JOURNAL
SEASONAL
SEASONAL
·
10 MAR 2025
·
9 MIN READ
OLYMPUS IN NOVEMBER
Most people climb Olympus in summer. The trail is marked, the refuges are open, the weather is forgiving. We went in November, with two people, no support, and no illusions about comfort.
Most people climb Olympus in summer. The trail is marked, the refuges are open, the weather is — by Greek mountain standards — forgiving. The summit sees hundreds of people on a clear August day. We went in November, with two people, no support, and no illusions about comfort.
November on Olympus is a different mountain. Spilios Agapitos is closed. The trail above 1,600m holds snow from the first week of the month, and above 2,000m it is consolidated enough to require crampons by mid-November. The summit approach — technical enough in summer — is a different proposition when the rock is iced and the wind is coming from the north at sustained 60km/h.
THE APPROACH
We left Litochoro at 06:00 in darkness, knowing the day would not be long enough. In summer, the Enipeas gorge approach is a five-hour walk through dramatic river terrain. In November, it is the same terrain with none of the summer infrastructure — no day-trippers, no trail runners, no guided groups. The gorge was quiet in a way that felt absolute. The river was running high from October rain, and two crossings required boots off and trousers rolled.
The closed refuge at 2,100m felt like the edge of the world. We bivouacked in the lee of its wall and ate cold food in the dark.
THE SUMMIT PUSH
We left the bivouac at 04:30 in conditions that were cold and clear — the worst weather window had passed overnight and the forecast showed a narrow slot of stability before the next system arrived. The approach to Mytikas from Spilios Agapitos takes approximately two and a half hours in summer conditions. In November with full winter gear and iced rock, we allowed four hours.
The final scramble to Mytikas at 2,917m involves about 150m of exposed, boulder-scrambling on a route that is easy to follow in summer and entirely different when covered in verglas. We moved carefully, testing every placement, not rushing despite the cold. The summit at 08:45, in full winter light, with no one else on the mountain.
WHY WINTER
The question we are always asked about off-season ascents is whether the difficulty is worth it — whether the additional effort and risk justify the experience. Our answer is that the question misframes the situation. In winter, Olympus is a different mountain. Not a harder version of the same experience, but a qualitatively distinct encounter. The solitude, the cold, the technical conditions — these are not obstacles to the experience. They are the experience.
We offer a November Olympus experience for people who have completed the standard two-day route and are ready for what comes next. The prerequisite is not technical alpinism. It is: have you been here in summer and come away wanting something more honest? If the answer is yes, we can talk.
