.

The first recorded ascent took place on the 2nd of August 1913 by the local goat hunter Christos Kakkalos together with the Swiss alpinists Frederic Boissonnas and Daniel Baud-Bovy. Since the 1960's mountain tourism evolved gradually on the trails and slopes of Mount Olympus. Ascending Mount Olympus in a single day is a rather bold task requiring big reserves of physical and mental stamina as the elevation gain from the parking lots (Prionia, Gortsia, Krevatia refuge) to the high peaks is in the order of 2000m. For this reason most of the aspiring climbers prefer to break the route in two days or more by spending one night in one of the refuges spread along the mountain.

Climbers aiming for the highest peaks should follow the basic unwritten mountaineering rules, concerning the early start, proper gear and clothing, a thorough comprehensions about each route and the potential hazards involved and of course the forecasted weather.

Refuge Christos Kakalos-Small is beautiful
Mount Olympus is an attraction both for tourists as well as mountaineers from all over the world. It is the most popular destination among the Greek mountains with more than 150,000 visitors entering the National Park only from the east side. The National Park Service has only one checkpoint along the road that leads from Litochoro to Prionia, so the exact number of visitors is not well documented since many people enter the National Park year round and from other sides of the mountain as well.

The increasing popularity of the mountain is evident from the large number of international visitors (about 70% of the total number) resulting in the construction of totally 9 refuges since the 1950's. In additions to those refuges there are also 6 bivouac rooms located along the least popular routes.

All the described refuge locations are easily found on the topographic map provided by Route Maps (https://www.routemaps.gr/en/).

Refuge phone: +30 2352 100 009

Mike Styllas:
E-mail: mstyllas@olympus-climbing.gr
Phone: +30 6937 361689

Alexandros Styllas
E-mail: alex@olympus-climbing.gr
Phone: +30 6937 306019