At the summit of Mount Ida on Crete, I discovered a stone chapel with a frozen free-standing bell leaning against it – it was as if time had stood still. Outside winter, Eastern Orthodox priests and worshippers hike to the highest point on the Greek island, and services are held in the chapel. But it was February, when Ida is often buried under several metres of snow and only mountaineers and skiers climb the almost 2,500-metre peak. I took a moment to admire the 360-degree panorama – the Aegean Sea to the north, the Libyan Sea to the south. There was no one else in sight.
Akis Parousis, my guide, claimed that on a clear day you can see the lights of Alexandria in Egypt from here before he skied off, racing through the fresh, light powder. I took one last glance at the horizon, where a marine blue sea met a pale blue sky, and set off in pursuit.
Most people picture idyllic beaches and charming seaside villages when they think of Crete. But it is also a rugged, mountainous island. In the winter months, scirocco winds sweep north from Africa picking up moisture as they cross the Mediterranean. Above Crete, the scirocco converges with cooler, drier air, creating a weather phenomenon that blankets the island’s highest elevations with snow. White-capped mountains can usually be seen from almost everywhere on Crete come wintertime. I first heard about the thrilling runs and magical winter scenery here during a ski adventure on another Mediterranean island, Sicily, and immediately resolved to look into arranging a trip.
Akis, a member of the Hellenic Mountain Guides Association, suggested a February visit, when snow is typically deep and skies clear (the ski season is from late February to April). We met in the administrative capital Heraklion and drove 25 miles inland to our base Anogia, a village at the foot of Mount Ida (also known as Psiloritis). On the outskirts of Anogia, we stopped at a stone hut owned by Kosti Diakos, a shepherd famous locally for his tangy mizithra ewe’s milk cheese. Kosti explained that Cretans have a strong connection with the mountains but not many consider climbing them to ski. High-altitude farming and sheep-herding on the other hand is a centuries-old tradition, he said, before handing me a small hunk of his tangy, salty snow-white cheese: “Energy for your skiing.”
At Delina Mountain Resort, manager Penelope Kallergis welcomed us with a cup of fresh mountain tea made from sideritis, a Cretan mountain plant known for its healing properties, flavoured with local honey. With panoramic views, comfortable rooms and a spa, sauna and hammam, Delina is a sanctuary after long excursions in the mountains.
The residents of Anogia are passionate about preserving traditional Cretan music and food culture, and in the summer months the picturesque village throngs with tourists seeking an insight into old Crete. In the winter, the village is sleepy and most of the shops are closed but the tavernas remain open, so I headed to Arodamos for lunch – a feast of lamb chops and Sfakia cheese pie (a traditional Cretan pie made with a flaky dough and a creamy filling of mizithra and anthotyros cheeses). Over a glass of Marouvas, a traditional red wine made from a grape found in the Greek islands, a local skier, Danai Petrakis, told me more about the history of skiing on Crete.
Although the island has a long mountaineering tradition – the Cretan mountaineering club was founded in 1930 – it was not until the 1970s that a small group of local endurance sport enthusiasts, including Danai’s father, started heading into the mountains to ski. With no ski lifts, they would cross-country ski or climb up to the summit of the mountain carrying their skis and race back down through untouched, wild terrain (an activity known today as ski mountaineering).
A project to create a ski resort on Mount Ida with ski lifts and marked slopes began in 1977 but was abandoned after two years. “There are still no lifts and I prefer it this way; the mountain is quiet, and skiing is a peaceful experience,” Danai said.
The launch of the Pierra Creta ski festival in 2014 brought a few more ski mountaineers from Europe to the island. Organised by passionate local skiers, the biannual event attracts more than 200 participants and is as much a celebration of Crete’s unique mountain culture as it is a race to ski up and down the mountain.
After lunch we headed to O Anavatis Tou Psilo, the only ski shop on Crete, to hire the equipment: thin, lightweight skis and synthetic “skins” that attach to the base of the ski and provide grip for skiing uphill; crampons that are attached to boots if the terrain becomes too icy to ski on; and a transceiver that can be used to locate a skier trapped in the unlikely event of an avalanche.
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Ski mountaineering on Crete isn’t too steep or technical and therefore it is suitable for beginners who have some basic experience of skiing off-piste. Owing to the proximity to the sea, fresh snow on the island is so moist that it quickly forms a dense, load-bearing layer of powdery snow that allows skis to easily glide.
We tested our equipment on a snow-covered hill near Anogia before dinner at Delina’s in-house taverna where the Cretan musician Vasilis Skoulas was performing. “Since ancient times, music has been an important aspect of Cretan mountain culture,” said Vasilis. Playing a traditional three stringed lyra, he regaled us with folk songs of heroism and resistance of the Cretans during past wars.
The next day it was time to head up into the mountains. The five-hour ascent of Ida passed quickly with spectacular views. We ascended using kick turns, skiing diagonally uphill across the slope in one direction and then sharply turning to ski in the other direction to soften the slope’s gradient. Near the summit, sections of the slope had turned to ice but our crampons provided the necessary grip to climb to the chapel. The descent on untouched snow with the sea in constant view was a thrilling experience. The following day, we attempted to climb the mountain again via a different route but strong winds thwarted our efforts.
We rose early the next morning to drive to Anopolis, a small village in western Crete near the White Mountains, another ski mountaineering destination, where the Anopoli Rooms made a comfortable base. Although the snow cover was not as extensive as on Ida, we still managed to ski up and down a challenging 2,000-metre peak the next day. That evening, a storm rolled in from the Libyan Sea, and with heavy snow forecast for the following day, our ski mountaineering adventure came to a premature end.
Before I headed home I stopped in Chania, on the north-west coast. From the impressive 14th-century harbour, built by the Venetians during their 400-year rule of Crete, I could see the gleaming snowcapped summit of Pachnes, the highest of the White Mountains at 2,450 metres. “Our target for next year!” Akis exclaimed. “There are over 50 peaks in the White Mountains; you could spend a lifetime exploring them.” For now, though, we went to the beach instead – the sea a perfect tonic for my aching limbs.
A six-day ski trip with Akis Parousis costs €1,370, including guide, equipment, transport on Crete and B&B accommodation