Skorda Mousounitsas is the name of the impressive northeastern face of Vardousia which features four large couloirs and culminates at the Korakas ridge; it is also the tallest face in Vardousia, with a height of 1000m, as well as one of the most popular, in part due to the ease of access from Athanasios Diakos.
Skorda Mousounitsas offer almost exclusively winter mixed routes, mainly on the northeast face, which are alpine, of broad difficulty, from 45° up to 80° and M1 up to M2+, and of varied length, between 210m to 1000m. The only option for climbing in dry conditions is the adventurous “Moutsounitsa ridge” (AD+, 400m) which moves on good quality rock, offers exceptional views and can be repeated both in summer and winter conditions.
Access
To climb on Skorda Mousounitsas the most appropriate point of access is the village of Athanasios Diakos to the east, with the approach being made possible by the E4 trail, which we ascend until the clearing by the village water tank, right next to the road leading to the mountain huts. Access to this point is possible by vehicle if conditions permit it. The base of the routes is just a 15min hike from this point.
Climbing history
The impressive face of Skorda Mousounitsas certainly did not go unobserved by mountaineers during the years in which it awaited its first ascent. That happened in 1980, during a time of rapid development for alpinism in Greece with “Korre - Chatzirvasani” (III 4- M2+, 950m) being the first and hardest route. This success opened the proverbial Pandora’s Box for these two climbers who returned the following winter and added two more routes, “Chatzirvasani - Adamakopoulou” (II 2+, 400m) and “Korre - Sotiraki” (II+ 3, 850m).
It took 15 more years until N. Voutyropoulos - P. Kotronaros - M. Zervas completed the last couloir, establishing the tallest route of Skorda Mousounitsas, “Subgully” (II+ 2 M1, 1000m), without the use of any protection.
The completion of the natural lines led to interest for more complex routes and in 2001 the pair D. Bourazanis - A. Karapetakos established the “Mousounitsa ridge” (AD, 400m), which was then repeated that summer by D. Karalis - D. Aivazidis and ensured its place as the only pure rock-climbing route on the face. Finally, in 2008, A. Konstantinidis - Chr. Tzotzos climbed for the first time on the east aspect of Skorda Mousounitsas and completed the route “Fionofafos I” (II 2 M2, 210m).
Warning: The gullies in which the routes run are prone to frequent avalanches if conditions create unstable snow. Therefore, winter climbing should be started very early in the morning and after making sure that the snow is firm and safe.