Deep emotion surrounds the revelations about the final words exchanged between the mother of a 31-year-old teacher and her daughter, just hours before the young woman lost her life, crushed by an avalanche in the Vardousia Mountains along with three friends. “I told her ‘Theodora my dear, don’t go to such things because you won’t have a good ending,'” the mother said, describing their last phone conversation. As she explained, her daughter tried to reassure her, without imagining it would be their final dialogue.
Vardousia Mountains: “It was the sport she loved” for the 31-year-old
The 31-year-old, a teacher at a school in Nafplio, was experienced in mountaineering and particularly active. People from her environment report that she knew the dangers well, however she had constantly set new goals. According to her mother, she was even planning an ascent to Everest, despite the family’s intense concerns. The pain for the relatives of the four victims is unspeakable, while questions about the circumstances of the accident remain unanswered.
The group of four friends started on Christmas morning from the village of Athanasios Diakos with destination the Korakas peak. About 200 meters before reaching the summit, they were suddenly swept away by an avalanche and buried under a large volume of snow. Searches by relatives and friends yielded no results. On Friday afternoon, a team from the 7th EMAK, following tracks in the snow, located the four mountaineers at a particularly inaccessible point.
The bodies were transferred from Amfissa hospital to the Athens Forensic Service, where an autopsy is expected to be performed to determine the exact causes of death. The Vardousia tragedy ranks among the most serious mountaineering accidents in the country, with experts pointing out that this particular mountain is extremely dangerous in winter, even for experienced climbers.
