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ear lots of clothes, Lee told me. It’s going to be cold up there. So here I am, standing at the side of the road in Paphos, with my wife Angela and our two children; Reece, 10 and Eva, 2. It’snot cold at all. In fact it must already be approaching 18 or 19oC and we are in our hats and coats, gloves and scarves!

At 8.30am on the dot a huge Land Rover covered in ‘Zephyros Adventure Sports’ stickers and images of skiers and mountain bikers arrives to collect us. At the wheel is Lucy from Zephyros, our driver for the day, charged with getting us all up and down the mountains safely in road and weather conditions that can be wildly unpredictable. Our destination – the Cyprus Ski Club at 1951 metres above sea level on the summit of Mount Olympus – the highest point on the island. From one of the rear doors jumps Lee, our ski guide, dressed equally inappropriately in sallapettes and fleece.

We throw our bags in the trailer and climb aboard. Also in the car is Amy, a new guide who is coming along to find out what the day is all about, and Clive and Mick, two Paphos resident who also fancy a day skiing. There is the distinct smell of fresh coffee inside the car and, as Lucy briefs us all on the day ahead, Lee hands out mugs of coffee to those who want some. A welcome touch, a collection of hot flasks stored in the car with enough tea and coffee to last the day. The children safely strapped into their childseats, we head off.

The journey to Mount Olympus is uneventful but very scenic as we wind up the deserted roads through Dora, Platres and onto the summit. The amount of snow around and, in fact, on the roads, slowly increases as we climb higher.

We arrive at the Ski Club just after 10am and, as the adults get out and stretch their legs, the children roll around in the snow like seal pups. Squealing with delight, this is the first time they have really encountered snow. One event from the journey that does stick in my mind is Lucy’s announcement that she is four months pregnant. Her job of getting all nine of us up and down the mountains and skiing for the day, quite remarkably, doesn’t seem to faze her at all. She takes the whole day in her stride and in fact, later admits that her bump actually improved her balance and that she has never skied so well!

Forever the dutiful host, Lee takes us into the ski shop to get us fitted with our ski equipment. Clive and Mick have bought their own skis and boots with them so Lee just sorts them out with a lift pass each and they’re off, out into the snow. The rest of us need completely kitting out (apart from warm clothes that is – we have more than enough of those).

Using a well-practiced routine, Lee makes a note of all of our shoe sizes then disappears to get ski boots to fit us all – even a two year old. Next, we are issued with skis and poles. Once kitted out and clattering about on a hard floor, wearing boots that are nearly impossible to walk in, we are taken to be scanned. All of our equipment is bar coded you see, and Lee has to scan our boots and skis to keep track of exactly who is using what kit.

After a final check of our paper work, it’s out into the snow. Never mind the kids, I am getting excited now. It’s been a few years, but Angela and I have skied many times before and thought a day or two skiing while on holiday in Paphos would be the ideal way to introduce Reece and Eva to some gentle snow sports. And this is just perfect. Lucy tells us that it’s still quite early in the season so it’s very quiet at the resort today, perfect for beginners. Mount Olympus boasts four t-bar type ski lifts and about a dozen pistes of varying difficulty, the hardest being about the same as an Alpine ‘red’. These facilities are spread around the summit of the mountain, around the familiar giant ‘golf ball’ at the military base and it is very easy to ski from one part of the resort to another, enabling you to spend the whole day skiing every side of the mountain without having to take off your skis. There are many very easy pistes and we head for one of these – Sun Valley 1. The other pistes and two 15 kms cross country ski tracks are dotted about the resort among beautiful, snow covered pine trees. There will certainly be enough here to keep us occupied for the day.

Reece, unsurprisingly, takes to his skis with ease. He has the attitude that nothing is difficult and that he could not possibly get hurt and certainly isn’t put off from that way of thinking by two skis and cumbersome boots. Eva, being much younger, finds it a little more of an effort. She doesn’t yet enjoy the confidence and co-ordination that a ten-year-old boy takes for granted. But she certainly enjoys herself. Throughout the morning Angela and I take turns to play and ski with her in the snow. After lunch, we trade skis for toboggans. Now this is something a two year old can excel at, hurtling down the gentle slopes, screaming and wildly out of control before crashing into the snowman she so carefully built before lunch! She is now in her element. Reece, by lunchtime has found a new friend in Lucy and the two spend the afternoon skiing together, Reece getting something of a master class from the very competent Lucy.

Mick and Clive make an appearance several times throughout the day. With wide smiles, the also claim to be having fun and pop back to the ski club now and then to use the loo or get a hot drink from the very good café which is situated next to the ski shop.

At lunchtime, Lee gathers us all together in the café for a welcome meal. He obviously enjoys his job and this shows in the high level of organisation that he puts into the day. We sit down to crusty baguettes and soft ciabatta bread with a wide range of fillings. I take the chicken salad, Angela has ham and cheese and the two children do a great job of demolishing crisps and delicious home made chocolate cake, Lee also has an almost limitless supply of fruit for us to eat. One of the highlights of living in Cyprus, he tells us, is the low price, variety and quality of fruit.

Despite her new role with Zephyros as mountain bike guide and instructor, Amy shows that she is equally at home on the piste and spends the day snow boarding. And very good she is too. In fact, I think Reece spent most of the day completely in awe of the girl with the ability to skilfully carve through the trees. Amy admitted later, on the way back to Paphos, that she quite liked the idea of being used as the snowboard guide for Zephyros customers. Not a bad idea, her boss Lucy confessed, as neither she nor Lee can snow board at all.

The ski lifts close at four o’clock and we head back to the ski shop to return our equipment and put our regular shoes back on. It’s a great relief to be wearing trainers again! As we load our bags and surplus clothing back into the trailer, Lee is busily filling a large picnic cold box with snow! ‘You’ll see’, is all he will say when questioned as to why.

Every one is feeling tired but satisfied on the journey home. The children sleep, Mick and Clive chat quietly in the rearmost seats of the Land Rover and Lucy concentrates on the long descent back to Paphos. I ask Lee about his company.

Lee and Lucy formed Zephyros Adventure Sports five years ago after they decided that they had had enough of the rat race in the UK. They both have vast experience in school outdoor pursuit and corporate leisure and had always dreamed of taking a year out to try their hands at something new in the sun. So here they are providing adventure sports and sports holiday to visitor and residents in Paphos.

At the end of that first year they were so busy and having so much fun, they decided to stay another year. Five years later, they have a great team and are enjoying themselves more than ever.

In the last year, larger school and corporate groups have really started coming to Cyprus. Lee tells me, ‘Next week we have a group of 30 business people coming to Cyprus for team building exercises. Responsibility for organising an activity week for 30 demanding people is hard work but we are rock climbing and skiing with them so underneath all of the long hours and hard work, it’s enormous fun.’

They also have large school groups booked for nearly every month in 2006 so it will certainly be a busy year for them. However, Lee adds, ‘Our real skill lies with the smaller groups that we cater for. On a day-to-day basis, groups of four to six people are what we excel at.’

Their enjoyment in their work shows in the day we have all had. Lucy and Lee spent their time making sure every one was happy.

They guided the more experienced skiers around the resort and coached the less able. The whole ski resort is quiet, laid back and friendly. I certainly wouldn’t recommend coming to Cyprus just for a ski holiday, the resort simply isn’t big enough, but if you are visiting or live in Cyprus, a day or two on the slopes, with stunning mountain scenery, an interesting bunch of people and a winter wonderland contrast to the warmer weather of Paphos is certainly something I would recommend. I have to admit, though, they were right about the clothes. It was nice and sunny up in the mountains but barely above freezing!

Arriving back at our rented holiday apartment, we climb out of the Land Rover and start to say our good byes. Lee, however, unpacks the box of snow that he has bought down from the mountains. I will never forget the brief snowball fight my children then had in a back street in Paphos. Nice one guys!

Chris Green