Troodos is the highest mountain range in Cyprus and Mt.Olympus(1952 metres) its tallest peak. Also its the only place in Cyprus where skiing is possible, infact it will play host to an international ski competition under the auspices of the International Ski Federation in March 2010. The best time to visit troodos for skiing is in February and March since during this time there is enough powdery snow on the mountains to enjoy skiing. However after March the powerful sunshine turns the powder snow into corn snow signalling the end of the ski season.
The Troodos Ski Resort has 4 slopes which amply cater to the needs of all types of Ski enthusiasts. The North face has the Hera Lift and Zeus while the Sun valley has the Aphrodite Lift and the Hermes slope. However one of the lifts at the North face was closed both the times we visited the place. As beginners without any idea of how difficult the ordeal is going to be we reached the Sun valley - Aphrodite Lift. The main reason of our choosing this place was because we sighted it first otherwise would love to check out the North face next season.
The Ski Rental shop at the sun valley is the only place on Troodos that rents the equipment for skiing. Its a small shack but with just 4 people manning the entire shop it does a good job of catering to the tourists. One piece of advise is to always check your Ski equipment thorughly before taking it out, since sometimes the shoes are a mismatch with the skis. The first time that we went for skiing I had a problem of mismatch and after that it was a pain to remove the shoes and return the equipment and to trudge all the way up and down with the skis.
The most difficult part while skiing for me was when you have to fit one leg in the ski and then the other leg in the other ski. At that time since there is some slope so almost always the first leg tends to slip and if not done with proper care a fall is ensured. So the easiest way out is to wear the skis at 90degrees to the slope so that you do not slip towards the slope and the gradient itself prevents the movement. However after that its all fun. It seems wonderfull to glide through the slopes almost like flying and especially since you feel nothing on the legs since its so smooth!!! Also no efffort is required all you have to do is control the speed and if thats done then the only troublesome part is navigating through the turns. Its just fantastic to ski down through nice winding slopes, almost like fairy tales!!!
However we did a small mistake, the ski lift required a ski pass which we did not take since we felt it would be almost impossible to ski through the slopes as beginners. However we paid for the mistake dearly and wonderfully also. We had to trek for almost 30 mminutes to go on the top of the mountain and then to glide down it in 30 -45 seconds felt almost shamefull!!! But its was fun since I think we all went with the philosophy of No Pain No Gain!!!
What was wonderfull were the people around. There were so many families all skiing around and then dadies teaching their kids how to ski. It was beautiful to watch a father sking down the slope with his really tiny son and his son holding his fathers stick so that he could maintain balance. Its a beautiful place to be in and I have fell in love with Skiing now all I hope is that my travails in Cyprus continue untill next winter so I can enjoy the snow again!!!
