Mount Parnassos is the closest ski resort to Athens requiring only a 2 hour drive to reach the resort from the capital. The infrastructure is above average compared with ski resorts in Greece but Mount Parnassos is significantly inferior compared with other European resorts. Skiing has become extremely fashionable in Greece during the past few years. The short ski period (normally from January to mid April) and its proximity to Athens (a city of 5 million) result in attracting large crowds during weekends and bank holidays. Mount Parnassos is overstretched during those days and even the incredibly expensive (bearing in mind the limited number of slopes and the overall quality of the resort) day-pass of 25 Euros is not enough to turn the crowds away. Overall though, Mount Parnassos is a nice surprise for anyone who thinks that holidays in Greece means sun, sea and extreme heat.
I have been skiing for more than 30 years (in Greece and Europe). If you compare Mount Parnassos to the main European skiing resorts you may be disappointed.
Mount Parnassos ski resort has 3 skiing areas:
a. Kelaria: the most popular and'trendy' but fully packed. Make sure that you arrive very early in the morning to park near the bottom lift or else you will not avoid a lot of walking to the lifts from and to the parking lot. You will find everyone here and you can even make some public relations with 'trendy people' that smoke 25 cm Cohiba cigars on the chairlifts.
b. Fterolaka: it is mainly only open at weekends and is a quieter place. It is a favorite of the 'real' ski lovers and not the ski fashion victims).
b. Gerondovrachos: nice, private place but no real infrastructure. There can be a lack of snow here.
The pros:
For me being half Greek/half Danish it's amazing. Denmark is a real cold country in winter with more than 600.000 active skiers and has no skiing center. Greece, on the other hand, is known for sun and sea as a summer resort and has more than 25 skiing centers.
1. The Mount Parnassos ski resort is only a little 2 hour drive from Athens. This means that if you work all night in your office you can leave at 06:00 hrs and actually be on your skis at 08:15 and be back at the office at 19:30 hrs. Great. I will be doing this at least once a week this year.
2. Mount Parnassos is one of the biggest resorts in Greece and has approx 25km of ski pistes with about 14 ski lifts.
3. There is nearly always snow from December to April; the best month is sunny March.
4. The nearby sea gives nice views and is a close drive (only 45 minutes to the sea) but does influences the snow quality. However, with a fresh fall of snow, the powder is enjoyable.
5. Although it’s a must to visit on a week day the really better places in Greece are up north (Falakro, Vasilitsa, Seli and Voras). At least people there are friendly and less snobbish. It is cheaper and less crowded.
6. Fterolaka has the best run; it's called No 6.
7. Many good tavernas exist in the Oropedio Valley.
8. Most of the days you get great sunshine, but always be aware of using sun goggles and the stones in spring.
9. After the 20th of March there is usually enough good snow for another month. As it gets very cold in the night the snow quality remains good until approx 14:00 thus you can get some good skiing even on weekends as the Athenians have headed for their yachts and beaches.
10. A last comment: if you want a really good skiing instructor make sure you get a qualified one. The one with the best patience and correct technique is a guy called Vasilis Baldumis (in a world of amateurs this guy really knows his stuff).
The cons:
1. The place is over crowded (never think on going on weekends, at least not before the 15th of March).
2. It is tremendously expensive for what it offers, price for the 2006-2007 season is said to be 27 euros. This provides no value for money (weekdays = half price).
3. The management (at least for the past 10 years) of the center is totally inadequate and unprofessional. This is a Government Co and as Greek public servants (they can't be fired) they are extremely unprofessional.
4. Most of the staff (despite some great exceptions) are unfriendly, completely disorganized and have no service orientation. Not like the successful 2004 Athens Olympics.
5. The (nearly) closest major village for logging is traffic jammed Arachova which is outrageously expensive and snobbish. However, for those that love bars and clubs a wild nightlife does exist.
6. There is a lot of litter that disturbs the most wonderful nature.
