You have to come back from the mountain safe and unharmed, with your equipment undamaged. This will stimulate your self-confidence, make you feel satisfied with your effort and renew your mood for new excursions. For this reason, below you will find some tips to be safe, happy and avoid unpleasant surprises.
1 Take seriously every rock, every slope, every mountain, as short as it may be.
2 Your physical condition should be proportional to the mountain and the route you will be doing. A different physical condition is needed for climbing the Alps, a different one for a climb to Pelion Mountain, a different one for a circular route to Seih Sou forest near Thessaloniki. This will be judged by you and accordingly you will choose your routes. If you do not know exactly the terrain, it’s a good idea to ask someone who has gone or search the web for more information. To brighten our beard, our site is providing detailed descriptions of all the routes that we have done.
3 As we always say, first take your friends and then the backpacks. You must be at least two people on each excursion. There are a lot of reasons to do that, but mainly safety reasons.
4 Check the weather on the day of the route. If you are not very experienced, it is advisable to prefer the sunny days.
5 Keep in mind that in the mountains the weather changes very quickly.
6 Climbing in summer is a totally different thing than a winter climbing. In winter, other skills and other equipment are needed. If you are freshmen, it is better to prefer the summer.
7 Make sure you have water in your backpack (about one liter for every three hours), pharmacy, mobile phone, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, flashlight, food, a small towel, walking poles and a lightweight jacket. If you go to an organized refuge, you will find water there, so remove the significant water amount of your backpack, in order to make it lighter.
8 Be frugal with the things in your backpack, because it is you that you will carry the load.
9 Inform your family for your destination and route and if you can the local forestry Dept and local mountaineering clubs , I order to know where to send help, if something happens to you.
10 Since you are going to communicate with the Forestry Dept and the local mountaineering club, ask for water on the route and be prepared accordingly. In great need of water there are some snow piles at the heights. Beware however, “stale” snow causes stomach problems such as gastroenteritis. Boil for 3 minutes or use special water purification pills.
11 Use light and isothermal clothing. You will remember us when you will start to sweat.
12 Use trekking boots and socks with proper fit on the foot. And of course cut your toe nails.
13 Be tide and clean. Do not throw away your trash. Keep them in a bag and place them into a bin at the end of the route. Collect the garbage of another ‘civilized’ person
EQUIPMENT FOR ONE DAY CLIMB
- 30+ liter Backpack
- Walking poles
- Geiters (in winter)
- Flashlight
- Whistle
- Pharmacy
- Mobile phone
- Bags for waterproofing, trash collection
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Cap (in winter) hat (in summer)
- Gloves (in winter)
- Technical Jacket
- Trekking trousers
- Money in nylon bag
- Camera
- Fleece or softcell jacket
- Isothermal T-shirts X2 (one in the backpack)
- Trekking boots and an extra pair of laces
- Mountaineering socks X2 (one in the backpack)
- Food (sandwich – chocolates – nuts)
- Water (one liter for three hours)
- Compass, map, GPS (if available)