Busy time on the ski slopes

FRESH snowfall on Troodos over the last few weeks has had everyone flocking to the mountains to just frolic in the snow or spend the day skiing.

The Cyprus Ski Federation and Club has been receiving up to 200 visitors daily to their four slopes, according to the Club’s manager Lambros Lambrou, who said the slopes have been inundated since the recent snowfall.

“We have a lot of young people coming for snowboarding lately and skiing too, with a lot of people who’ve never skied before simply trying their hand at it without any lessons,” said Lambrou, adding that the Club provides lessons but mainly at weekends.

The busiest times are the weekends especially after 10am, where queues of people waiting to get out onto the slopes may result in a half an hour delay to pick up ski equipment, he said.

“One of the disadvantages is that you may have to wait and it’s a shame because you only have a day at your disposal but tourists especially realise what an advantage it is to be half an hour away from the sea and also half an hour from the mountains,” said Lambrou.

Lambrou said that the club has been open since December 26 for skiing but “the snow lately has reminded us of the good old days as in the latter years there hasn’t been as much snowfall.”

The club is open all week from 9am to 4pm and at weekends from 8.30am to 4pm, and will remain open as long as there is enough snow which is usually up until the end of March.

Lambrou pointed out that the amount of snow needed to ski varies according to the quality of snow and whether they have time beforehand to level out the land. “We might need 15cm or we might need 30cm to 40cm,” said Lambrou.

There is currently a metre of snow on Mount Olympus and 50cm in Troodos square.

Prices at the Club to rent ski equipment start at €16 daily for adults and €13 for children and for snowboarding and boots, €20. Also, the Club charges €23 for a daily ski lift pass and €16 for the afternoon.

More information can be found on their website www.cyprusski.com 

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