Kopsi Profitis Ilias
Agia Triada – Papa Aloni – Mesonisi – Kopsi Profitis Ilias – Profitis Ilias Peak
| Distance: 17,6 km | Elevation: +2290/-30 m | Difficulty: 10/10
A very difficult route. Extremely steep in many places (even in the woods). The second part is regular rock climbing. Especially in the beginning requiring the use of climbing equipment. Due to the huge amount of loose stones – the helmet is an absolute must.
The most famous of the Olympus Kopsi (ridges) and the least known. It is considered extremely difficult and requires two days. We managed to go in one day (8h 4 m from Ag, Triada to Profitis Ilias Peak and exactly 13 h all the way, up with KPI and down with Kopsi Barbala). The route starts at the site of Agia Triada, up to an altitude of 2000 m above sea level leads through the forest. At first, it is a very clear and marked path (red markings in the begining and yelow triangels in second part). From a height of 1600 m, the path is almost invisible, but there are no navigational difficulties, you just have to follow the edge of the ridge. The climbing section begins at an altitude of 2,000 m. At the beginning, a vertical 15 m wall (difficulty 5 on the climbing scale), later it is much less steep, the use of the rope depends on an individual decision (we went all the way – except the first wall, without using the rope). The greatest difficulty is the loose stones, both those that move from under the feet and those that fall off the rocks when you try to climb them. Great caution is advised. The first photo below shows our route in the climbing part, i.e. from 2000 to 2400 m above sea level. The route length data in the gpx file is unreliable, when dealing with climbing, gpx cannot cope and overstates the distance. The correct one was – as stated in the route description – about 18 km. A road for the most experienced mountaineers.
