Albanian Alpinists

This past weekend our friend Niko of High Albania organized a group to climb Mali i Gramozit, the fourth-highest peak in Albania (it's about 2500 meters, but the elevation gain is only about 1400 meters because the starting point is in the

Gramozit from Erseke (J. Carver photo)

foothills). Nevertheless, Gramozit is considered a fairly important peak to bag, so Niku invited other members of the Balkan mountaineering community to hike with us. Thus it came to pass that about 20 alpinists from all over Albania rolled into the small town of Erseke on Saturday night. Among those in attendance were representatives from the Berati club, and even a member of the club in Pristina, Kosovo.

It was an interesting group - even more interesting than usual. On the one hand we had people from Tirana who were brand-new to hiking. On the other hand we had guys who'd been fooling around in the mountains for years. As a person who herself has spent a fair amount of time fooling around in the mountains in Alaska, I was interested to compare notes with these guys (and the first thing I noticed is that they were all guys).

I learned that mountaineering clubs in Albania, while small, are quite dedicated. They even have members that they refer to as "coaches" or "trainers" who advise the less experienced ones. I noticed that many of the alpinists had technical clothing and mountaineering equipment such as ice axes and crampons. These are things that few Albanians own, even Albanian hikers.

One thing they didn't have was a map. A few had checked out the route on Google Earth. Although it's possible to get reasonably accurate GPS-downloadable maps of Albania, the guys in these clubs pretty much eschew that technology. As my new friend Blerim explained to me "We go by experience."

Ready for anything (J. Carver photo)

But I think the most interesting contrast for me was not about gear but or maps but about climbing style. All of the alpinists on this outing practiced what I would refer to as "expedition style" mountaineering, where you carry a very big, very heavy pack and trudge slowly and methodically to the summit.

I associate this style of mountaineering with multi-day treks to very high and remote peaks such as those found in the Himalayas. In the Alps and elsewhere in Europe, fast and light is the mantra. If you're fit enough, you can be up and down in a day or two, so why go heavy? Myself, I stand firmly in the fast and light camp, if for no other reason than because the joy drains out of me when I'm carrying a 50 pound pack. But more on that later.

Whiteout

The actual hiking was the usual Balkan muddle. The hotel owner overslept so we had to start our hike at 5:30 am without breakfast or coffee. Up on the mountain it was cold and really windy. Some of the footing was tricky due to wind slab and freeze-thaw. Then, it turned out that no one had actually ever climbed this peak before - or at least not within recent memory - so routefinding was an issue (no maps).

(J. Carver photo)

It was whiteout near the top. Most of the non-climbers turned back, although several hardy civilians from the High Albania group soldiered on to the summit.

Berati Mountain Club + 1 (J. Carver photo)

Back at the hotel after everyone was safely down, my fast-and-light style (and my gender) was a topic of discussion among the alpinists. I don't think they quite knew what to make of me, so I told them I'm from Alaska. That seemed to do the trick.