Climbing up to snowy Astraka refuge - 9th April 2015

We started off at 10.30 am from Papigko village, eleven persons. We began climbing up to Astraka refuge making three short stops, ten minutes each, at the three mountain founts. After the second fount, we went more and more snowy soil, which made our steps more difficult. This is something we are not going to forget though, no matter how strenuous it was. After three hours climbing up, six people managed to reach the Astraka refuge where the land beyond flag was raised. Needless to say how much necessary tuned out to be our equipment: hoodings, gloves, sunglasses, battons, backpacks with water, nuts and pasteli. We enjoyed a unique view of snowy mountain top and lake, we took our photos and started climbing down. Despite the sun, it was not possible to stay long around the refuge; it was quite cold. It took us less time to climb down as in most of the instances we did not climb, we slipped down! Excausted we met with the rest of the company, the Landbeyonders, for a nice lunch at Astra restaurant in Papigko.