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Ascent of Óros Taigetos on 2010-05-15

Climber: Robert Murray

Date:

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Peak:

Óros Taigetos

Location:

Greece

Elevation:

2404 m / 7890 ft

Ascent Trip Report

Left from home at 6:30am and arrived at starting point, Maganiari Spring at about 10 am. Access to this point is from the east side of the mountain at the end of the asphalt road above the village of Paleopanaghia ( 20 min south of Sparti) The weather forecast was atypical for Greece at this time of year with a storm front passing through. The past week the temps had been 30 C +. So I encountered rain, high wind and cold temps on the mountain. I was carrying a full pack because I was planning to camp near the summit, as the next day was supposed to clear and I could get better views

There was a well marked and maintained trail to the EOS Refuge at 1550 meters elevation. This section was though a beautiful gorge and pine forest.

The next section took about 3 hours to the top. I was climbing up the leeward side of the mountain. This route is noted for a section called the Plakes, which follows an exposed rock that forms a natural flagstone path. There were still some big patches of snow that I had to navigate around. When crossing a small passage to the west side of the mountain I was hit by the full force of wind. I had to step back and put on another layer of wind protection. Up to this point the cloud ceiling was above the peak, but it dropped down to 1900 meters. This section of trail is not well marked but I could follow it to the top. At the summit there is the Chapel of Profitis Ilias which is missing it roof. I was hopping to put up my tent out of the direct wind behind the chapel, but unable to find a spot big enough. Winds were gale force at the summit. I retrace my route back to a placed called "Ghouves" which is a basin-like depression on the side of the mountain (1850 m elevation). This basin had nice green grass with steep slopes above and below. At around 5 pm the sun started to come out and I set up my tent. While this was the lee side of the mountain the tent still was battered almost the entire night by strong gust of wind. I awoke the next day to a wonderful sunrise. I then packed up and hiked back to the car in brilliant sunshine. The mountain side was blooming with flowers.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

1723 m / 5659 ft

Elevation Loss:

1723 m / 5659 ft

Distance:

15.6 km / 9.7 mi

Quality:

7 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions:

Maintained Trail, Unmaintained Trail

Nights Spent:

1 nights away from roads

Ascent Statistics

Elevation Gain:

1574 m / 5167 ft

Extra Loss:

149 m / 492 ft

Distance:

7.8 km / 4.8 mi

Route:

via Plakes

Trailhead:

979 m / 3215 ft

Descent Statistics

Elevation Loss:

1574 m / 5167 ft

Extra Gain:

149 m / 492 ft

Distance:

7.8 km / 4.8 mi

Trailhead:

979 m / 3215 ft

GPS Data for Ascent/Trip

GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/long
Peaks: climbed and unclimbed by Robert Murray
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Note: GPS Tracks may not be accurate, and may not show the best route. Do not follow this route blindly. Conditions change frequently. Use of a GPS unit in the outdoors, even with a pre-loaded track, is no substitute for experience and good judgment. Peakbagger.com accepts NO resposibility or liability from use of this data.

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