The Black Sheep NGO

Κρητη: Ορεινος, Χειμερινος, Αθλητικος Τουρισμος & Ορειβατικο Σκι

Νικηφόρος Στειακάκης — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 10:25:26 +0000

Η Κρήτη αποτελεί έναν μοναδικό εξωτικό προορισμό για το αυξανόμενο κοινό του ορειβατικού σκι διεθνώς. Δύσκολα μπορεί να φανταστεί κανείς ότι στον τόπο που έρχεται να κάνει τις καλοκαιρινές του διακοπές θα μπορούσε τον χειμώνα να απολαύσει νέες ανεξερεύνητες διαδρομές σε υπέροχους ορεινούς όγκους με θέα την θάλασσα. Η Κρήτη δυσκολεύεται να ξεπεράσει τον θαλασσινό εαυτό της. Κι όμως πρέπει!
Οι υποδομές που διαθέτουμε για το Σκι πίστας είναι ιδιαίτερα μικρές σε σχέση με τον ανταγωνισμό και δεν υπάρχει κάτι ιδιαίτερο που να μπορεί να αντισταθμίσει αυτή την έλλειψη μεγέθους. Στο ορειβατικό σκι τα πράγματα είναι εντελώς διαφορετικά. Διαθέτουμε εντυπωσιακά βουνά, επαρκή και ιδιαίτερου τύπου χιονοκάλυψη και όλα αυτά, μαζί με ένα παγκοσμίου φήμης επίπεδο φιλοξενίας και γαστρονομικών επιλογών. Κάποιος μπορεί το πρωί να κάνει σκι και το μεσημέρι να τρώει φρέσκο ψάρι, στην ακροθαλασσιά!

Το «φαινόμενο», Pierra Creta

O αγώνας Pierra Creta ξεκίνησε από την αγάπη και το μεράκι κάποιων φίλων του αθλήματος στο νησί. Σημείο αναφοράς πλέον για την Ελλάδα, δεν έχει να ζηλέψει τίποτα από αντίστοιχους αγώνες στο εξωτερικό – το αντίθετο μάλιστα. Κατά την διάρκεια του event, οι συμμετέχοντες μαγεύονται με όλο το «πακέτο», βουνό – σκι – φιλοξενία – κέφι κι έχει καθιερωθεί ως ένας αγώνας διαφήμισης του αθλήματος και του τόπου.

Σύντομα οι διεθνείς συμμετοχές θα υπερβαίνουν τις εθνικές, η τελευταία διοργάνωση ξεπέρασε τους 210 συμμετέχοντες, 70 εκ των οποίων ξένοι, από 11 διαφορετικές χώρες για το νοτιότερο αγώνα ορειβατικού σκι στην Ευρώπη που μάλιστα πέρσι αδερφοποιήθηκε με τον βορειότερο, αυτόν στο Tromso της Νορβηγίας.
Ένας αγώνας που ξεκίνησε κυριολεκτικά ως «πλάκα» έγινε αφέτης σε ένα κίνημα για την ανάπτυξη του ορεινού αθλητικού τουρισμού στα βουνά μας και λειτουργεί ως «κράχτης» για τους λάτρεις του ορειβατικού σκι στους τρεις βασικούς ορεινούς όγκους της Κρήτης (Λευκά Όρη, Ψηλορείτης, Δίκτη). Παρότι τα νούμερα δεν ζαλίζουν, το προφίλ των επισκεπτών είναι πολύ υψηλό και ήδη έχει δημιουργηθεί μια οικονομία στις ορεινές περιοχές που στηρίζει το νέο αυτό «τουριστικό προϊόν». Επίσης, ενέπνευσε τον Ελληνοαμερικάνο κινηματογραφιστή Constantine Papanicolaou να δημιουργήσει την ταινία «Crete Arising» που μιλάει για την Κρήτη καθώς «αναδύεται» ως διεθνής προορισμός για ορειβατικό σκι. Κι όλα αυτά χωρίς να έχει υπάρξει ακόμα μια κεντρικά συντονισμένη, εστιασμένη αξιοποίηση της δυναμικής αυτής.

Η Ευκαιρία για τις Ορεινές Κοινωνίες της Κρήτης, Φέρνοντας κοντά τους Ανθρώπους
Τα βουνά μας τον χειμώνα αποτελούν ένα δυναμικό ανεκμετάλλευτο. Την ίδια στιγμή ο αγώνας και η ανάπτυξη αυτής της νέας αγοράς έχει επιδράσει θετικά στις τοπικές ορεινές κοινωνίες – κυρίως του Ψηλορείτη, όπου διοργανώνεται το Pierra Creta, που εκτός από παραμελλημένες, ήταν δύσκολες στην προσέγγιση και διαχείρισή τους λόγω της δύσκολης διατοπικής συνεργασίας που επικρατούσε. Πλέον βλέπουμε ότι η ευεργετική πίεση που άσκησε και ασκεί η νέα κατάσταση, ενεργοποίησε τις τοπικές κοινωνίες με τον πλέον θεμιτό τρόπο οι οποίες αυτενεργούν και αναζητούν συνεργασίες, μάθηση, εγγύτητα.

Διαβάστε όλο το άρθρο εδώ: Κρήτη: Ορεινός, Χειμερινός, Αθλητικός Τουρισμός & Ορειβατικό Σκι

του Δρ. Κυριάκου Γ. Κώτσογλου
Μηχανικός Παραγωγής και Διοίκησης MSc, PhD,
Εντεταλμένος Περιφερειακός Σύμβουλος Κρήτης
Τουρισμού και Ηλεκτρονικής Διακυβέρνησης

Pierra Creta or Death!

Νικηφόρος Στειακάκης — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 10:49:17 +0000

An employee of a Scandinavian embassy. A CEO of a major shipping company. A construction company worker specialized on working at heights. A consultant.The list goes on and becomes even more surreal. Nevertheless, all these seemingly unconnected people, came together in the high mountainous villages of Crete, around Psiloritis, to participate in Pierra Creta, Europe’s southernmost ski mountaineering event…

In a mystical land, full of contradictions. Exposed to experiences that are hard to put down in words or explain in sentences. We all find ourselves lost in the Greek backcountry natural environment, hosted by serious, somber people, in villages of questionable architectural aesthetics. It is in this world of contradictions that you find these same village people opening up their home to you, sharing their food and time with you, welcoming you into their lives. These villages that look so strange, when you first lay eyes on the half-finished concrete buildings and tinted windowed pick-up trucks, will enchant you with their unyielding spirit, their unique lawless fighting spirit and history, until you soon find yourself wishing this was your origin also.

What is Pierra Creta? A ski-mountaineering competition race? A grass-roots movement of friends and kindred spirits? Resistance? An ode to the mountains and their universal appeal to souls around the globe?

Simple, Pierra Creta is all of the above.

It is a perfectly organized SkiMo race, with 2 flawlessly designed routes, high level competition, under conditions of absolute safety. On race day, we faced very adverse conditions of high winds, snow and rain, dense fog at times. This was exactly the moment where the organizing committee stepped up and showed its true grit and seriousness, shifting through a couple of optional routes very quickly, providing us participants with a unique experience on the mountain. On each check point, we found volunteers with a clear view on the conditions and the race details and more importantly, understanding the needs that a participating athlete has. The course markings were accurate, distinct in the foggy conditions, while respecting the natural environment we were racing in. We could not ask for anything more from a serious, international SkiMo race.

Pierra Creta however is not only for tight racing lycras and 180 bmp heart rate. It is for racing teams in skis, boots and equipment of the ‘90s. It’s for freeriders and spitboarders in cool, baggy clothes, who suffer and laugh at themselves on the ascents and shred the steep descents. It is the race where alcohol is served on most aid stations on makeshift bars, at altitudes over 2.000m. It is the event where children from the local villages, under the tutelage of the organizing committee, will put on skis for the first time in their lives and even compete in a small race. It is the feeling of finishing the race in the arms of a crazy guy with a microphone, then being ushered under a banana tree in the snow, where you are presented with an amazing local beer and a finisher medal which also serves as a beer bottle opener. It is a group of closely-knit friends, who dream, dare, fight and put their lives and souls into what they call the Cretan ski mountaineering movement.

Finally, Pierra Creta is all about the mountain. It’s about Psiloritis, Lefka Ori, Olympus and all the archetypical mountains around the world. It’s the unexpected, the harsh and the one that’s difficult to reach. It’s the moment when you reach the summit of Psiloritis, you look at the endless, blue sea and you feel insignificant and so important at the same time.

In Pierra Creta you do not participate in a race. You are the race. You are unique, but also an integral cog of this subculture.

Your only problem now, is that you have to wait for another 2 years for the next edition of 2021.

Pierra Creta or Death!

Timos Daskalopoulos

https://www.advendure.com/index.php/english/item/6716-pierra-creta-or-death

https://www.advendure.com/index.php/themata/oreivasia/item/6693-pierra-creta-i-thanatos

PIERRA CRETA – DAS SÜDLICHSTE SKIMO RENNEN EUROPAS UND EIN EINZIGARTIGES ERLEBNIS

Νικηφόρος Στειακάκης — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 11:04:40 +0000

SIMONE BINDER, skimo Austria

Was macht man mit seinen Tourenskiern im März auf Kreta? Eine Frage, die sich nicht nur mein Umfeld gestellt hat, sondern auch die Menschen am Flughafen in Heraklion auf Kreta, wenn man seinen Skisack vom Gepäckband nimmt und Richtung Ausgang geht. Dass über 200 Skibergsteiger aus ganz Europa und Griechenland anreisen, um bei der Pierra Creta dabei zu sein – dem südlichsten Skitouren Rennen in Europa – ist in diesem Moment nicht vorstellbar. Und beim Genuss der warmen Frühlingstemperaturen ist es auch kaum zu glauben, dass es auf Kreta überhaupt Schnee gibt. Aber vom 03. bis 04. März wurde ich und über 200 Starter eines Besseren belehrt!

Pierra Creta – das südlichste Skimo Rennen Europas und ein einzigartiges Erlebnis – SkibergsteigenSkibergsteigen, Skibergsteigen in Österreich

Reshaping the skiing map of Europe

Νικηφόρος Στειακάκης — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 23:25:53 +0000

ELISABETH LOTHE | Kathimerini:

Reshaping the skiing map of Europe

On March 3, a very special event took place in the Psiloritis mountains on Crete: the southernmost ski mountaineering competition in Europe, called Pierra Creta. More than 200 skiers from across Europe had gathered in the mountain villages and met each other on the slopes. Ski mountaineering is skiing with alpine skis that allows you to walk uphill with skins under your skis, and ski down steep mountainsides as you would on alpine skis. The sport is very dear to Norwegians. The Norwegian delegation counted six, including myself, from the Norwegian Embassy in Athens.

When I learned about the competition a year back, I just knew I had to go. This is an event that redefines the skiing map of Europe – this time including Crete. More than 150,000 Norwegians visit Crete each year, which is quite a percentage of the holiday trips our country of 5 million people take. However, few think of mountains and skiing when they book a trip to Crete. Pierra Creta will create a lot of interest in Norway, and will surely contribute to efforts to make Greece a year-round destination.

The beauty of ski mountaineering is that your skis can take you deep into the mountains, far away from other people, to enjoy the peace and quiet. The Norwegians and Cretans were not alone on the mountain on the weekend of the competition, however. On the Saturday, a ski school for kids was taking place on the flatter slopes, run by the NGO To Mavro Provato. Giorgios Klaoudatos, who runs a local ski shop, also wants to make sure local children have an opportunity to learn how to ski – to benefit from the great opportunities these mountains offer in winter and summer, and perhaps also to create new forms of tourism here.

Learning to ski not only offers these youngsters – and adults who take up the activity – access to this great mountain range, it also means developing a range of skills. In order to go backcountry skiing, you also need to learn other things beyond the skiing part. You must be able to protect and save yourself, you need to be able to read the mountain and the weather, you should know about avalanches, and you should know basic first aid. You need to know how to use special gear like the shovel, avalanche probe and beacon, and how to read maps and use a compass. This high up, the weather changes in the blink of an eye, and this equipment is all mandatory for Pierra Creta.

This year’s Pierra Creta participants got a firm reminder just how unpredictable the mountain can be. The Saturday was a beautiful day. Many had come a day or two early to enjoy some Cretan skiing as it is still very much a novelty to most. On the Sunday, however, the weather took a turn for the worse. Strong winds and dense fog meant that the race had to be delayed. It didn’t get much better, but the organizers decided to modify the course, take some extra safety precautions, and go ahead anyway. The participants were delighted, and put in a huge effort and raced against the weather. Everyone was happy and praised the organizers. While waiting for the race to start, participants got to enjoy Cretan singing and dancing by local performers – and to sample the special Pierra Creta “energy drink” (raki mixed with honey).

In fact, the entire Pierra Creta weekend was filled with Cretan culture, food and hospitality, which made a fantastic backdrop for the amazing skiing. The race itself has two different levels – one that involves 1,800 meters of elevation, and a lower one with 900 meters of elevation. It might sound challenging – but the organizers make sure it is more fun than hard work. Because of the conditions, all participants did the 900 meters elevation race this year. Psiloritis just wasn’t welcoming anyone to the summit that day.

At the embassy we are very happy that this year’s Pierra Creta marked the beginning of a new partnership with Greece. Among the participants were a small team from Tromso, a Norwegian city north of the Arctic Circle. They came to Greece to cement the partnership between Pierra Creta, the southernmost ski race in Europe, and its northernmost counterpart, Skittentind Rando, which takes place in Tromso in April every year.

The Norwegian team came in third. According to Kristoffer Forsberg Olsen, one of the two bronze medal winners, “we experienced a skiing paradise, little known to Norwegians. Our experience was that the Greeks really know how to organize a ski mountaineering race. The slopes were well marked, there were friendly faces all along and a party spirit throughout. We recommend that all our skiing friends come to Crete, and we will be back for Pierra Creta 2021!”

The president of the Tromso randonnee association, Frank Holen, was also very pleased both by the results of the team from his club, and the new partnership: “Our athletes that participated had an outstanding time in Crete this weekend. We are so excited to launch this cooperation between the southernmost and northernmost races in Europe. Both competitions are truly unique and are supported by a local enthusiasm that I believe has the potential to bring about great benefits for the local communities and the sport of ski mountaineering both in northern Norway and on Crete.” The race in Norway, like that on Crete, is both a cultural as well as a nature experience of first class. In Tromso they are looking forward to welcoming the Pierra Creta organizers. “They will get to experience the best of spring skiing on northern powder. We can guarantee a proper sea-to-summit experience,” promises Holen.

As Norwegians, we seek out opportunities to ski. I must admit I was very excited to learn that my new posting as deputy head of mission would also involve opportunities to ski. Ski mountaineering is big in Norway. It was where ski mountaineering originated – at least that’s what we like to think. The sport is still growing – both among Norwegians and foreigners who come to Norway to do it. Pristine nature is more appreciated than ever in our hectic, connected lives. When you ski into the mountains, you have to work harder and climb steeper, but the reward is priceless. It has been great to get to know some of the ski mountaineering community in Greece, and both I and the other Norwegians want to participate in the next Pierra Creta. At the embassy we will do what we can to get the word out – and hopefully the Norwegian participation will be even bigger in 2021.

Elisabeth Lothe is deputy head of mission at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Athens.

https://www.ekathimerini.com/238497/opinion/ekathimerini/community/reshaping-the-skiing-map-of-europe

SKIBALUBA PÅ KRETA

Νικηφόρος Στειακάκης — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 11:18:27 +0000

En rapport fra Europas sørligste randonéekonkurranse, hvor deltagerne oppfordres til å spare på kreftene slik at det holder koken på festen etterpå.

Kreta er temmelig velkjent for nordmenn, nesten 200 000 av oss besøker øya sør i Middelhavet hvert år – for å ligge på stranda. Men omtrent åtte av disse 200 000 var her denne helga for å kjøre ski og delta i randorennet Pierra Creta.

Tore Meirik

Skibaluba på Kreta | Frikjøring ski | FRIFLYT.NO

Innovative Crete: 9 Fantastic Products and Initiatives – Greece Is

Νικηφόρος Στειακάκης — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 21:00:38 +0000

From smartphone apps helping visitors get more out of the island, to marrying traditional medicine with cutting edge science, here are some of the most exciting initiatives on Crete right now.

PIERRA CRETA

A “white paradise” for ski-touring aficionados, the mountains of Crete are uncluttered by organized ski resorts, with an abundance of fluffy, untrodden snow, as well as view that reach as far as the sea. The good airline connections, in combination with Cretan hospitality, have led to a steady increase in the number of visiting ski mountaineers. Currently, the sequel of the Greek-American production “Frozen Ambrosia” about ski touring in Greece is being filmed in Crete, while since 2014, dozens of skiers from Greece, Switzerland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Norway have been returning for the race Pierra Creta.

frozenambrosia.gr

pierracreta.gr

Innovative Crete: 9 Fantastic Products and Initiatives

Ski Touring in Crete, Greece

Νικηφόρος Στειακάκης — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:39:49 +0000

When I think of Greece I think of the nicest, warmest people imaginable, great food, sunny days, island life, and in my case – warm limestone and lots of sport climbing. I don’t think of ski touring when I think of Greece. But, in February, I found myself locking into my bindings at the start of a three day ski tour in the well named White Mountains on the island of Crete.

By Dan Patitucci

Read the article here: Ski touring on the island of Crete, Greece in the White Mountains