The wood stove in the living room is bubbling. A wild but sweet heat pours around it, bringing back memories of childhood winters. Kostas gets up from his couch, takes a big stick and crams it into the stove with the others.

-This will take a few hours. The night will be cold tonight.

Everyone wraps themselves in their blankets. The lights go out, the last sleepy goodnight sounds. Then the silence falls in the living room. The only sound comes from the stove, a booming sound, already loud from the last log, like a distant, slow thunderclap.

We are in Laista, in the little house of uncle Kostas. Built by his own hands stone by stone, on the village’s high ground, it overlooks the snow-covered slopes and the bastions of Tymfi, the cut of the terrible Gamilas.

It’s been a long time since I was motivated by Kyriakos. I should finally find a Friday, give up all other work and head up to Laista, in the northeastern outskirts of Zagori. And to live there with his friends, his uncle – Kostas and his son Manthos, some nice, authentic moments. And to hike on the surrounding ridges and peaks. Together with the eternal teenager, uncle – Kostas, who is already walking in his 90 years this year. And without being a Laistino by origin, he has become the living legend of the village (1). So tonight I am in Laista, after many postponements.

ON THE WAY TO KLEFTIS

Deep in the morning, almost at night, Kostas has woken up. His care is not to put out the fire, not to wake his friends in the cold. The morning dawns sunny but frosty. In mid-November, at an altitude of about 1,100 meters, the cold is no joke. After their morning exercise, father and son prepare breakfast for us. Local honey, mountain tea, cheese and eggs from the village, excellent Greek coffee.

–I have rarely had such coffee, I say to Mantos.

–It’s no coincidence, he replies, I spent some time at Dad’s café.

Kyriakos opens the detailed maps, shows me Smolika and to the west of it “Kleftis“, a peak at 1,846 meters.

–There is our present destination.

-But I don’t see any path on the map.

Yes, because the climb of the Kleftis does not belong to the famous mountaineering routes. But that’s where we’ll find the trail.

We wear appropriate clothes and shoes, we take a little bit of mountain food. At the last minute Andreas, a Laistine original, comes in.

-Where are you guys going with the backpacks and the glue?

-For Kleftis.

-Ah, I know those dens from long ago. Can I join the company?

So, just like that, after the 90-year-old teenage Kostas, another young 80-year-old is added to the company.

–I can never remember in my mountaineering experiences a similar group composition, I say to Kyriakos.

–I don’t know Kleftis, he replies, but I know these two well. They’re solid as a rock.

We ascend to Palioselli, to the villages of Lakka Aoos. Everywhere asphalt now, where are, 12 years ago, the dirt adventures! (EL. PANORAMA, issue 7, 1997).

We cross Elefthero in the direction of Konitsa and 6 km. after (45 in total from Laista) we meet a dirt road with a fallen bar on the right, which climbs uphill towards the mountain. Blackthorn, maple and poplar trees, Smolika with a snow-white peak, forest road generally good but with large sections of muddy road due to recent rains. On the sides of the road lonely figures occasionally emerge. They carry shotguns, wear boots and camouflage uniforms. No, they are not reliving the Civil War years, which 60 years ago left an indelible mark on Smolikas and Gramos. It’s a typical autumn Sunday and the lone armored figures are hunters, who have set up camp on the wild hogs of the mountain. On a plateau, 9.2 km from the tarmac, we stop. The car is pushed aside, and it’s the turn of the feet.

THE ASCENT TO KLEFTIS

We start climbing from 1,350 meters up a forest road very difficult for cars because of the rains. We are accompanied by a booming stream that sometimes branches off the road. Next to it are willows with yellowish leaves and some occasional red maples very spectacular. Ubiquitous are the black walnut trees, with impressively tall trunks. At 1,400 metres, the first beech trees begin to appear, while 100 metres higher up, the first robinia appears next to a black beech. In between, fir trees begin to appear. It is true happiness to see the top trees of the Greek mountains passing successively through our eyes.

Half an hour after our departure we reach a nice clearing, at 1,530 meters. The area is ideal for camping. But it also has a peculiarity that is rarely encountered. In the wider area, the most important tree species of the high altitudes coexist harmoniously: the beech, the fir, the black beech and the robola. The amazing thing is, most of them are huge in size, impossible to tell which one is the most impressive.

The western horizon suddenly clears, the snowy Nemerchika appears in the distance. A little later we reach a new clearing, at about 1,600 metres. It is large, grassy and flat. So much rain has fallen that the earth has not been able to absorb it, and ponds have formed between the grasses. Beautiful place, very idyllic, we don’t mind wading through the water. From gained speed we cross the plateau along the longitudinal axis and enter a pure beech forest. There we start to wonder, looking for a sign, a path. After 15 minutes of efforts it proves to be in vain. We return to the beginning of the trail and begin to examine the terrain with patience. We finally spot, obliquely to the right, and heading NW 325o, some characteristic stone walls. We follow them and 100m later we come across a fairly distinct path, entering a blackthorn forest. A gentle, winding climb takes us 20 minutes to 1,700 metres, up a neck of pine and young beech trees. This is where our feet first sink into the snow.

We make a short stop, some of us are sweating, but not Andreas and Kostas. I watch them as they walk uphill side by side, side by side, with a slow but steady pace. They reach us in two or three minutes, silent, serious, they too take a few breaths, lean on their gluts.

With direction D we start the last attempt to “occupy” the Kleftis. The route is unrealistic, the path is snowy and indistinguishable. It does not seem to be busy and so is blocked in many places by low pine branches and bushes. There are the first remnants of the Greek Civil War, the trenches, the battle positions, the barbed wire and iron beams, the potholes from the shells. The snow tries in vain to hide the traces of three years of absurdity. We are restless and we think.

At 2 p.m., 1 hour and 30 minutes after our departure, we arrive at the 1,846 meters of the peak of Kleftis, at the concrete pillar of the G.Y.S. All the slopes around the peak are littered with trenches and ditches, which, a few meters below, are hidden by young trees, fir, pine and beech trees, which grew much later than the war years. As bare and smooth as it is, the top looks very innocent, very vulnerable to an attacking army. However, 60 years ago, the reality was quite different. It is vividly described in his two-volume work (2) by Giorgos Margaritis, a professor of history at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Crete.

“The clashes around the Kleftis lasted about 40 days and were conducted according to the known recipes. Attacks and operations by the government army during the day, with heavy use of air and artillery, and counterattacks and operations by the republican army at night.”

The price of taking the Kleftis was a heavy one. Total enemy casualties from 28 June to 2 August 1948 amounted to 202 killed and 533 wounded.

“The Kleftis finally fell into the hands of the National Army forces on August 2, 1948. Its fall meant the loss of the Smolika mountain range to the Republican Army and the closure of the communication route of Zagoria, the only point of contact with southern Greece… The attack on the central Gramos could now begin”.

This towering, impressive mountain range dominates the north-northwest horizon with its successive white peaks. A little lower, the houses of Aetomilitsa, the most mountainous Greek village, along with Samarina, can be seen like white dots. I let my gaze wander to the near and distant horizon around Kleftis, to the countless peaks of the Greek north. With Kyriakos beside me, naming them one by one in turn, I feel as if I know them all by heart.

–We are very lucky, says Kostas, in the middle of November up here without cold, wind or rain.

From the moment of our ascent, our two elderly friends remain standing next to the concrete pillar of the summit. With their arms raised, they gaze at the horizon, occasionally say a word or two, and pose unblinkingly to the demands of the photographers. I observe them with emotion, with immense admiration. I would love to be their age and be like that.

THANKS

I owe many thanks to my dear friend and collaborator Kyriakos Papageorgiou, whose constant motivation was the reason for my trip to Laista and the ascent of Kleftis.

Special thanks to Kostas and Manthos for their unforgettable hospitality and the wonderful hours we spent together.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Distance to Laista:

• From Ioannina: 85 km
• From Konitsa: 58 km
• From Bridge of Aoos: 26 km
• From Vovousa: 28 km

Summarized Data of the Ascent

• From the village of ELEFTHERO, at 6 km. towards KONITSA, go up the dirt road to the right towards the mountain. At 9.2 km. from asphalt we find the starting point at an altitude of 1350 meters. (Unfortunately, the total length of this route is not recorded on the map).
• Starting altitude: 1.350 m.
• Finishing altitude: 1.846 m.
• Altitude difference: 496 m.
• Duration: ~1.30′
• Slope: Moderate to steep
• Trail: Easy in places and quite demanding in others. Sometimes not that visible (markings unclear at certain strategic points)
• Sights along the path: Stunning trees of black walnut, fir, rhododendron and beech, wonderful clearings ideal for camping, amazing perimeter view from the top of Kleftis.
• Note: It is advisable to have with you a local guide or an experienced mountaineer.

(1). “Uncle Kostas from Laista”, ELL. 18 et seq.

(2). Giorgos Margaritis, “HISTORY OF THE GREEK MILITARY WAR 1946-1949”, “BIBLIORAMA”, ATHENS 2006 (vol. 2, p. 64 et seq.)