There's a chairlift on Mount Olympus, the 9600' home of the ancient Greek gods, but apparently it's reserved for the Greek army: "It requires special permission from the Greek Pentagon," came the reply from our contact at the embassy. "This procedure takes a preparation of five to six months in advance... unfortunately there is no way I can arrange at the last moment anything with Mount Olympus."
So much for our plan to snowboard and ski the second-highest peak in the Balkans between Austria and Turkey. That was okay--Greece still had 10 ski resorts, and we were heading for the biggest one, Mt. Parnassos.
Not many people think of Greece when considering ski destinations--"I didn't know they had mountains there," said the woman at the airline check-in counter--which is part of what made it so alluring. The six of us were the only Americans on the slopes--the only non-Greeks, it seemed--and we felt a bit like pioneers.
And unlike typical ski trips where you spend all your time on the mountain or in the bar, Greece offered a glimpse at the birthplace of modern civilization, with endless museums, historical sites, and fantastic 3,000-year-old architecture to explore, plus its unique contemporary culture to dive into. (When you weren't on the mountain or in the bar, that is: "Here in Greece," as one of our new friends told us, "We eat very much, we drink very much, and we work just a little.")
On to Mt. Parnassos, once an important spiritual and religious center for the ancient Greeks, and now an important shredding center for modern-day Athenians who make the three-hour drive up each weekend. 10 lifts, including a four-passenger gondola, access mostly above-treeline terrain across two mountains. Parnassos peaks at 7840 feet, with 2100 feet of vertical. Lift tickets cost about $25 per day.
It's totally mellow. There's no rope-maze at the bottom of the lifts; you just squeeze on. No slopeside condos or furry apres-ski boots. Just a happy crowd of Greeks lounging on beach chairs outside the mid-mountain lodge, partying and chatting on cell phones in the blazing sunshine.
We arrived just in time for the biggest storm of the season. It started dumping our second day there, and by the next morning over 20 inches of snow were burying the wide-open bowls and endless rocks and chutes on Mt. Parnassos.
We awoke to a bluebird sunshine powder day, the kind you dream about. Working our way across the resort from fresh line to fresh line, we soon hiked out-of-bounds. After a 30-minute sweat we were already scouting descents from an exposed ridge, in the foreground of 2000' cliffs, down wide chutes bordered by steep snow-covered walls, ideal for carving surf-turns.
At an American or Canadian resort, these lines would have been skied hours ago. In Greece, though, few skiers and snowboarders even venture off the groomed runs--"off piste"--let alone out-of-bounds. We sessioned the area at will, taking our time and cheering each other on. On the other side of the resort, yet more virgin snow awaited the glide of our P-Tex bases, steep, white ridgelines with a thousand feet of vertical, stacked up row after row, entirely pure except for a single set of tracks, which somehow made the vista seem all that much more pure.
So we didn't get to visit Zeus on Olympus, but we managed to visit Apollo through the Oracle at Delphi, about a half-hour from our base in Arahova, the village below Parnassos. The ancient Greeks "believed that the sun not only gave physical light, but that its light was symbolic of mental illumination ... Apollo was also worshipped as the god of music and song, which the ancients believed were heard only where there was light and security," read the Lonely Planet guidebook. The Oracle at Delphi-believed to be the mouthpiece of Apollo-was consulted on matters from business and politics to marriages and wars.
Sitting on the field in the small athletic stadium, we felt the power of the athletes who played there 3000 years ago. The ancients built this temple in the mountains to worship nature and the sun and push their bodies ... to physically enjoy life on earth, and for two weeks, we did the exact same thing, just up the road at Mt. Parnassos, carving tracks in physical and spiritual bliss.
TIPS FOR SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING IN GREECE
The Lonely Planet's Greece Travel Survival Kit proved to be an outstanding guidebook. Pick one up.
Olympic Airways is the official airline of Greece and offers non-stop flights between New York and Athens. Flight information: (212) 838-3825.
Don't plan to drive yourself around--our experience on the roads there reminded us that "chaos" is a Greek word, and we were stoked to be safe with our hired driver George Kaliviaris behind the wheel. For transportation and guide services, contact Intertransfer at 92-13-276. (Ask for George, the best driver in Greece.)
In Arahova, Xenia Hotel offers a prime base for exploring Mt. Parnassos (25 km away), Delphi (8 km), and the surrounding area. In Greece, dial 0267-31230-4. For dinner in Arahova, head to Lukulio or Eborico, and cap it off with disco at Cinema.
In Athens, book at room at the Hotel Chandris. (01) 9414-824-6
Marnos Tour and Ski Vacations is the only U.S. operator coordinating group snowboard and ski tours to Greece. Dial them at: (847) 692-9342.
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