There have been created 7 mountaineering climbing routes on the small face formed orientating South- Southeast to the refuge (under the wooden fence). To reach the climbing area you have to follow the road from Heraklion towards Moires and turn right at the village of Agia Varvara towards Zaros (in the first picture the arrow shows the field as seen before you reach Zaros). After you reach the village you drive on for about 5 km towards the Vrontisi Monastery. Then you follow the earth road and just before it ends you turn right at a characteristic waterer for goats and go on until you see the refuge. The routes are situated below it (see the characteristic photos). In the previous photo you can see the area as seen from the road long before you reach Zaros.
Climbing routes
No 1. Length: 150m Incomplete climbing traverse of the foot of the ridge equipped with a fixed wire rope passing from the entrance of all climbing routes. The wire rope has been fixed with 10mm detonation bolts in a way that it ensures the greatest safety without preventing the climber from moving. At 4 points of the route of the wire rope there are free securities bolts that show the entrance to the climbing routes No 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7. No 1 is an easy Via Ferata that requires attention due to the ground decay.
No 2. A short 15m long Via Ferata. The No 2 route offers by itself an introduction to side and vertical movement with individual security. It leads to a cypress tree, which is the beginning of the routes No 6 & 7, where there are two stainless wire ropes with a ring.
No 3.Its a pure climbing route, fully equipped with 10mm detonation bolts (see photo above). Leveling difference: 30m Length : 40m. Difficulty : V-/V. The beginning of this route is a small ledge at the foot of a characteristic groove where there is a free security bolt. At the end of the route there is a fixed stainless wire rope for security connected with two bolts giving the possibility to the route to be climbed top rope. No 4& 5.Fully secured climbing routes with 10mm detonation bolts, moving parallel to each other.
No 4.Leveling difference: 25m. Length: 25m. Difficulty: V/V+.
No5 (see photo below).
Leveling difference: 25m. Expansion: 25m. Difficulty: V+/VI. At the beginning of these routes there are free securities bolt. At the end of each route there are two securities installed at the edge of a characteristic positive plate ramp-, so that a rope-group can climb these routes top rope. The rope-group repeating these routes from the bottom must know that after the end (two securities-belay) the person at head must climb for 10m difficulty II to have a belay at a ready stainless wire rope fixed on a tree just after the wooden fence.
