Area: Tymfi, Zagori, Greece
Gamila is the highest peak in the Tymfi range and looks tremendous from Konitsa and other points below the northern cliffs. It dominates the view from the old bridge over the Aoos Gorge, for example. From other angles it is still an impressive wedge-shaped mountain although it is actually a straightforward and very enjoyable outing from the Astraka Hut. After a reasonable night despite the top bunk and snorers, I had the standard hut breakfast with coffee looking out over the lower valley then headed out into a stunning cloudless morning, temperatures already on the rise. The first part of the day was the annoying descent, a repeat of yesterday, as well as the rocky shallow gorge. But at the meadows, a single cairn indicates the turn for Gamila. This leads north-west into a giant valley with the Dolomite-like peak of Ploskos to the left and Gamila straight ahead, just a low whaleback from this angle, barely distinguishable. The weather and ambience was glorious: deep blue skies, not outrageously hot, perfect clarity in all directions. The tiny path takes a cunning line through the karst, using little grassy valleys interspersed with rocky steps until the upper cwm is reached. It then steepens and gets rockier with the walls of Ploskos closing in on the left, and it stays vague throughout although probably less so than many in the range. Above, a col is reached between Gamila and Ploskos with a plummeting gully directly ahead: the edge of the giant escarpment. I took the contouring path below Gamila before leaving it and taking a direct beeline to the summit at the top of the sloping 'wedge'. Half way up, views over the gulf opened out to the famed Drakolimni lake, glistening azure far below (this was the main objective for most of the hut residents). Beautiful wooded hills to the north like Trapesitza came into few (I hoped to do them from Konitsa). At the summit was a Greek couple and the lady identified some of the other peaks for me (wrongly in the case of Stoma!). Ahead was Smolikas, Greece's second highest, and far to the east was - unless I am much mistaken - Mount Olympus itself, which I climbed way back in 1994. The most notable aspect of the view, however, was the stunning vertical escarpment, with the northern cliffs plummeting down to Konitsa and a range of wooded valleys. The strange nature of the geology is really clear from the small summit: vertical drops on one side, steep grassy slopes on the other. Stoma loomed across the escarpment and seemed an essential addition so I took the ridge line down to a rocky col between the two peaks. More spectacular gullies and ridges to the north, and the rise to Stoma was steep but short. From here, I could have continued but as I'd enjoyed the climb so much I just contoured Gamila and descended the same way back to Xerolimni, where I took a very big diversion to take in Drakolinmi, the lake everyone visited (even though I had already looked down on it). I crossed the dry lake then crested a vegetated rise to gain the main path, by far the biggest in the region. It was very hot and airless by now, and I was tiring and running out of water and calories. I gained the lake with its magnificent views up to Gamila which looks unfeasible in all sorts of ways from here, hard to believe I was there an hour or two ago. Then it was back down to the depression and then a final climb back up to the refuge, where I immediately ordered pasta! Around 17k, 1300m in 4.5 hours, mostly to do with the awkward karst landscape again, and the heat later on. After delightful pasta looking back at Gamila from the hut balcony, I spent an ultra relaxing afternoon with Greek coffee and then local veal with potatoes.
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