4:45 AM my alarm went off. Rolling out of the bunk I clicked on my headlamp, grabbed my disorganised kit and made my way through the dark refuge to the dining room to eat something resembling breakfast and put my gear in order. As I was running through my morning preparations, one by one, my group of intrepid mountaineers shuffled out of the bunk room and started preparing for the day.

We left the refuge on time at 5:00 AM and with the illumination of Sam and my headlamps we started the final leg to the peak. The path and the the wind rose sharply as the trail gained altitude. As we climbed higher the trees began thinning out enabling us to really feel the wind. We pushed through the windy chilly predawn air finally stumbling on a bench. We took a seat and decided to wait for the sun to rise. This was exactly the morale booster we needed. The sight and the heat of the morning sun reinvigorated us as it pushed up over the Mediterranean Sea.

After the brief bench break we continued the climb. Our progress hampered by the ever increasing harshness of the terrain. The higher altitude was beginning to afford us some truly stunning views of the peaks above and around us. We finally reached the summit of Skala, the third highest peak of Olympus,at 8:00 AM. Right on schedule. This left us an hour to ascend Mitikas. Looking around at the exhausted group I asked who was ready. Only Chris volunteered. so we began the ascent of the tallest peak.

Skala Peak

The hike up Mitikas starts with a sharp decent down Skala via a route marked with red and yellow trail markers. kicking lose stones, rocks and every debris size in between we made our way along the challenging route. lucky we were the first ones up Olympus via the route we took so we were not showering rocks on the heads of anybody. As challenging as the trail was we still managed to make it to the top of Olympus in about a half hour. Chris and I sat, enjoying the view, and chatting for a bit. took a few photos and began the trip back down the mountain to Skala. We picked up Rick and Sam, who impressively did not have to resort to cannibalism in our absence, and retreated back down the mountain.

Mitikas

View from Mitikas

Approach to Mitikas

Mount Olympus summit