Mount Olmypus

Climbing Mount Olympus

I was planning to do this over 2 days to summit on Tuesday 5 September,but the weather was looking very bad so I had to change my plans and do it in one day on Sunday 3 September.

I left Athens by car at 02:30 and got to the base camp of Prionia (1100 meters) around 06:00. I found the trail in the dark and started the climb with the help of my iPhone flashlight. I only needed it for around 30 mins as dawn broke. I was wearing a tshirt, shorts and was carrying a wool sweater along with a thin waterproof jacket and normal trail running shoes. I did not have a backpack as I was not planning on spending the night. It was quite hot at this stage and I was sweating a lot. I had 0.5lt of water which was not enough, I would recommend 1 liter for this section. I climbed to the refuge in 1.5 hours at a very fast pace (budget 2.5 hours if you want to do it more reasonably). I reached the hut A (2100 meters) at around 07:30, where I went to have a very nice breakfast with hard boiled eggs, bread, butter, jam and a lovely hot chocolate. The hut keeper said around 2 hours from here to the summit. I then stocked up on 1 liter of water (2 is probably better), and after about 30 mins resumed the climb. The weather was lovely with some clouds, but a perfect temperature. 

From here, it was starting to be more mountain above the tree line and the air was starting to be noticably thinner. It was reasonably steep so I stopped every few mins as my heart rate was at the maximum and I needed to catch my breath, along with some water. My pace was slower here probably due to overdoing it in the first section. The wind was picking up the higher I climbed so I put on all my layers, and felt comfortable not cold. I kept on walking for just under 2 hours to reach the summit of Skala at 2882 meters where I caught my breath for a bit and could see that many people left their gear here or turned around. 

After about 10 mins I decided to continue on to traverse Mythikas and the final summit at 2918 meters. I rendezvoused with some young hikers and we went up together across the traverse. The traverse is really not as bad as it looks on the videos and any competent and fit person should be able to make it so long as the weather is dry and the route is not wet in the summer. The rocks are mostly very stable so just hold on to them with your arms and legs and you will be fine. Be careful with the loose rocks, not just for grip but not to hurt any other climbers. We took it slow one by one and it took about 1 hour to get to the summit, which was really worth it! I timed it about 4hr 50 mins from the base came and 8 hours 20 minutes from central Athens. About 12.5 km up, 12.5 km down. 

The descent was fine, slightly tricky with all the rocks around so make sure you have hard skinned trekking shoes and not just trail shoes with good grip. A nice lunch on the way down at the Hut A and another lunch at Prionia in the restauraunt there. Then went back to Athens where I arrived at around 22:00.  Just wanted to say that this trip is definately doable 1 day round trip from Athens if you are pressed for time so long as you are in reasonable shape. I have never hiked or climbed in my life, I usually go up mountains in ski lifts, my fitness level is ok for 35, nothing insane although I am quite skinny which naturally helps.

Best of luck on your climb, and do not fear Mythikas, just take it slow make sure you look at the weather prudently (I use https://poseidon.hcmr.gr/) and you will be met with a rewarding summit!