We all know Greece as a fantastic Summer holiday destination. It has a lot to offer, sandy beaches, beautiful islands, and a lot of ancient monuments and history. Hence, millions of people visit the country each year!
On the other hand, Greece is not well known
Away from the beaches, in the mainland, Greece has a different face with mountains beginning from altitudes of 1000 up to almost 3000 meters! In the western part of the mainland a large mountain range (the longest in Greece) stretches out, the Pindos Mountains.
This is where we at Mountain Goat live and operate. The mountains here are as high as 2600 meters, and are surrounded by steep gorges, vast forests, rivers and unique little villages. In winter the snow falls early December, and covers the high mountains until late April.
A few small organized ski resorts operate directly on Pindos Mountains where you can enjoy good value for money skiing and snowboarding! At the ski resorts you can find organized chalets, ski schools and ski rentals. The main ski resort on the Pindos mountain range is Vasilitsa. A state owned ski resort with 7 ski lifts and around 20km of groomed runs. There is also a big terrain for off piste and backcountry ski and snowboarding maniacs!
Vasilitsa Mountain is a part of a big area, the North Pindos National Park. This area is surrounded by some of the highest peaks in Greece. Mt. Smolikas is the 2nd highest Greek mountain and offers great backcountry tours. The snow conditions are usually very good and safe and there are hundreds of descents, some of them having never been skied before! Mt. Timfi is a super trekking destination, and in the winter it’s transformed into a great ski terrain, a unique “alpine” mountain!
The most historical Mt. Grammos, right on the Albanian border, offers great open bowls for enjoyable skiing and snowboarding. And the greatest part of it is, you get the opportunity to ski first tracks!! The mountains are remote, and skiing is not yet so popular among the Greeks, so most of this beauty does not see any skiers, and is peacefully quiet during the winter!!
This is why we choose this place to organise and offer ski touring tours, so people can discov
Every year we take off for a week around the north Pindos mountains. We tour the main and highest mountains, skiing untouched slopes, and sleeping in huts and small guesthouses at the small villages that surround the Pindos area.
For people who like to hike all year long we also offer great snowshoe walks, through the forests and frozen lakes of the area. A wonderful experience walking under the full moon and resting next to the fire with a glass of tsipouro (aka, raki).
