Climbing to the top of Mount Athos (Mount Athos)

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The ship left us at the dock and we started laden up the steps to the hermitage of Agia Anna. One thousand five hundred; One thousand eight hundred; Two thousand; How much is it after all; What is required for the 300 meters altitude, from where the hermit gazes at the bay of Mount Athos... After all, who has the courage to count them from one point to the next; At least for that day there was no other climb on the schedule. Except that the sleep would take place in the courtyard of the hermitage... In a sleeping bag...

The adventure had begun at six in the morning, that we had to pick up the residence permits from Ouranoupoli. Dark outside even a crowd of people, mainly Balkans, he waited since dawn. So a crowd for Mt, shortly after the fifteenth of August. The previous day did not foresee you for this loss. Of course the shops were full of tourists, the beaches with bathers, but nothing resembled mountaineers or believers. We only saw people of all ages adopting the 'There's nothing like Halkidiki'. With anxiety about the departure time of the ship, we finally managed to get the boarding house and board a second ship, because the main ship was full!!!

After some hours we disembarked at the pier. Like the rookie climbers we were, we experienced the first shock with the stairs. Finally we arrived, even struggling, in the hermitage of Agia Anna. Dozens of people have already made their first stop there. The monks welcomed us with loukumi and tsipouro, while at noon they served us chickpeas, fruit and sweet. And yet, much better than they sound.... The view to the sea was impressive, but we had to find a place to lay down the sleeping bag. The shadows in the courtyard of the skete are limited and the competition for them is great. A few steps down we discovered a kiosk for those who want to visit the cave of Agios Gerasimos, wherever we lay.

Something unpleasant was in store for us in the afternoon. On the top that was visible from the skete, a fire made its appearance. Those who had started the climb, they returned. What a disappointment!!! The monks, after informing the authorities about the fire, they were shut up in the temple of Scete. It was heard that they removed the remains and prayed. Only one splash of water managed to take place that afternoon before darkness fell, which apparently did not put out the fire. We would start in the morning anyway, so the realization of our plan remained questionable.

On the positive side of the day, for our backs, securing a bed in the hostels of the hermitage. On the downside, for our senses, as the temperature was ideal and the lack of artificial lighting 'filled' the celestial body with millions of lights. Sleeping in the yard would be all,the closest thing to free camping while inside was everything,what is closest to an army. Many beds per square meter, with tired men who would wake up at dawn…

Next morning, the news was pleasant. The fire was out, although firefighting planes made drops, possibly to prevent resurgence. We loaded up as much as was necessary and started with the first objective a cross on the top of the hill, which was distinct from the hermitage. Stone and concrete steps as we left Agia Anna, difficult path after. A little soil and more stones planted or free, lurking to shift our step and our ankle. The use of batons, which fortunately we had with us, it turned out to be a wise choice and imperative. On the cross, criminals now, the attitude absolutely necessary, although no longer than a few photographs required.

The promise of a more satisfying stop at eight hundred meters altitude, at the so-called intersection, gave us the courage to continue. The road is a little more passable from there, but easy by no means. At least until the shelter the sun didn't see us because the climbing took place in the green. Which is green, luckily only for a few meters, turned black from last night's fire. It was preceded by a meeting with firefighters who had camped there overnight and were now chainsawing through the burning to get through. For them, everyday life is this, which for us was the big undertaking. With a living wage. What has gone wrong in this world and social contribution is inversely proportional to earnings;

The intersection was a little oasis. A plateau in the green with a spring from which gurgling crystal clear water gushed forth. Signs pointed in various directions, mainly for monasteries and pilgrimages. "we freaked out", we filled our water bottles, we ate dry food, we stretched our aching limbs. We didn't sit for more than twenty minutes and the next big stop was the refuge of Panagia. The scenery of the climb did not change, with vegetation but also a difficult path with a very steep slope. At least there, at fifteen hundred meters, the stop would be long for a reason. A litany would follow - a climb at six in the afternoon to the top of Mount Athos. Then a vigil at the Church of the Transfiguration of Sotiros, which was celebrating (old diary). Vigil, gazing at Halkidiki from the 2033 meters altitude!!!

The crowds we met at the shelter did not impress us, judging by the crowd of climbers climbing with us. There was a strong wind and sunshine. A question mark hovered between us... Where would we sleep at night, there or at the top; The answer was soon given by one of our companions, which would eventually sit in the shelter, enabling us to do the last and hardest climb without stuff. We laid out our sleeping bags in the courtyard of the shelter to get a hard-to-find spot and at six in the afternoon we started for the summit.

In front, monks with icons and doxologies, from behind the faithful... An unprecedented sight, overwhelming. Although the most difficult part of the climb. Not for lack of vegetation, after all, the sun was not intense at that time, but due to inclination and roughness (supposedly) paths. Like a wild goat, slow and steady, we started climbing along with the rest of the crowd. A motley crowd, from children to the elderly, soft and delicate, Greeks and Romanians, Bulgarians and Moldovans. Except for women, of course, and everyone decently dressed. Bermuda shorts and tank tops are prohibited. After some stops to read religious hymns, we managed to reach the coveted peak at dusk.

The view was breathtaking, you could see, although with a little more light, the entire peninsula of Athos but also Sithonia and Kassandra... As if you were seeing a 3D map of enormous dimensions. A lot of people, some had already laid down to sleep, while the little church was preparing for the vigil. After the necessary photos at an altitude of two kilometers, we made our way back to catch the half way down with even minimal light. Faster though, more dangerous not, like any descent, with fatigue reaching unprecedented levels. I only felt that I have a head, the rest of the body parts were strangers to me.

It was well past dark when we reached the shelter. The sleeping conditions there were described as painful. The wind was very strong, the cold had made its appearance, the world a lot, cement is hard by nature. The fatigue was such that we absolutely had to lie down even if we couldn't fall asleep. And how could he take us with such an air and the incessant Romanian dialect echoing in the ears, from the groups left and right. Finally the eyelids closed, but sleep happened with breaks...

The cold and the wind forced one mountaineer after another to seek comfort in the small chapel of the refuge. Wind so strong that it lifted everything in its path, even those lying down, every time they switched sides. They could move several points along with the sleeping bag, after a few hours. Until midnight, few were left outside with me, mainly due to a good sleeping bag. As was next, after a while there wasn't even a free pew inside. Some slept sitting up, the rest on top of each other to fit in... You couldn't even walk, without stepping on anyone. Sleeping outside is the only option now. Clothes, socks, Hood, sleeping bag carefully closed on all sides and everything that could be saved. With the hope, even for half an hour, fatigue to beat the cold. Because before dawn, we had to go down.

So, the next, quadriceps pain from climbing and rib pain from sleeping on cement, followed by pain in the knees from the descent… Quick, with the poles trying to brake our meager weight up the steep incline. The miracle happened, to descend in three and a half hours the fifteen hundred meters altitude, with a short stop at the intersection, in the clearing. And yet... There were people passing us on the narrow path, no baton…

I don't know if it's the energy of the area, but man has faculties which he cannot conceive. And this is finally what remained as an aftertaste of the few days' adventure. With better equipment and a less fast forward version of mountaineering than ours, the venture can become both enjoyable and overwhelming, why not also with spiritual answers...


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6 thoughts on “Climbing to the top of Mount Athos (Mount Athos)”

        1. We thank you! Too bad you can't go there too, but there are a lot of other mountains in our country…

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