Seasoned mountaineers plunge to their deaths
Greece’s mountaineering community is mourning three climbers who died at the weekend after plunging from a slope of the snow-covered Mount Helmos near the town of Kalavryta in the Peloponnese.
Seasoned climbers Athanasios Sotiropoulos, Giannis Torrellis and Panagiotis Tekos, aged 50-55, started their hike on Saturday from Kalavryta Ski Center to the Stygos River to climb a frozen waterfall.
They were reported missing late Saturday and search teams found their bodies on Sunday. The forensic examination showed multiple injuries due to a fall from a great height.
“It was a very bad moment,” said mountain guide Nikos Lazanas, who found them, in comments to Kathimerini. He said that particular point was icy with a layer of fresh snow that would have made it easy to slip on.
“It‘s like taking a book with a glossy cover, putting a piece of paper on it and picking it up, it will slip on its own,” he said.
