Mt Olympus ski-mountaineering race

Early in the season, and after skiing the small but beautiful Falakro mountain, I was very motivated to take part of the Mt Olympus team race in Greece. But the entire week before the race I was feeling under the weather and low in motivation. The save came in the face of a young man from Sofia, Svetoslav (Svet), who had an abundance of motivation and shared some with me.
We left Sofia on Sat morning for the 6.5 hour drive to the small town of Elassona. By 4 pm we met with the friendly organizes. Distance-wise it is the equivalent of driving from LA to Yosemite .
The race course was supposed to be tough with 3000m of vertical gain and 4 peaks. It turned out to be very tough with over 3200m (10,500 ft) of vertical gain. The most any of us had done in a race.


Mythikos Tavern

We stayed at hotel Olympian for 25 euros (total for two). Dinner was at Mythikos Tavern where food was awesome and we both ate as much as we could and then some, in anticipation of a long and hungry race day. We even managed to get some sleep despite the loud youth partying in and out of the hotel all night.

Race Day

Early in the morning we were transported to a military base at 1800m elevation, one of the western access points of Mt Olympus. The special force mountain training center is usually closed to civilians, but access is possible upon formal request.
By 8 am the sun was up on a cloudless sky. To play it safe I got 1l of water in my bladder and another 500 ml of sports drink in a front-loaded bottle. Due to the rushed preparation I had only two energy gels. I tried to make up with a bunch of candy bars, anticipating that there will be time to slow down and eat. Big mistake...

There were about 50 racers, all looking well equipped and fit. In addition to the standard avalanche safety gear we were required to have harnesses, via ferrata slings, and crampons. We also carried spare sets of skins and gloves.

At 9 am the gun went off. The two Austrian national teams split off early from the pack, followed by Greek team #1. Behind were three strong Greek teams and Svet and I.

Chodza Pk 2589m

The first climb was over 800m and started off steep. An early shift on low gear worked ok for me, but it hit Svet a little harder. He asked me to slow down but kept on steady behind me. A beautiful round summit with views in all directions. The descent was due north and down to a deep valley.

Mt Skolio 2911m

Maintaining position after the transition we headed for the 900m second climb.
The lower section was in a valley shielded from the wind, and it got hot. Svet was not super bomber and we lowered the pace a bit. Two teams, who had roped up and were pulling on each other-- a common practice on long team races, went past us.

The valley opened up and the grade steepened. As we gained the ridge of Mt Skolio the views become grand! On our left was the rocky summit of Myticos (2918m), the highest point of the mountain. I used the opportunity to take few pictures. After a bootpack and a ridge traverse we summited Mt Skolio and transitioned. On the downhill we passed one team.

Mt Agios Antonios 2817m

On the way to the third peak we faced some weather. Near the top it got icy and we strapped on the mandatory crampons. The wind was blowing hard, and at times it was hard to keep straight. One side of my face got numb. I turned in the other with little gain. My fingertips were getting numb too and I begun to worry. Svet was also freezing. Luckily we reached the summit of Agios Antonios before getting hypothermic, and were greeted by race officials wrapped in down parkas and face masks. Quickly we transitioned to downhill mode, stashing each others crampons.

Next was the incredible 1000m descent, most of which was on a foot of powder. Since only a dozen people went down before us, we had the pleasure of carving fresh tracks...The lower section was a half-pipe style riverbed with two steep waterfall sections. Awesome.

Kakavrakas 2619m

At the end of the descent we caught up with the fourth and fifth teams and had a wave of optimism mixed with some urgency, that left me underfed. Svet was energized and run up the steep bootpack, right behind the Greek racers. It was another 800+ m climb that begun with a 300m bootpack and via ferrata sections with fixed ropes.

Low on the slope we watched a racer loose footing. He arrested his fall but lost a ski. While his partner went down to retrieve the ski, we passed them...Svet pulled strong and went past the other team. I followed, but felt fatigued.

My two energy gels were long gone and my attempt to eat a candy bar was a failure. I held a piece in my mouth for about 5 min, unable to chew it. It would have disrupted my breathing to much.

On the second fixed line the pendulum of luck swung the other way. My ski got caught in a tree branch and cut loose from my pack. Hopelessly I watched it slide down the hill. By a slim chance it got arrested in a tree, and a nearby race official got it. By the time I got the ski, the two teams walked by.

Death March

I rushed up the bootpack. By the time I caught up with Svet I was out of it. Back to skinning and moving up somehow, with the painful realization that I cant recover my pace. Memory flashes from long days in the Sierras appeared briefly. This time stopping was not an option. It is why I like these races. They allow you to push way beyond what would be considered safe in the mountains.

The other two teams opened up a gap that looked giant, as if the space had expanded. Svet was moving ahead and shouting words of encouragement. And I was searching deep.

Near the top I heard one of the Greek organizers scream "Come on Itso!" in perfect Bulgarian. Not a hallucination...It turned out he studied in Bulgaria. Hs smile was a shot of energy.

The descent was beautiful and enjoyable, a surge of power. The gift of ski-mountaineering--we were back to 1800m in what seemed less than a minute.

Bush and whack

Refreshed at the transition zone, I rushed pass a team. But the euphoria was over abruptly. Before us stood 100 meters of uphill through rocks and bushes on a south facing aspect. Not a trail, it was reminiscent of an approach to a climbing cliff. What were they thinking? Svet moved ahead, which gave me the motivation to push through. On top we put the skis for a short downhill before crossing the finish on fifth position with time of 4h 52 min.

Possibly the best part of Mt Olympus race was going over 4 summits, with views over the whole range. It was what we would have done if we wanted to tour the mountain ourselves with very little race contrivance.

Very tough race but a grand course covering much of the mountain. Monumental effort from organizers and display of bold vision.  Big thanks to all involved!!!

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