Trekking Hellas with Stefanos Sidiropoulos – Mountain Stories, Mountain Futures
In this episode Jason König and Maria Christodoulou interview Stefanos Sidiropoulos about his work running the Bafi Refuge on Mount Parnitha and the outdoor company Trekking Hellas, and about why it matters to get more young people into the mountains.
Stefanos talks first about the 20th-century history of the Bafi refuge, and about his own experience of taking on the lease of the refuge in 2004, which involved living up on the mountain full time, initially with very few visitors, but then with a huge increase over recent years.
He talks about the wildfires of 2007, and about his experience of working as a fireman.
We discuss Stefanos’ favourite routes on the more than 250 km of recorded trails on Mount Parnitha, and then his work on constructing the first ever mountain trail in Greece for people with disabilities.
In the second half we talk about Stefanos’ experience of running Trekking Hellas, and his vision for bringing more young people from all backgrounds into the mountains of Greece.
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Sound editor: Zofia Guertin
Video editor: Mary Woodcock Kroble