Macedonia & Albania (M&A “Twofer”) Mt. Korab

Immediately after bidding farewell to Zeus and descending from the home of the gods, we continued north in our trusty little rental car towards Mt. Korab and the Macedonia border.  Korab is one of only two peaks in all of Europe which are the highest points in more than one country (Mont Blanc is the other).  

Only two years ago in 2019 a long disputed argument and source of instability in the region was finally ‘settled’ by renaming the country North Macedonia (changed from the most recent official name approved by UN Security Council Resolution in 1993: the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, but widely referred to simply as Macedonia). We later learned at an amazing seaside dinner in Thessaloniki with Constantinos, the cousin of a good friend in So Cal, that the new name is still disliked by the ethnic people of Northern Greece who claim pride in their heritage as Macedonians and prefer the country to the north be named something else altogether.  Regardless of the name, we wanted to climb the country’s highest peak and were allowed to pass through their border without any requirement of a negative COVID-19 test or vaccination card. 

More than five hours after leaving the trailhead at Mt. Olympus, we arrived at Mavrovo National Park and the quaint mountain guest house of Yasmina.  

Our off-road machine reaches Strezimir, trailhead location.

We were up early again the next morning knowing that our two-wheel drive/low-clearance Nissan Micra would need to endure at least 13 km off-road to get us to Strezimir, the starting point of our Mt. Korab adventure. Thankfully we made it without incident and didn’t need to ditch the car and add any more miles of walking than necessary to what would be another long day.

Although our entire trip was a fairly last minute decision, fortunately I had done enough prior research on Korab to know it is not common to run into many others on the trail. (Mostly just sheep and their protective and aggressive dogs).  So before leaving I was able to find and download a GPS track onto my Gaia topo maps app on my phone. Anticipating zero cell coverage in this remote area my advance preparation turned out to be a real lifesaver.  As the hours of hiking ticked along and elevation gain grew, we encountered much more snow on the slopes than we had expected for this time of year. We didn’t bring crampons or micro spikes so in order to be safe it was critical to avoid slopes with pitches that were too steep. It had also snowed the night before and there were no other people on the trail ahead of us with no telltale  footprints to follow. In addition we had no visibility of our target Mt. Korab which was hidden both by clouds and other peaks, so navigating by GPS was the only reasonable way to go.

The only crowds encountered on the route all day.

After running into one dead end with a steep couloir, we turned around and backtracked looking for another way up.  It was here that we met the only other people we had seen on the mountain so far that day. It was a Polish couple and we chatted a bit and looked around together at possible ways to ascend. I showed them my GPS track and topo and they said something in Polish and continued to study their paper map. Clearly they were not convinced of my technology because they decided to go in the opposite direction to where I was suggesting and pointing we should go. We parted ways and Denise and I quietly wished them luck under our breath.

About an hour or so later after traversing several very reasonably low-angled snow fields, we reached the snow free summit ridge of Mt. Korab! Here we walked along the border of North Macedonia and Albania, taking in the stunning views until we achieved the “twofer” standing at 2,764 meters (~9,068 feet) the highest peak of both countries!

Until the next adventure…

All the Best,

Paul & Denise

P.S. Fortunately as we were descending we spotted the Polish couple so we knew they were safe. It seemed that at some point they gave up on their approach and ended up following our track up, but they probably decided it was getting too late in the day to go all the way to the summit so they were heading down.  Good decision, but a better decision earlier in the day would have been to trust technology ...and the Americanos! :-)

Mt. Olympus: Home of Zeus

Greetings from Greece where we have now climbed the highest mountain in the country - Mt. Olympus - the cradle of Greek Mythology and the home of the gods.  This is the first time we have left our home/country in almost two years so we’re quite grateful for the opportunity. Greece opened for tourism in mid-May and itching for a new international destination to visit, we were welcomed into the country after presenting our CDC vaccination cards. It was a fairly last-minute idea to book flights and go, and so far we couldn’t be happier with our decision. After arriving in Athens we checked into a great hotel with amazing views of the Acropolis right from our room. 

At our very first dinner in Greece I learned that Greek salad tastes even better in Greece. ...especially with a glass of Ouzo!  Early the next morning we pointed our rental car north and four hours later we were awestruck by the monasteries perched atop rock monoliths at Meteora.  One of them was featured in the 1981 James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only. 

It was well worth the detour on our way to Mt. Olympus.

With its imposing vertical spires and no apparent way to reasonably ascend, we figured out why it took so long for the mythological home of Zeus to be confirmed as a myth.  ...nobody could actually climb to the peak of Olympus to find out if Zeus really lived up there! 

We decided to spend the night at a mountain refuge called Spilios Agapitos in order to break up the 6,000 vertical foot climb.  With great views and an incredible location, the hut has been managed for the past 20 years by Maria Zolota and her husband and they serve delicious hot meals and are truly wonderful hosts.  

We were up early and on the trail by 6:00 AM before everybody else in the refuge was awake and before they started serving breakfast...and COFFEE!  We were alone on the trail all morning with exception of several chamois (sort of a horned goat-antelope) and two guys who turned around at Skala Peak. This is the point where most people who hike Olympus head back as it is the beginning of the somewhat sketchy exposed rock scrambling section that begins with demoralizing down climbing. It was here where we spotted the only other group on the mountain ahead of us. It was a guided group of 10 who were roped together and all wearing climbing helmets.  

My prior research on Olympus seemed to indicate a rope was not necessary but seeing that the only other people climbing the mountain were using one, made me wonder if we should have brought our gear. Luckily for us the Greek Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (E.O.O.A.) has carefully painted red and yellow markings along the route so we could easily see the most manageable way up and we felt comfortable without a rope.  Although I’m sure the protection of a rope would definitely provide some mental reassurance with the steep slopes and sheer cliffs we navigated around.

It really wasn’t that bad just a bit intimidating at points to be unfamiliar with the route and not knowing what awaited for us ahead.  It made me appreciate that this was a perfect analogy for life.  And it reminded me of some advice found in Step #2 the “Live Courageously” chapter of this great book called “Steps to the Summit.”  😉 

Wishing all of you our very best!

Opa!

-Paul & Denise