The worst ski resort. Total waste of money and time, but has a huge potential. what a waste.
We arrived at the resort on the 9.2.25 (Sunday). The site opened up at 11:30. Most of the ski lifts did not work. the stuff told us, that the site did not made maintenance this year.
The queue for each lift was horrible, more then half an hour each round. The site closed at 16:00.
On the 10.2(Monday), the site opened up 10:30, and closed at 15:00.
A total disrespect for the skiers, who are waiting at the gates since 9:00...
It is very unfortunate, because the site itself and the access roads, and the villages around are very beautiful, and charming. With a different management it could have been a great ski resort.
34 winters on my back. Been skiing this mountain since i was 5. Overpriced, usually crowded, and always the problematic lift of Sahara. Ok, i am used to all that but this year's case is unique. Like it or not, the season in Greece lasts for 2 months. For decent skiing, that is, and a bit of off-piste. On the 1st of January, with fresh snow and clear skies, the parkings were not open! We left our car 1,6 km away (from the resort) because of the traffic jam, as there was no space to park your vehicle. Yesterday (Sunday), with relatively bad conditions though, the resort was closed as they were "preparing" themselves for the following days. They even posted a ridiculous announcement, explaining how unprecedented the amount of snow was and the conditions were this year.. blah, blah, blah. It's a seasonal (60 days) job, for Christ's sake! If you are not prepared, or fully staffed this is your problem. It's not Mount Everest but a 2200m altitude (peak).
So, since all of us customers are prepared to pay you double than the other resorts, do yourselves a favour (if you respect us customers) and be prepared on time, please.
My 14 year old daughter was injured at this mountain after a collision with a very reckless skier. Unfortunately, there are too many 'animals' around. Avoid this place when you have children with you.
Addressing the resort's management team directly:
It doesn't make any sense...how dare they set the daily cost per adult at 25€! It is very upsetting! In the year 2017, when the vast majority of Greeks are struggling to make ends meet, the rest of the ski resorts in Greece either retained the same prices or decreased them and Parnassos should follow suit! On the other hand they raised the prices by 66%!! Undoubtedly, the most ridiculous decision ever made! I don't know about you, but I prefer Kalavrita with 15€ daily rate! Not to mention that there are a great deal of special offers through the internet that make a daily visit to Kalavrita even cheaper!
You know what? Not bad; I see an improvement. The new lift at Vakkos that opened 2014/15 changes things a lot. The mountain may still be small and easy, but at least you have some skiing 2 hours away from Athens and is a good place to practice your skills.
The resort, as a whole, seems better organized this year with the electronic ski passes, ability to charge them online, not to mention the fact that the parking is better organized.
Another big plus, it seems the billionaire prices in the ski resort cafeteria have become much more reasonable so you can actually have a snack there.
I went in early April and got the 20% off as only about half of the pistes were working. Keep it up!
Mount Parnassos is the oldest ski resort in Greece. It consists of two different areas: Kelaria and Fterolaka, joined together by a fairly slow lift. Recently Kelaria has been upgraded by a new combi lift (8-seat cabin and 6seat chairs) all the way from 1750m (base) to 2250 (top), with a middle station at 1950. Next year is scheduled another major upgrade to Fterolaka. There is also a third phase with the installation of snow cannons.
Now there are 17 lifts in the area, serving mostly blue runs and 5 red runs (2 in Fterolaka, the rest in Kelaria). Unfortunately, until now, there hasn't been enough snow, so all the red runs are yet closed and many of the open tracks are fairly rocky.
For advanced skiers there are only these 5 red runs (that are also fairly short in length), no black runs. The best is No6 (Inioxos) in Fterolaka.
Parnassos resort can be seen as a broader reflection of the position of infrastructure in the Greek landscape. It entails some incredibly charming elements (sun, views, food, villages, archaeological sites, general sensorial feeling) along with various less-compelling ones, such as overcrowding, inflexibility of the staff as regards the prices (in days where the resort is half-closed), old lifts, high prices at the canteens, relatively high ticket-price and so on. It still represents the best option for those dwelling in Athens and there has been some signs of improvement (e.g. ticket discounts in the 2012-2013 season). Keep in mind that, essentially, we are dealing with one piste overall (Iraklis) which can become slightly tedious for those returning throughout the years.
Avoid! Worst center. Bad parking, bad organizing. They can close the center any time without refunding for the ski-pass. People don't respect the order at the gates and the staff don't care at all. They care only about stealing our money. No night lights, they're closing very early most days.
They didn't upgrade the webcams for many years. You cannot see the status you cannot plan anything.
[note from the editor : review edited to keep information as relevant as possible]