FROM OLYMPUS TO EVEREST

Climbing the summit of Mount Everest had been a long-time dream for Greek mountaineers. It was a long way to go from Greek everyday life to the 8,850-meter high mountain top, and it was filled with many obstacles. Yet neither the lack of experience, nor the high altitude and the extreme weather conditions, nor the lack of financial or any other kind of support, nor the disputes among the climbers, not even death itself could stop the dream from coming true. In the spring of 2004, two teams were ready to try for the fifth time to scale the mountain. One chose the South route from Nepal and the other the North route from Tibet. Under the guidance of Greek-American climber and seven-time Everest summiter Pete Athans, the two teams aimed to meet on the summit.