“The Voyage of the Argonauts”. the name of a legendary adventure at the edge of the known world, which has become one of the most famous stories in Greek mythology. Jason, accompanied by other mythical heroes aboard the ship Argo, faces every kind of danger and unforeseen event to conquer the Golden Fleece and bring it back home. Calling our climbing trip with this name might therefore seem a bit exaggerated, in reality we were just inspired by the name of one of the routes we climbed during our trip to Greece: “Taxidi ton Argonafton”, The Voyage of the Argonauts, precisely. But let’s start from the beginning…
Sory by: Giacomo Veduti
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Unlike the Argonauts, we didn’t have something to conquer, a goal to reach. Our only intention was to climb as much as possible in these places that we were lucky enough to visit for the first time. Our “expeditions” are always about the essential and getting by with little. Living in the open air from morning to night, and even the nights, since we had decided to spend them in a tent. And then climbing a lot, mainly multi-pitch routes, but also visiting some famous cliffs.
For this adventure in Greece there are five of us, and once we arrive in Athens we rent two cars, filling the trunks with backpacks. Ropes, helmets, harnesses and equipment take up most of the available space, plus we brought tents, inflatable mattresses and sleeping bags.
Our first stop is Leonidio, a small town on the coast of the Peloponnese. This town overlooks the sea, but behind it rises a stunning wall of red limestone, Mount Parnon. The rock lights up when the sun’s rays hit it sideways at dawn and dusk, and the red stands out even more against the blue of the sky and the white of the walls of the houses. White and blue are also the colors of the enormous Greek flag that flies at the top of the wall.
A clear line, approximately in the center of the wall, near a sort of pillar, invites the gaze of every climber. And in fact we discover that right there goes the route “Pillar of Fire”, where in the morning a clear line separates the dark wall, still in shadow, from the one illuminated by the sun.
The town of Leonidio is very hospitable and from here we start climbing after a typical “mountain tea” and a walk in the local market. In addition to “Pillar of Fire” we climb two other multi-pitches: “Mignonette” and “KAPI reborn”. One day instead we dedicate to the cliffs called “Twin Caves” and “Mars”.
We had already read something about the “Mars” sector and its fantastic rock formations before leaving, what we didn’t expect was to find ourselves here in the most suitable weather conditions to climb them.
On April 24, in fact, the skies of Greece turned orange due to the dust carried by a sandstorm in North Africa. The camera sensors went crazy and even for our eyes everything appears different. The fire lit by a farmer in the field below seems to have completely white flames. That same evening, on the news broadcast on a small TV in the tavern where we are having dinner, they broadcast images of Athens wrapped in an orange light. “Athens like Mars” says the news. Mars, indeed!
Second stop: Varasova. A 917-meter mountain overlooking the sea, overlooking the Gulf of Patras. It is here that we climbed “The Voyage of the Argonauts”. Since there are five of us, we proceed slowly: a roped party of two and a roped party of three. So we decide to leave before dawn. With the light of our headlamps, we prepare a substantial breakfast and then we set off towards the wall. We climb the first 8 very beautiful pitches that lead to a large ledge. From here we continue on foot, climbing the rocks along an enormous gully, to reach the second stretch of actual climbing. As we climb, we almost feel like we are crossing different worlds, also thanks to the temperatures and weather conditions that change significantly.
We literally started from the beach, with the waves of the sea a few meters from the tents. But when we reach the top we are in a mountain environment, where the wind blows strong and clouds often envelop the top of Mount Varasova. The view is stunning and spans 360 degrees. In front of us opens the Gulf of Patras and even further away, on the horizon, extends the Peloponnese. We still have to face the return, which we have decided to do on foot, we will have to cover all 900 meters of altitude also downhill. The plain below, so flat and lapped by the sea, almost seems like an optical illusion in contrast with the height of the walls we have climbed.
The last stop on our journey remains to be discovered, to which we have dedicated more time than the others because from what we have read it is a special place. But only when we arrive there, in front of the imposing towers of Meteora, do we truly understand how spectacular it is. The charm of the monasteries perched on the highest peaks, or nestled in the cavities of the rock, combines with the still uncontaminated and wild aspect of the surrounding nature. The paths, often little used, wind through the woods at the foot of the towers, sometimes hundreds of meters high. In Greek mythology and literature there are no references to Meteora, but it would have been the perfect setting for legends such as that of the Argonauts. The name derives from the Greek μετά (met.) “in the middle of” and ἀείρω (ae.rō) “air“, and therefore means “suspended in the air“.
The rock formations are very particular, composed of sandstone and conglomerate, and for this reason climbing here is a unique experience. A myriad of rocks and pebbles of various sizes are embedded in the walls and constitute practically the only available holds.
For our first climb we choose a well-bolted route, because we know that another characteristic of climbing in Meteora is the great distance between the bolts. We climb the tower known as “The Grail”, where we make friends and learn some “tricks of the trade” from a very nice local guide. After a breathtaking abseil we can’t wait to climb another tower. In the following days we climb “The Bell”, “Doupiani”, “Devil’s Tower”, “Dimitrios Rock” and “Holy Ghost”. On the latter we climb the route “Pillar of Dreams”, the pillar of dreams, about 260 meters. Finally we can’t miss a climb on “Adrachti”, more commonly known as “Spindel”, a thin spire of about 45 meters. It will be our last climb in Greece.
The five of us are at the top of this slender structure, where we leave our signature in the summit book. A strong wind begins to blow, the lights of the town of Kalambaka at the bottom of the valley begin to light up, while the sun, having sunk behind the horizon, paints the sky an intense orange. We set up the double rope descent and one by one we descend into the void, which is getting darker and darker. The ropes flutter almost horizontally, pushed by the raging wind. When it is my turn to descend, the sky is now that dark blue that heralds the night, even if the profiles of the surrounding towers can still be distinguished. Having reached almost halfway up the ropes, I stop for a moment to fully savor that moment: I am literally “suspended in the air”, in Meteora.
