MOUNT OLYMPUS WOMEN'S CHALLENGE
THE ADVENTURES OF VANESSA MORALES
Originally from the Pyrénées-Orientales region of France, the 33-year-old is always setting herself new challenges and is never content with her past achievements. Our ambassador takes us with her on a new adventure.
SEE BIOGRAPHY
DESTINATION GREECE
Vanessa Morales is always on the lookout for new sensations and new performances, and always has a busy schedule.
Our ambassador took off on 24 May 2021 for what was yet another major challenge: climbing one of Europe's greatest peaks.
The runner decided to take on Mount Olympus in Greece, at a height of 2917m.
A VERY EXCITING CHALLENGE
Despite suffering a nasty injury shortly before the start, Vanessa flew to Greece on positive medical advice. She's not going there to break a record, but to set one. To date, no women's FKT (Fastest Known Time) had been recorded on this climb. So this was her chance to add her name to the record books for a highly technical and demanding summit.
So she set off on 29 May with her partner Aurelien Valentino to establish the FKT: a very exciting challenge! A total of 43km awaited Vanessa on the ascent and descent.
L'AVENTURE
It starts from Litochoro in the morning and heads towards Prionia and the summit. The route includes highly technical paths between rocks, where every step can be dangerous. In addition to this highly technical route, the difficulty is further compounded by the fact that access to water along the route is very limited. Although there are refuges along the route, it's impossible to find anything to hydrate you, so Vanessa has to stay mentally strong and rely on her starting supplies.
On the advice of her coach, the first refreshment point was at Prionia, on the way to the summit. After this point, Vanessa will have no further access to water on the course. So it's vital that she makes the most of the energy she has left to complete this challenge and still perform well.
The second refreshment point, recommended by her coach, was just 7km from the finish, by which time she had covered more than 41km, slightly more than expected, but more importantly the equivalent of a marathon in the heights of Greece, among the gods of Olympus.
In the end, after climbing to the summit in 5hrs 56mins, Vanessa finished the ascent and descent in 9hrs 40mins, covering 48.20km, 5km more than planned compared with the initial route. After a course with 3477 D+ and 3762 D-, the Cairn ambassador scored the first women's FKT here in Greece.
Once again, the 33-year-old trail runner is spreading the values and spirit of the Cairn brand wherever she goes, as here in Greece! She's blazing her own trail, and her journey is all the more inspiring for it.