We plan to have an excursion to Mt. Olympus on Saturday 3 June. The hike will start very early in the morning and will finish late in the evening. If you are interested in participating, we strongly advise you to book your departure flight for Sunday 4th as we do not guarantee you’ll be able to reach the airport in time.
Olympus mountain is a special place both in terms of its history as well as its geological structure. It is a steep mountain as its foot is only at 100 meters altitude while its top is at 2,918 meters. Due to its small (around 10km only) distance from the sea, there are many magnificent views of the Thermaikos Gulf.
We will start at about 300m altitude (Position 1) and we will hike up to a maximum altitude of 2700 meters (Position 7), known as “Muses Plateau”. The main route we will follow is the “ancient path” which ancient Greeks followed to reach the top of the mountain and the 12 gods. A briefing (10-15 minutes) will take place during the conference week and we will announce it in due time. Please make sure that you have hiking shoes and a backpack with you as well as a jacket (expect temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius if you plan to reach high altitude).
In short, we will divide the group into three groups depending on the expertise; Group A (novice) which will reach Positions 3 or 4 (Koromilia Reguge), Group B (intermediate) which will reach Position 5 (Petrostrouga Refuge) and Group C (expert), which will reach Position 7 (Muses Plateau). Please consider that participating in Group C is very demanding and refers only to those who are well experienced with mountaineering and endurance sports (e.g. long distance running).
If you are planning to participate in this excursion, please fill out this form (no payment required for now). Further information will be provided at the end of April. If you plan to join Group C, you better start training!